Introduction
- Connections from JOC Cockpit to Controllers use the JS7 - REST Web Service API and can be secured by HTTPS with TLS/SSL certificates.
Should JOC Cockpit and Controller be operated on the same server and network interface then no HTTPS connection between components is required.
Should JOC Cockpit and Controller be operated on different servers or network interfaces then this connection should be secured by HTTPS.
- This article describes the steps required to set up secure HTTPS communication from JOC Cockpit to a Controller. This includes to use a standalone Controller or a Controller cluster with a primary and standby instance.
- Consider the JS7 - System Architecture for an overview of components and connections.
- Consider to set up JS7 - JOC Cockpit HTTPS Connections for secure connections from clients (user browser / REST API client) to JOC Cockpit.
- Consider JS7 - Agent HTTPS Connections for securing the connections between Controller instances and Agents.
Prerequisites
- Certificate stores can be managed from the command line and by use of tools that provide a GUI for this purpose:
- the Java
keytool
is available from the Java JRE or JDK, - the Keystore Explorer is an open source utility to graphically manage certificate stores.
- the Java
Certificate Management
Private keys and certificates should be distributed as follows:
Explanation:
- Keystore and truststore in orange color are required for any connections of JOC Cockpit to a Controller.
- The Controller's private key and certificate for Server Authentication are added to the Controller's keystore. In case of a self-signed certificate the certificate is added to the JOC Cockpit's truststore too.
- This step can be skipped if a CA-signed certificate is used as the Root Certificate in the JOC Cockpit's truststore is sufficient to verify Controller certificates.
- Keystore and truststore in green color are required if mutual authentication is in place for certificate based client authentication (default).
- The Controller's truststore in green color is required should secure connections be used by a Controller to access Agents. It is therefore recommended to set up the Controller's truststore.
- Certificate management applies similarly to any additional standby JOC Cockpit instances acting in a cluster.
Secure Connection Setup
In the following the placeholders JOC_HOME
, JETTY_HOME
and JETTY_BASE
are used which locate three directories. If you install Jetty with the JOC Cockpit installer then
JOC_HOME
is the installation path that is specified during JOC Cockpit installation:/opt/sos-berlin.com/js7/joc
(default on Unix)C:\Program Files\sos-berlin.com\js7\joc
(default on Windows)
JETTY_HOME
=JOC_HOME
/jetty
JETTY_BASE
is Jetty's base directory that is specified during JOC Cockpit installation:/home/<setup-user>/sos-berlin.com/js7/joc
(default on Unix)C:\ProgramData\sos-berlin.com\js7\joc
(default on Windows)
For Controller instances the following placeholders are used:
JS7_CONTROLLER_HOME
points to the Controller instance's installation directory/opt/sos-berlin.com/js7/controller
(default on Unix)C:\Program Files\sos-berlin.com\js7\controller
(default on Windows)
JS7_CONTROLLER_CONFIG_DIR
points to the Controller instance's configuration directory/var/sos-berlin.com/js7/controller/config
(default on Unix)C:\ProgramData\sos-berlin.com\js7\config
(default on Windows)
Secure Connections from JOC Cockpit to Controller
This configuration is applied in order to secure the connection if JOC Cockpit and Controller are not operated on the same server and network interface.
Secure connections require authentication.
- By default JOC Cockpit and Controller use mutual authentication:
- JOC Cockpit verifies the Controller certificate for Server Authentication.
- Controller verifies the JOC Cockpit certificate for Client Authentication.
- For details JS7 - Configuration for mutual HTTPS Server Authentication and Client Authentication.
- If mutual authentication cannot be applied, e.g. in case of use with wildcard certificates:
- Consider to use password based authentication.
- For details see JS7 - Configuration for HTTPS Server Authentication with Passwords.
For the complete list of related configuration items see JS7 - Controller Configuration Items.
The following chapters assume mutual authentication to be in place.
Step 1: Create Controller Keystore
- On the Controller instance's server create the keystore using the
keytool
from your Java JRE or JDK or some third party utility.- For use with a third party utility create a keystore, e.g.
https-keystore.p12
, in PKCS12 format and import:- Controller private key and certificate for Server Authentication
- Root CA certificate
- Intermediate CA certificates
- For use with
keytool
create the keystore with the private key and certificate for Server Authentication from the command line. The below examples suggest one possible approach for certificate management, however, there may be other ways how to achieve similar results.Example for use of private key and CA-signed certificate with PKCS12 keystore:
Example how to add a private key and CA-signed certificate to a PKCS12 keystore# should the Controller's private key and certificate be provided with a .jks keystore (keypair.jks) then temporarily convert the keystore to pkcs12 (keystore.p12) # for later use with openssl, assuming the alias name of the Controller's private key being "controller-https" # keytool -importkeystore -srckeystore keypair.jks -srcstoretype JKS -destkeystore keystore.p12 -deststoretype PKCS12 -srcalias controller-https # assuming the Controller's private key from a pkcs12 keystore (keystore.p12), store the Controller's private key to a .key file in PEM format (controller-https.key) openssl pkcs12 -in keystore.p12 -nocerts -out controller-https.key # concatenate CA Root certificate and CA Intermediate certificate to a single CA Bundle certificate file (ca-bundle.crt) cat RootCACertificate.crt > ca-bundle.crt cat CACertificate.crt >> ca-bundle.crt # Export Controller's private key (controller-https.key), Controller's certificate (controller-https.crt) and CA Bundle (ca-bundle.crt) in PEM format to a new keystore (https-keystore.p12) # assume the fully qualified hostname (FQDN) of the Controller server being "controller.example.com" openssl pkcs12 -export -in controller-https.crt -inkey controller-https.key -chain -CAfile ca-bundle.crt -name controller.example.com -out JS7_CONTROLLER_CONFIG_DIR/private/https-keystore.p12 # should you require use of a .jks keystore type then convert the pkcs12 keystore assuming the alias name of the Controller private key being "controller-https" # keytool -importkeystore -srckeystore https-keystore.p12 -srcstoretype PKCS12 -destkeystore JS7_CONTROLLER_CONFIG_DIR/private/https-keystore.jks -deststoretype JKS -srcalias controller-https
Example for use of private key and self-signed certificate with PKCS12 keystore:
Example for use of private key and self-signed certificate with JKS keystore:
Explanation:
- The
-dname
option specifies the certificate issuer, therefore use your own set of CN, O, OU, DC that specify the issuer's distinguished name. The O setting is required for the issuer. - The
-keypass
option accepts the password that you will need later on to manage your private key. - The
-keystore
option specifies the location of the keystore file. The keystore file should be in reach of the Controller, it is recommended to use the sub-folderprivate
in theJS7_CONTROLLER_CONFIG_DIR
directory. - The
-storepass
option specifies the password for access to the keystore file. - The
-storetype
option is used to specify the PKCS12 or JKS keystore format.
- The
- With the keystore being set up specify respective properties with the
JS7_CONTROLLER_CONFIG_DIR
/private/private.conf
configuration file:Example
Example for private.conf file specifying the Controller keystorejs7 { web { # keystore location for https connections https { keystore { # Default: ${js7.config-directory}"/private/https-keystore.p12" file=${js7.config-directory}"/private/https-keystore.p12" key-password="jobscheduler" store-password="jobscheduler" } } } }
Explanation:js7.web.https.keystore.file
is used for the path to the keystore.js7.web.https.keystore.key-password
is used for access to the private key.js7.web.https.keystore.store-password
is used for access to the keystore.
- For use with a third party utility create a keystore, e.g.
Step 2: Set up Authentication for Controller
- By default mutual authentication is in place.
- JOC Cockpit is challenged by the Controller to present its Client Authentication certificate that is verified by the Controller.
- In addition the distinguished name of the JOC Cockpit Client Authentication certificate is checked and a password is used to identify the JOC Cockpit instance.
- Consider that any number of clustered JOC Cockpit instances can connect to a Controller.
- If a Controller cluster is used then connections from the partnering Controller instance are authenticated by the distinguished name of the instance's Client Authentication certificate.
- JOC Cockpit is challenged by the Controller to present its Client Authentication certificate that is verified by the Controller.
The
JS7_CONTROLLER_CONFIG_DIR
/private/private.conf
configuration file should include authentication details like this:Example for private.conf file specifying JOC Cockpit authenticationjs7 { auth { users { # History account (used for release events) History { distinguished-names=[ "DNQ=SOS CA, CN=apmacwin_joc_client, OU=IT, O=SOS, L=Berlin, ST=Berlin, C=DE" ] password="sha512:B793649879D61613FD3F711B68F7FF3DB19F2FE2D2C136E8523ABC87612219D5AECB4A09035AD88D544E227400A0A56F02BC990CF0D4CB348F8413DE00BCBF08" } # JOC account (needs UpdateItem permission for deployment) JOC { distinguished-names=[ "DNQ=SOS CA, CN=apmacwin_joc_client, OU=IT, O=SOS, L=Berlin, ST=Berlin, C=DE" ] password="sha512:3662FD6BF84C6B8385FC15F66A137AB75C755147A81CC7AE64092BFE8A18723A7C049D459AB35C059B78FD6028BB61DCFC55801AE3894D2B52401643F17A07FE" permissions=[ UpdateItem ] } # Controller ID for connections by primary/secondary controller instance jobscheduler { distinguished-names=[ "DNQ=SOS CA, CN=apmacwin_secondary_client, OU=IT, O=SOS, L=Berlin, ST=Berlin, C=DE" ] } } } }
Explanation:- The
History
andJOC
user accounts are used by the JS7 - History Service and by the JS7 - REST Web Service API.- The
distinguished-names
property offers to add a number of distinguished names available from the subject of the respective Client Authentication certificates. - The
password
is not used for authentication but for identification of theHistory
andJOC
user accounts as both accounts typically are running in the same JOC Cockpit instance and use the same Client Authentication certificate. When used with HTTP connections then the password is used for authentication.
- The
- The
jobscheduler
user account is an example for a Controller ID as used by a partnering Controller instance.- This setting is not required if a standalone Controller is used.
- For a Controller cluster the Controller ID is specified during installation.
- The
Step 3: Set up the Controller Instance Start Script for HTTPS
To make a Controller use HTTPS the respective port setting has to be specified with the Controller's Instance Start Script.
For Unix the Instance Start Script is available from
JS7_CONTROLLER_HOME/
bin/controller_instance.sh
:Example for HTTP and HTTPS port settings with Controller Instance Start Script for Unix# Sets the http port for the JS7 Controller. # Without this setting the default port 4444 is used. # If just a port is specified then the JS7 Controller listens to all # available network interfaces. This corresponds to 0.0.0.0:<port>. # Use the form <ip address or hostname>:<port> to indicate # a specific network interface the JS7 Controller should listen to. # The command line option --http-port beats the environment # variable JS7_CONTROLLER_HTTP_PORT. JS7_CONTROLLER_HTTP_PORT=localhost:4444 # In addition to the http port an https port for the # JS7 Controller can be specified. If just a port is specified # then the JS7 Controller listens to all available network interfaces. # This corresponds to using 0.0.0.0:<port>. # Use the form <ip address or hostname>:<port> to indicate # a specific network interface the JS7 Controller should listen to. # The command line option --https-port beats the environment # variable JS7_CONTROLLER_HTTPS_PORT. JS7_CONTROLLER_HTTPS_PORT=apmacwin:4444
For Windows the Instance Start Script is available from
JS7_CONTROLLER_HOME\
bin\controller_instance.cmd
:
Explanation:- The HTTP port is required but is limited to the localhost network interface with the
localhost
prefix. - The HTTPS port is specified with the hostname prefix that indicates the network interface.
- The HTTP port is required but is limited to the localhost network interface with the
Step 4: Configure the JOC Cockpit Truststore
The JOC Cockpit truststore is added the Root CA certificate. If self-signed certificates are used then each certificate is added to the JOC Cockpit's truststore.
- On the JOC Cockpit server create the truststore using the
keytool
from your Java JRE or JDK or some third party utility.- For use with a third party utility create a truststore, e.g.
https-truststore.p12,
in PKCS12 format and import:- Root CA certificate
- For use with
keytool
create the truststore in PKCS12 or JKS format with the Root CA certificate. The below examples suggest one possible approach for certificate management, however, there may be other ways how to achieve similar results.Example for import of a Root CA certificate to a PKCS12 truststore:
Example how to import a CA-signed certificate into a PKCS12 truststore# import Root CA certificate in PEM format to a PKCS12 truststore (https-truststore.p12) keytool -import -alias "root-ca" -file "RootCACertificate.crt" -keystore "JETTY_BASE/resources/joc/https-truststore.p12" -storetype PKCS12
Example for use of a self-signed Controller certificate with a PKCS12 truststore:
Example for use of a self-signed Controller certificate with a JKS truststore:
- For use with a third party utility create a truststore, e.g.
The location of the truststore is added to the
JETTY_BASE/resources/joc/joc.properties
configuration file like this:Example for PKCS12 truststore
Example how to specify a PKCS12 truststore location with the joc.properties file### Location of the truststore that contains the certificates of all ### Controllers used for HTTPS connections. The path can be absolute or ### relative to joc.properties truststore_path = ../../resources/joc/https-truststore.p12 truststore_type = PKCS12 truststore_password = jobscheduler
Example for JKS truststore
Hostname verification by default is in place with the
JETTY_BASE/resources/joc/joc.properties
configuration file.Example how to specify hostname verification with the joc.properties file################################################################################ ### Specifies if hostname verification should be carried out for HTTPS connections. ### Default true https_with_hostname_verification = true
Mutual Authentication for JOC Cockpit and Controller
This configuration is applied in order to enable mutual authentication
- from JOC Cockpit to the Controller:
- the JOC Cockpit verifies the Controller's certificate for Server Authentication
- the Controller verifies the JOC Cockpit's certificate for Client Authentication
- from pairing Controller instances.
Step 1: Create/Update JOC Cockpit Client Keystore
For mutual authentication JOC Cockpit has to hold a Client Authentication private key and certificate in its keystore.
- This can be simplified by use of a private key/certificate pair that is created for both extended key usages Server Authentication and Client Authentication. In this case a single private key and certificate is stored with the JOC Cockpit's keystore as indicated with the JS7 - JOC Cockpit HTTPS Connections article.
- If separate private key/certificate pairs should be used for Server Authentication and Client Authentication purposes then use of separate certificate stores for JOC Cockpit is recommended:
- The keystore holds the private key/certificate for Server Authentication.
- The client keystore holds the private key/certificate for Client Authentication.
The following steps are applied if a separate client keystore is used with JOC Cockpit.
- On the JOC Cockpit server create the client keystore using the
keytool
from your Java JRE or JDK or some third party utility.- For use with a third party utility create a client keystore, e.g.
https-client-keystore.p12,
in PKCS12 format and import:- JOC Cockpit private key and certificate for Client Authentication
- Root CA certificate
- Intermediate CA certificates
- For use with
keytool
create the client keystore in PKCS12 or JKS format according to the steps indicated with JS7 - JOC Cockpit HTTPS Connections: Step 2: Create JOC Cockpit Keystore chapter.- Apply the indicated steps to the client keystore and use the private key/certificate pair for Client Authentication.
- For use with a third party utility create a client keystore, e.g.
The location of the client keystore is added to the
JETTY_BASE/resources/joc/joc.properties
configuration file like this:Example for PKCS12 client keystore:
Example how to specify the PKCS12 client keystore location with joc.properties file### Location of the client keystore that contains the private key and ### certificate for JOC Cockpit client authentication relative to ### joc.properties client_keystore_path = ../../resources/joc/https-client-keystore.p12 client_keystore_type = PKCS12 client_keystore_password = jobscheduler
Example for JKS client keystore:
Step 2: Create Controller Truststore
- On the Controller server create the truststore using the
keytool
from your Java JRE or JDK or some third party utility.- For use with a third party utility create a truststore, e.g.
https-truststore.p12,
in PKCS12 format and import:- Root CA certificate
- For use with
keytool
create the truststore in PKCS12 or JKS format with the Root CA certificate. The below examples suggest one possible approach for certificate management, however, there may be other ways how to achieve similar results.Example for import of a Root CA certificate to a PKCS12 truststore:
Example how to import a CA-signed certificate into a PKCS12 truststore# on Controller server: import Root CA certificate in PEM format to a PKCS12 truststore (https-truststore.p12) keytool -import -alias "root-ca" -file "RootCACertificate.crt" -keystore "JS7_CONTROLLER_CONFIG_DIR/private/https-truststore.p12" -storetype PKCS12
Example for export/import of self-signed client authentication certificate to a PKCS12 keystore:
Example for export/import of self-signed client authentication certificate to a JKS keystore:
- For use with a third party utility create a truststore, e.g.
Notes
- A restart of the respective component is required to apply modifications to the
JS7_CONFIG_DIR/private/private.conf
file of the Controller or to configuration files of JOC Cockpit .