[Java programming language only]

Securing data that flows between eXtreme Scale and the Liberty profile with SSL encryption

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

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. Specify SSL properties in the server properties file.
    alias=serverprivate
    contextProvider=IBMJSSE2
    protocol=SSL
    keyStoreType=JKS
    keyStore=etc/test/security/key.jks
    keyStorePassword=serverpw
    trustStoreType=JKS
    trustStore=etc/test/security/trust.jks
    trustStorePassword=public
    clientAuthentication=false
    Configure the truststore, truststore type, and truststore password. It is not necessary to specify a keystore, keystore type, and key store password for the client. The alias, keystore, keystore password, and keystore type are not needed on the client unless the server SSL properties includes clientAuthentication=true. This value is rarely used.

    The client truststore must trust the server certificate. When the server certificate is self signed, as in the tutorial, that certificate must be imported into the client trust store. When the server certificate is issued by a local certificate authority, the signer certificate for that certificate authority must be imported into the client truststore. For more information about creating keystore and truststore files, see Java SE security tutorial - Step 6.

  3. Specify SSL in the client properties file when SSL is required. Set the transportType property to SSL-Required or SSL-Supported; for example:
    transportType=SSL-Required
  4. Specify SSL properties in the client properties file. For example, you can specify the following properties:
    alias=clientprivate
    contextProvider=IBMJSSE2
    protocol=SSL
    keyStoreType=JKS
    keyStore=etc/test/security/client.private
    keyStorePassword={xor}PDM2OjErLyg\=
    trustStoreType=JKS
    trustStore=etc/test/security/server.public
    trustStorePassword={xor}Lyo9MzY8
    Specify the client properties file in the jvm.options file; for example:
    -Dobjectgrid.client.props="D:\IDEs\wxsEnvi\wlp\usr\servers\sessionAppServer\objectGridClient.properties"
    Remove the double quotation marks if you are using Linux operating systems.
  5. 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 therver JMXServicePort option and port number, even if you want to use the default port value.

  6. 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.

What to do next

Storing security artifacts in the Liberty profile