Jenkins LDAP Plugin

You can configure the plugin by navigating to "Manage Jenkins" > "Configure Global Security" and selecting LDAP in the Security Realm. You will need to input your LDAP server URL, root DN, and user search base filters. Once applied, Jenkins will authenticate user logins directly against your directory server.

Yes, the Jenkins LDAP Plugin can resolve nested groups, though it requires specific configuration in the authorization settings. You must ensure that the group search filter and group membership strategy are correctly defined to query the directory tree properly. In highly complex environments, checking the "Disable group lookup" setting and using an alternative strategy might improve performance.

The plugin includes a built-in "Test LDAP settings" feature on the configuration page that allows you to verify connectivity and user lookups. If connections fail, checking your firewall rules and ensuring the Jenkins server trusts the LDAP server's TLS certificate are crucial first steps. Reviewing the Jenkins log files will also provide detailed error traces.

While the Jenkins LDAP Plugin can technically connect to Active Directory because AD supports the LDAP protocol, it is highly recommended to use the dedicated Active Directory plugin instead. The AD plugin handles complex Active Directory-specific features like Domain Controllers and DNS site discovery much better. Using the generic LDAP plugin for AD often requires manual workaround configurations for group memberships.