Configuring SSL (AEN 4.1.3)#

The server node uses NGINX to proxy all incoming http(s) requests to the server running on a local port, and uses NGINX for SSL termination. The default setup uses http—non-SSL—since cert files are required to configure SSL and each enterprise will have their own cert files.

NOTE: SSL certs with passphrases are not currently supported.

The www.enterprise.conf file is the default nginx.conf file used for AEN. It is copied to the /etc/nginx/conf.d directory during server installation.

NOTE: This section describes setting up SSL after your gateway node has been installed and registered with the server node.

Copying the required files

To configure SSL on AEN, you will need the following files:

  • Server certificate and key
  • Server CA bundle
  • Gateway certificate and key
  • Gateway CA bundle

Configure SSL on AEN:

  1. Copy the Gateway certificate and key to /opt/wakari/wakari-gateway/etc/ on the Gateway as gateway.crt and gateway.key.
  2. Copy the Gateway CA bundle to /opt/wakari/wakari-server/etc/ on the Server.
  3. Copy the Server certificate and key to /etc/nginx on the Server as server.crt and server.key.
  4. Copy the Server CA bundle to /opt/wakari/wakari-gateway/etc/ on the Gateway.

If you have a certificate that was signed by a private root CA and/or an intermediate authority:

  • The Gateway CA bundle can contain the root CA, any intermediate authority and the certificate.
  • The Server CA bundle must be separated into individual files for the root CA, any intermediate and the certificate.

Configuring SSL on the server node

The www.enterprise.https.conf is an NGINX configuration file for SSL. It is set up to use the server.crt and server.key cert files.

CAUTION: You must change these values to point to the signed cert files for your domain.

NOTE: Self-signed certs or those signed by a private root CA require additional configuration.

Perform the following steps as root:

  1. Stop NGINX:

    service nginx stop
    
  2. Move the /etc/nginx/conf.d/www.enterprise.conf file to a backup directory.

  3. Copy the /opt/wakari/wakari-server/lib/python2.7/site-packages/wk_server/config/www.enterprise.https.conf file to /etc/nginx/conf.d.

    NOTE: /etc/nginx/conf.d may have www.enterprise.conf or www.enterprise.https.conf but it may not have both.

  4. Edit the /etc/nginx/conf.d/www.enterprise.https.conf file and change the server.crt and server.key values to the names of the real cert and key files if they are different.

  5. Restart NGINX by running:

    service nginx start
    
  6. Update the WAKARI_SERVER and CDN settings to use https instead of http in the following configuration files:

    /opt/wakari/wakari-server/etc/wakari/config.json
    /opt/wakari/wakari-gateway/etc/wakari/wk-gateway-config.json
    /opt/wakari/wakari-compute/etc/wakari/config.json
    
  7. In an editor, open /opt/wakari/wakari-server/etc/wakari/wk-server-config.json and add:

    "verify_gateway_certificate": "/opt/wakari/wakari-server/etc/gateway.crt"
    
  8. Restart AEN services on the server by running:

    service wakari-server restart
    
  9. In AEN, verify that the browser uses https. On the Admin Settings page, under Data Centers, click Gateway, then select https:

    ../../../../../_images/ae-notebooks/4.1.3/aen-install-https.png

    NOTE: This step may return an error since the gateway has not yet been configured for SSL.

Configuring SSL on the gateway

  1. In /opt/wakari/wakari-compute/etc/wakari/config.json, change http to https.

  2. In /opt/wakari/wakari-gateway/etc/wakari/wk-gateway-config.json, add:

    {
        EXISTING_CONFIGURATION,
        "https": {
            "key": "/opt/wakari/wakari-gateway/etc/gateway.key",
            "cert": "/opt/wakari/wakari-gateway/etc/gateway.crt"
        }
    }
    
  3. If you have a server cert that was signed by a private root CA or signed by an intermediate authority, add:

    {
       EXISTING_CONFIGURATION,
       "https": {
           "key": "/opt/wakari/wakari-gateway/etc/gateway.key",
           "cert": "/opt/wakari/wakari-gateway/etc/gateway.crt",
           "ca": ["/opt/wakari/wakari-gateway/etc/server.crt"]
        }
     }
    

    NOTE: The ca key must contain separate values for the paths to the CA root, any intermediates and the certificate for the Server.

  4. Restart the gateway:

    sudo service wakari-gateway restart
    

Configuring SSL on compute nodes

Anaconda Enterprise does not support direct SSL on Compute Nodes. If you need SSL on Compute Nodes, you must install each Compute Node on the same server as a Gateway using http://localhost:5002 for the URL value while adding it as a resource, and you must use a Gateway for each and every Compute Node.

Security reminder

The permissions on the cert files must be set correctly to prevent them from being read by others. Since NGINX is run by the root user, only the root user needs read access to the cert files.

EXAMPLE: If the cert files are called server.crt and server.key, then use the root account to set permissions:

chmod 600 server.key
chmod 600 server.crt

Enabling or disabling the Strict-Transport-Security header

By default, Strict-Transport-Security (STS) is enabled in the www.enterprise.https.conf file:

add_header Strict-Transport-Security max-age=31536000;

It can remain enabled if either of the following is true:

  • The gateway is running on a different host than the server.

    or

  • SSL has been enabled for the gateway.

You must comment out this line if both of the following are true:

  • The gateway is running on the same host as the server.

    and

  • SSL has not been enabled for the gateway.

Leaving STS enabled when these conditions are true will cause a mismatch in protocols between the server and gateway, causing your apps to fail to launch correctly.