[Java programming language only]

Securing data that flows between eXtreme Scale and the OSGi framework with SSL encryption

Configure SSL properties and JMX ports to secure sensitive information that flows between WebSphere® eXtreme Scale and the OSGi framework.

Before you begin

You must install the OSGi framework before you secure the data grid. For more information, see Installing the Eclipse Equinox OSGi framework with Eclipse Gemini for clients and servers.

About this task

When a data grid is deployed, the sensitive information it contains flows over the network. Also, the credentials that data grid clients use to authenticate to the data grid flow over the network. To protect data and credentials as they flow, use transport-level encryption using SSL to secure deployments.

The security of SSL depends on protecting the keystores and the truststores, so that only authorized users have access to the keystores and truststores. After you enable SSL encryption, you must specify a JMXConnectorPort and a JMXServicePort value in the server properties file to have SSL protection for JMX traffic.

The transport between the JMX client and server can be secured with transport layer security (TLS) or SSL. If the transportType of catalog server or container server is set to SSL_Required or SSL_Supported, then you must use SSL to connect to the JMX server.

Procedure

  1. Specify SSL in the server properties file. Set the transportType property to SSL-Required; for example:
    transportType=SSL-Required
  2. To use SSL, you need to configure the truststore, truststore type, and truststore password on the MBean client with -D system properties; for example:
    -Djavax.net.ssl.trustStore=TRUST_STORE_LOCATION
    -Djavax.net.ssl.trustStorePassword=TRUST_STORE_PASSWORD
    -Djavax.net.ssl.trustStoreType=TRUST_STORE_TYPE
    If you use com.ibm.websphere.ssl.protocol.SSLSocketFactory as your SSL socket factory in your java_home/jre/lib/security/java.security file, then use the following properties:
    -Dcom.ibm.ssl.trustStore=TRUST_STORE_LOCATION
    -Dcom.ibm.ssl.trustStorePassword=TRUST_STORE_PASSWORD
    -Dcom.ibm.ssl.trustStoreType=TRUST_STORE_TYPE
  3. Set the JMX service port in the server properties file.

    The default value for the JMX service port on catalog servers is 1099. You must use a different port number for each JVM in your configuration. If you want to use JMX/RMI, explicitly specify theJMXServicePort option and port number, even if you want to use the default port value.

  4. Set the JMX connector port in the server properties file.

    Setting the JMX service port is required when you want to display container server information from the catalog server. For example, the port is required when you are using the xscmd c showMapSizes command. Set the JMX connector port to avoid ephemeral port creation.

  5. Specify the SSL port on the OSGi framework command line using the following JVM argument:
    -Dcom.ibm.CSI.SSL.Port=7602

What to do next

Storing security artifacts in the OSGi framework