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The Keytab File

Keytabs files are stored on the same machine as the servers whose keys they contain. You can access them remotely and locally using dcecp. For remote access, dcecp uses dced interfaces. The -local option to the dcecp keytab command allows you to access the local keytab files without using dced.

Because dced provides remote access to the keytab files, the files are defined as dced objects, and those objects are stored in the dced-controlled portion of the namespace under the keytab directory. The dced keytab object consists of a UUID to identify the object, an optional annotation, and the name of the file that actually stores the server keys on the local machine. This object is usually a file.

Note that actual server keys are not stored in the keytab object, but in the file stored on the local machine.

The path name of the dced keytab object is

/.:/hosts/hostname/config/keytab/keytab_name

where:

hostname
Is the name of the host on which the dced process resides.

keytab_name
Is the name of the keytab file.

The path name to the local keytab file is

/opt/dcelocal/keytab_path_name

where:

keytab_path_name
Is the path name to the keytab file on the local node.

More:

Protecting Keytab Files

Server and Machine Key Version Numbers