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 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 Aliases.

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

to a database by an analysis model datasource instance
by system notification email accounts.

You can then use an alias to retrieve the data from the keystore.

You will need to provide PhixFlow users with the alias that they need to configure secure:

datasources
email accounts.

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

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 to add entries is:

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

The keytool command syntax to delete entries is:

<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.

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 string.

Adding Data to the Keystore

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

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

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:

keytool -importpass -alias db1 -keystore C:\secure\secure.jks -storetype PKCS12
keypass
sqluser
keytool -importpass -alias db1pass -keystore C:\secure\secure.jks -storetype PKCS12
keypass
x34!2axf

keytool -importpass -alias db1 -keystore /opt/secure/secure.jks -storetype PKCS12
keypass
sqluser
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.

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.

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:

phixflow-datasource.xml stores alias credentials for the database. It requests actual credentials from phixflow-secret.xml.
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)
The keystore file returns the actual account credentials to phixflow-secret
which, in turn, passes the actual credentials to phixflow-datasource.xml.
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.

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