Adding AD Integration to ESX 3.x

While most administration on ESX servers is done through Virtual Center, there are some tasks that still must be run directly from the service console. Furthermore, if your environment isn't large enough to justify running Virtual Center, sometimes the ESX host is your only option for administration. These instructions will allow you to authenticate through your Active Directory infrastructure so that you don't have to manage a parallel set of usernames and passwords.

run the following command for each user you're adding:
useradd

edit /etc/pam.d/vmware-authd and insert at the beginning of the file:
auth sufficient pam_krb5.so use_first_pass

run the following command:

esxcfg-auth --enablead --addc=.com --addomain=.com

run more /etc/krb5.conf to verify the results of your work.

Make sure that the date is set correctly on the ESX server or you will not be able to log in. Type date to check.

when changing the date use the following command specifying military time:
date MMDDTTTTYYYY