Versions Compared

Old Version 14

changes.mady.by.user Fiona Sargeant (Unlicensed)

Saved on

compared with

New Version Current

changes.mady.by.user Fiona Sargeant (Unlicensed)

Saved on

Key

  • This line was added.
  • This line was removed.
  • Formatting was changed.

Insert excerpt
_Banners
_Banners
nameadministration
nopaneltrue

Overview

PhixFlow uses a Java keystore for data that needs to be secure. When PhixFlow is installed, the keystore is created and the following are added:

  • a pepper
key
  • string used to encrypt local user password
  • username and password for the PhixFlow database

The instructions for this are in the Installing PhixFlow topic: see Configure a Keystore and

Keys

Aliases.

We recommend that you also store other credentials in the keystore, such as those provided:

You can then use an alias

or key to

to retrieve the data from the keystore.

You will need to provide PhixFlow users with the

keys so

alias that they

can

need to configure secure:

  • datasources
  • email accounts.
Panel
borderColor#7da054
titleColorwhite
titleBGColor#7da054
borderStylesolid
titleSections on this page
Table of Contentsindentstylenone
12px

Note

This documentation assumes that each PhixFlow instance has it's own

unique

keystore.

If you run multiple instances on the same server using a single keystore, the stored information and their aliases should be unique. Ideally the alias should indicate the instance to which it relates.

Keytool

Syntax

Syntax 
Anchor
syntax
syntax

Note

If you have follow the recommended instructions for installing Java (Install Java) the keytool program will be in your path. If you have take a different approach, you can find the keytool program under JAVA_INSTALLATION_HOME/bin.

The keytool command

syntax in Linux    $JAVA_HOME/bin/keytool 

syntax  to add entries is:

Code Block
<keytool> -importpass -alias <key> -keystore <file> -storetype <type>

where

<keytool> depends on OS or command tool:
  • in the Windows command prompt    "%JAVA_HOME%\bin\keytool.exe"
  • in Windows PowerShell    &"$env:JAVA_HOME\bin\keytool.exe"

    • The keytool command syntax to delete entries is:

    Code Block
    <keytool> -delete -alias <key> -keystore <file>
    • <file> is the full path to the keystore file. The keystore file name must match the name in phixflow-instance.xml. The default name is secure.jks, for example:
      • Windows   C:\secure\secure.jks
      • Linux   /opt/secure/secure.jks
    • <type>Either PKCS12 (recommended) or JCEKS.
    • <key> is a key/alias for something you want to store. Use this to retrieve the encrypted data.

    After you enter a <key>, the keytool always prompts for a password. This is because the keytool does not distinguish between the secrets that it stores. At the prompt, enter the actual value you want to store securely, usually a username or a password.

    Tip

    When you run a <keytool> command, the keytool prompts you to enter:

    • the keystore password.
    • a "password". This is the information you want to store associated with the alias provided in the command. This may be a username, a password or a pepper
    key
    • string.

    Adding Data to the Keystore

    To add data to the keystore, use the Java keytool -importpass line command. From a command prompt:

    1. Enter the -importpass command, specifying an alias
    /
    1. (key).
    2. When the keytool prompts, enter the keystore's password.
    3. When the keytool prompts again for a "password", enter
    the data, usually
    1. the string you want to store, usually a user name or password. 
    For


    To add a username and password to the keystore, you need to run the command twice. For example:

    • a keystore is called secure.jks
    • its password is keypass
    • The datasource instance details you want to store are:
      • username sqluser, wth the key db1
      • password x34!2axf with the key db1pass

    Windows example:

    Expand
    titleClick to expand Windows example


    Code Block
    "%JAVA_HOME%\bin\
    keytool
    "
     -importpass -alias db1 -keystore C:\secure\secure.jks -storetype PKCS12
keypass
sqluser
    "%JAVA_HOME%\bin\
    keytool
    "
     -importpass -alias db1pass -keystore C:\secure\secure.jks -storetype PKCS12
keypass
x34!2axf



    Expand
    titleClick here to expand Linux example


    Code Block
    $JAVA_HOME/bin/
    keytool -importpass -alias db1 -keystore /opt/secure/secure.jks -storetype PKCS12
keypass
sqluser
    $JAVA_HOME/bin/
    keytool -importpass -alias db1pass -keystore /opt/secure/secure.jks -storetype PKCS12
keypass
x34!2axf


    Changing Keystore Entries

    It is not possible to change a username or password when it is in the keystore. Instead, you have to:

    • delete the entry using the keytool -delete command; see Keystore Syntax, above.
    • add a different username or password using the keytool -importpass command, using the same alias.

    For the commands, see Keystore Syntax, above.

    Tip

    If you change an alias, remember to update any configuration files that use the alias.

    Keystores for Multiple Instances

    If you are running more than one PhixFlow instance, you may have a keystore for each instance. In this case, you can use the same alias in each keystore. For example, each keystore can have a "pepperKey" or "databasePassword".

    If you are using one keystore for multiple PhixFlow instances, then each instance must have a unique alias. It is good practice for the alias to clearly indicate the instance. For example if you have separate Production and Development instances you could use the aliases:

    • ProdDatabasePassword, DevDatabasePassword
    • ProdPepperKey, DevPepperKey.
      Remember to update phixflow-instance.xml to refer to the pepper alias you set in the keystore.

    Understanding How PhixFlow Uses A Keystore

    PhixFlow has a secret service wrapper that it uses to communicate with the keystore. The configuration file webapp/WEB-INF/classes/phixflow-secret.xml tells Phixflow where to find the keystore file and its password. PhixFlow periodically checks the keystore based on the retryDelay. This defaults to 10 seconds, set in milliseconds. This means PhixFlow can use updated information in the keystore without requiring a Tomcat restart.

    This section

    Example: Accessing the PhixFlow Database

    This example illustrates how PhixFlow uses a keystore to access its own database.

    When PhixFlow is running, it provides the account credentials to its database as follows:

    1. phixflow-datasource.xml stores alias credentials for the database. It requests actual credentials from phixflow-secret.xml.
    2. phixflow-secret.xml asks the keystore for the actual credentials.
      1. The keystore password is configured as an environment variable This file stores the location of the keystore file and optionally its password (2a in the diagram below).
      2. Alternatively, phixflow-secret.xml stores the location of the keystore file and optionally its password (2b in the diagram below)
    3. The keystore file returns the actual account credentials to phixflow-secret
    4. which, in turn, passes the actual credentials to phixflow-datasource.xml.
    5. phixflow-datasource.xml then uses the actual credentials to log into the database, so that PhixFlow can update it.

    This is shown in the diagram below.

    Image Removed

    Live Search
    spaceKey@self
    additionalnone
    placeholderSearch all help pages
    typepage

    Panel
    borderColor#00374F
    titleColorwhite
    titleBGColor#00374F
    borderStylesolid
    titleSections on this page

    Table of Contents
    maxLevel3
    indent12px
    stylenone



    Image Added

     How PhixFlow authenticates to its database using a keystore


    Details used in the diagram
    Keystore file namehidden.jks
    Keystore passwordstorepw
    Environment variable nameKEY_PASS
    Environment variable value
    (the keystore password)    		storepw
    PhixFlow database credentialsUsernamePassword
    Actual

    phixFlow

    		P*59word
    Alias

    phixflow-database-user

    		phixflow-database-password


    Note

    The default keystore filename set in webapp/WEB-INF/classes/phixflow-secret.xml. This configuration file manages PhixFlow authenticating to its own database.

    Configuring Keystore Reading

    The configuration file webapp/WEB-INF/classes/phixflow-secret.xml manages PhixFlow authenticating to its own database. As well as having the keystore filename, you can use the options in this to configure how often PhixFlow re-reads data from the keystore.

    There are two ways to use the keystore

    PhixFlow is configured to periodically check the keystore directly based on the retryDelay set in phixflow-secret.xml 

    Alternatively, you can configure PhixFlow to only read the keystore when it starts

    Expand
    titleChecks periodically
    Code Block
    <!--
To directly use keyStoreService and not the caching service,
 comment the CachingSecretService bean elements and change the bean id of KeystoreSecretService to secretService
 There should be a bean defined with id secretService always, as that's is referred in phixflow-datasource.xml
-->
	<bean id="secretService" class="com.accipia.centerview.service.secret.CachingSecretService">
		
		<property name="cachingPeriod">
			<value>10000</value>
		</property>
		<property name="secretService" ref="keyStoreSecretService">
		</property>
		
	</bean>
	<bean id="keyStoreSecretService" class="com.accipia.centerview.service.secret.KeystoreSecretService">
		<property name="retries"><!-- keystore type (PKCS12 or JCEKS) -->
			<value>3</value>
		</property>
		<property name="retryDelay">
			<value>10000</value>
		</property>
    Expand
    titleOnly checks on startup

    Using the keyStoreService

    Code Block<!-- To directly use keyStoreService and not the caching service, comment the CachingSecretService bean elements and change the bean id of KeystoreSecretService to secretService There should be a bean defined with id secretService always, as that's is referred in phixflow-datasource

    .

    xml --> <bean id="secretService" class="com.accipia.centerview.service.secret.CachingSecretService"> <property name="cachingPeriod"> <value>10000</value> </property> <property name="secretService" ref="keyStoreSecretService"> </property> </bean> <bean id="secretService" class="com.accipia.centerview.service.secret.KeystoreSecretService"> # <property name="retries"><!-- keystore type (PKCS12 or JCEKS) --> # <value>3</value> # </property> # <property name="retryDelay"> # <value>10000</value> # </property>