Separate PKI instances¶

As described above, this version of PKI continues to support separate PKI instances for all subsystems.

Separate PKI instances run as a single Java-based Apache Tomcat instance, contain a single PKI subsystem (CA, KRA, OCSP, TKS, or TPS), and must utilize unique ports if co-located on the same machine.

Shared PKI instances¶

Additionally, this version of PKI introduces the notion of a shared PKI instance.

Shared PKI instances also run as a single Java-based Apache Tomcat instance, but may contain any combination of up to one of each type of PKI subsystem:

Shared PKI instances allow all of their subsystems contained within that instance to share the same ports, and must utilize unique ports if more than one shared PKI instance is co-located on the same machine.

Semantically, a shared PKI instance that contains a single PKI subsystem is identical to a separate PKI instance.

Subsystem Type¶

Subsystem (CA/KRA/OCSP/TKS/TPS):
The type of subsystem to be installed.
Prompted when the -s option is not specified.
The default value chosen is CA.

Instance Specific Parameters¶

Instance name:
The name of the tomcat instance in which the subsystem is to be installed. The default value is pki-tomcat.

Note: Only one subsystem of a given type (CA, KRA, OCSP, TKS, TPS) can exist within a given instance.

HTTP port:
The HTTP port of the Tomcat instance. The default value is 8080.

Secure HTTP port:
The HTTPS port of the Tomcat instance. The default value is 8443.

AJP port:
The AJP port of the Tomcat instance. The default value is 8009.

Management port:
The management port of the Tomcat instance. The default value is 8005.

Note: When deploying a new subsystem into an existing instance, pkispawn will attempt to read the ports from deployment.cfg files stored for previously installed subsystems for this instance. If successful, the installer will not prompt for these ports.

Administrative User Parameters¶

Username:
The username of the administrator of this subsystem. The default value is <ca/kra/ocsp/tks/tps>admin.

Password:
Password for the administrator user.

Import certificate:
An optional parameter that can be used to import an already available CA admin certificate into this instance.

Export certificate:
Setup the path where the admin certificate of this <subsystem> should be stored.
The default value is $HOME/.dogtag/pki-tomcat/<ca/kra/ocsp/tks/tps>_admin.cert.

Directory Server Parameters¶

Hostname:
Hostname of the directory server instance. The default value is the hostname of the system.

Use a secure LDAPS connection?
Answering yes to this question will cause prompts for Secure LDAPS Port: and Directory Server CA certificate pem file:.
Answering no to this question will cause a prompt for LDAP Port.
The initial default value for this question is no.

Secure LDAPS Port:
Secure LDAPS port for the directory server instance. The default value is 636.

Directory Server CA certificate PEM file:
The fully-qualified path including the filename of the file which contains an exported copy of the Directory Server's CA certificate (e.g. $HOME/dscacert.pem).
This file must exist prior to pkispawn being able to utilize it.
For details on creation of this file see the EXAMPLES section below entitled Installing PKI Subsystem with Secure LDAP Connection.

LDAP Port:
LDAP port for the directory server instance. The default value is 389.

Base DN:
The Base DN to be used for the internal database for this subsystem.
The default value is o=pki-tomcat-<subsystem>.

Bind DN:
The bind DN required to connect for the directory server.
This user must have sufficient permissions to install the required schema and database.
The default value is cn=Directory Manager.

Password:
Password for the bind DN.

Security Domain Parameters¶

Name:
The name of the security domain. Required only if installing a root CA.
Default value: <DNS domain name> Security Domain.

Hostname:
The hostname for the security domain CA. Required only for non-CA subsystems.
The default value is the hostname of this system.

Secure HTTP port:
The https port for the security domain. Required only for non-CA subsystems. The default value is 8443.

Username:
The username of the security domain administrator of the CA.
Required only for non-CA subsystems.
The default value is caadmin.

Password:
Password for the security domain administrator. Required for all subsystems that are not root CAs.

Installing Root CA¶

To install a root CA in a new instance execute the following command:

$ pkispawn -s CA -f myconfig.txt

where myconfig.txt contains the following text:

[DEFAULT]
pki_admin_password=Secret.123
pki_client_pkcs12_password=Secret.123
pki_ds_password=Secret.123

Prior to running this command, a Directory Server instance should be created and running. This command assumes that the Directory Server instance is using its default configuration:

This invocation of pkispawn creates a Tomcat instance containing a CA running on the local machine with secure port 8443 and unsecure port 8080. To access this CA, simply point a browser to https://hostname:8443.

The instance name (defined by pki_instance_name) is pki-tomcat, and it is located at /var/lib/pki/pki-tomcat. Logs for the instance are located at /var/log/pki/pki-tomcat, and an installation log is written to /var/log/pki/pki-subsystem-spawn.timestamp.log.

A PKCS #12 file containing the administrator certificate is created in $HOME/.dogtag/pki-tomcat. This PKCS #12 file uses the password designated by pki_client_pkcs12_password in the configuration file.

To access the agent pages, first import the CA certificate by accessing the CA End Entity Pages and clicking on the Retrieval Tab. Be sure to trust the CA certificate. Then, import the administrator certificate in the PKCS #12 file.

Installing Root CA using ECC¶

To install a root CA in a new instance using ECC execute the following command:

$ pkispawn -s CA -f myconfig.txt

where myconfig.txt contains the following text:

[DEFAULT]
pki_admin_password=Secret.123
pki_admin_key_algorithm=SHA256withEC
pki_admin_key_size=nistp256
pki_admin_key_type=ecc
pki_client_pkcs12_password=Secret.123
pki_ds_password=Secret.123
pki_sslserver_key_algorithm=SHA256withEC
pki_sslserver_key_size=nistp256
pki_sslserver_key_type=ecc
pki_subsystem_key_algorithm=SHA256withEC
pki_subsystem_key_size=nistp256
pki_subsystem_key_type=ecc
[CA]
pki_ca_signing_key_algorithm=SHA256withEC
pki_ca_signing_key_size=nistp256
pki_ca_signing_key_type=ecc
pki_ca_signing_signing_algorithm=SHA256withEC
pki_ocsp_signing_key_algorithm=SHA256withEC
pki_ocsp_signing_key_size=nistp256
pki_ocsp_signing_key_type=ecc
pki_ocsp_signing_signing_algorithm=SHA256withEC

In order to utilize ECC, the SSL Server and Subsystem key algorithm, key size, and key type should be changed from SHA256withRSA to SHA256withEC, 2048 to nistp256, and rsa to ecc, respectively. To use an ECC admin key size and key type, the values should also be changed from 2048 to nistp256, and rsa to ecc.

Additionally, for a CA subsystem, both the CA and OCSP Signing key algorithm, key size, key type, and signing algorithm should be changed from SHA256withRSA to SHA256withEC, 2048 to nistp256, rsa to ecc, and SHA256withRSA to SHA256withEC, respectively.

Note: For all PKI subsystems including the CA, ECC is not supported for the corresponding Audit Signing parameters. Similarly, for KRA subsystems, ECC is not supported for either of the corresponding Storage or Transport parameters.

Installing KRA, OCSP, TKS, or TPS in Shared Instance¶

For this example, assume that a new CA instance has been installed by executing the following command:

$ pkispawn -s CA -f myconfig.txt

where myconfig.txt contains the following text:

[DEFAULT]
pki_admin_password=Secret.123
pki_client_pkcs12_password=Secret.123
pki_ds_password=Secret.123

To install a shared KRA in the same instance used by the CA execute the following command:

$ pkispawn -s KRA -f myconfig.txt

where myconfig.txt contains the following text:

[DEFAULT]
pki_admin_password=Secret.123
pki_client_database_password=Secret.123
pki_client_pkcs12_password=Secret.123
pki_ds_password=Secret.123
pki_security_domain_password=Secret.123

To install a shared OCSP in the same instance used by the CA execute the following command:

$ pkispawn -s OCSP -f myconfig.txt

where myconfig.txt contains the following text:

[DEFAULT]
pki_admin_password=Secret.123
pki_client_database_password=Secret.123
pki_client_pkcs12_password=Secret.123
pki_ds_password=Secret.123
pki_security_domain_password=Secret.123

To install a shared TKS in the same instance used by the CA execute the following command:

$ pkispawn -s TKS -f myconfig.txt

where myconfig.txt contains the following text:

[DEFAULT]
pki_admin_password=Secret.123
pki_client_database_password=Secret.123
pki_client_pkcs12_password=Secret.123
pki_ds_password=Secret.123
pki_security_domain_password=Secret.123

To install a shared TPS in the same instance used by the CA execute the following command:

$ pkispawn -s TPS -f myconfig.txt

where myconfig.txt contains the following text:

[DEFAULT]
pki_admin_password=Secret.123
pki_client_database_password=Secret.123
pki_client_pkcs12_password=Secret.123
pki_ds_password=Secret.123
pki_security_domain_password=Secret.123
[TPS]
# Shared TPS instances optionally utilize their shared KRA
# for server-side keygen
pki_enable_server_side_keygen=True
pki_authdb_basedn=dc=example,dc=com

Note: For this particular example, the computed default values for a PKI instance name including its ports, URLs, machine names, etc. were utilized as defined in /usr/share/pki/server/etc/default.cfg. Each subsystem in this example will reside under the /var/lib/pki/pki-tomcat instance housed within their own ca, kra, ocsp, tks, and tps subdirectories, utilizing the same default port values of 8080 (http), 8443 (https), 8009 (ajp), 8005 (tomcat), using the same computed hostname and URL information, and sharing a single common PKI Administrator Certificate.

The pki_security_domain_password is the admin password of the CA installed in the same instance. This command should be run after a CA is installed. This installs another subsystem within the same instance using the certificate generated for the CA administrator for the subsystem's administrator. This allows a user to access both subsystems on the browser with a single administrator certificate. To access the new subsystem's functionality, simply point the browser to https://hostname:8443 and click the relevant top-level links.

To install TPS in a shared instance the following section must be added to myconfig.txt:

[TPS]
pki_authdb_basedn=dc=example,dc=com

TPS requires an authentication database. The pki_authdb_basedn specifies the base DN of the authentication database.

TPS also requires that a CA and a TKS subsystems are already installed in the same instance. Since they are in the same instance, a shared secret key will automatically be generated in TKS and imported into TPS.

Optionally, server-side key generation can be enabled in TPS by adding the following parameter in [TPS]:

pki_enable_server_side_keygen=True

Enabling server-side key generation requires that a KRA subsystem is already installed in the same instance.

Installing KRA, OCSP, TKS, or TPS in Separate Instance¶

For this example, assume that a new CA instance has been installed by executing the following command:

$ pkispawn -s CA -f myconfig.txt

where myconfig.txt contains the following text:

[DEFAULT]
pki_admin_password=Secret.123
pki_client_pkcs12_password=Secret.123
pki_ds_password=Secret.123
# Separated CA instance name and ports
pki_instance_name=pki-ca
pki_http_port=18080
pki_https_port=18443
# This Separated CA instance will be its own security domain
pki_security_domain_https_port=18443
[Tomcat]
# Separated CA Tomcat ports
pki_ajp_port=18009
pki_tomcat_server_port=18005

To install a separate KRA which connects to this remote CA execute the following command:

$ pkispawn -s KRA -f myconfig.txt

where myconfig.txt contains the following text:

[DEFAULT]
pki_admin_password=Secret.123
pki_client_database_password=Secret.123
pki_client_pkcs12_password=Secret.123
pki_ds_password=Secret.123
pki_security_domain_password=Secret.123
# Separated KRA instance name and ports
pki_instance_name=pki-kra
pki_http_port=28080
pki_https_port=28443
# Separated KRA instance security domain references
pki_issuing_ca=https://pki.example.com:18443
pki_security_domain_hostname=pki.example.com
pki_security_domain_https_port=18443
pki_security_domain_user=caadmin
[Tomcat]
# Separated KRA Tomcat ports
pki_ajp_port=28009
pki_tomcat_server_port=28005
[KRA]
# A Separated KRA instance requires its own
# PKI Administrator Certificate
pki_import_admin_cert=False

To install a separate OCSP which connects to this remote CA execute the following command:

$ pkispawn -s OCSP -f myconfig.txt

where myconfig.txt contains the following text:

[DEFAULT]
pki_admin_password=Secret.123
pki_client_database_password=Secret.123
pki_client_pkcs12_password=Secret.123
pki_ds_password=Secret.123
pki_security_domain_password=Secret.123
# Separated OCSP instance name and ports
pki_instance_name=pki-ocsp
pki_http_port=29080
pki_https_port=29443
# Separated OCSP instance security domain references
pki_issuing_ca=https://pki.example.com:18443
pki_security_domain_hostname=pki.example.com
pki_security_domain_https_port=18443
pki_security_domain_user=caadmin
[Tomcat]
# Separated OCSP Tomcat ports
pki_ajp_port=29009
pki_tomcat_server_port=29005
[OCSP]
# A Separated OCSP instance requires its own
# PKI Administrator Certificate
pki_import_admin_cert=False

To install a separate TKS which connects to this remote CA execute the following command:

$ pkispawn -s TKS -f myconfig.txt

where myconfig.txt contains the following text:

[DEFAULT]
pki_admin_password=Secret.123
pki_client_database_password=Secret.123
pki_client_pkcs12_password=Secret.123
pki_ds_password=Secret.123
pki_security_domain_password=Secret.123
# Separated TKS instance name and ports
pki_instance_name=pki-tks
pki_http_port=30080
pki_https_port=30443
# Separated TKS instance security domain references
pki_issuing_ca=https://pki.example.com:18443
pki_security_domain_hostname=pki.example.com
pki_security_domain_https_port=18443
pki_security_domain_user=caadmin
[Tomcat]
# Separated TKS Tomcat ports
pki_ajp_port=30009
pki_tomcat_server_port=30005
[TKS]
# A Separated TKS instance requires its own
# PKI Administrator Certificate
pki_import_admin_cert=False

To install a separate TPS which connects to this remote CA execute the following command:

$ pkispawn -s TPS -f myconfig.txt

where myconfig.txt contains the following text:

[DEFAULT]
pki_admin_password=Secret.123
pki_client_database_password=Secret.123
pki_client_pkcs12_password=Secret.123
pki_ds_password=Secret.123
pki_security_domain_password=Secret.123
# Separated TPS instance name and ports
pki_instance_name=pki-tps
pki_http_port=31080
pki_https_port=31443
# Separated TPS instance security domain references
pki_issuing_ca=https://pki.example.com:18443
pki_security_domain_hostname=pki.example.com
pki_security_domain_https_port=18443
pki_security_domain_user=caadmin
[Tomcat]
# Separated TPS Tomcat ports
pki_ajp_port=31009
pki_tomcat_server_port=31005
[TPS]
# Separated TPS instances require specifying a remote CA
pki_ca_uri=https://pki.example.com:18443
# Separated TPS instances optionally utilize a remote KRA
# for server-side keygen
pki_kra_uri=https://pki.example.com:28443
pki_enable_server_side_keygen=True
pki_authdb_basedn=dc=example,dc=com
# Separated TPS instances require specifying a remote TKS
pki_tks_uri=https://pki.example.com:30443
pki_import_shared_secret=True
# A Separated TPS instance requires its own
# PKI Administrator Certificate
pki_import_admin_cert=False

Note: For this particular example, besides passwords, sample values were also utilized for PKI instance names, ports, URLs, machine names, etc. Under no circumstances should these demonstrative values be construed to be required literal values.

A remote CA is one where the CA resides in another PKI server instance, either on the local machine or a remote machine. In this case, myconfig.txt must specify the connection information for the remote CA and the information about the security domain (the trusted collection of subsystems within an instance).

The subsystem section is [KRA], [OCSP], [TKS], or [TPS]. This example assumes that the specified CA hosts the security domain. The CA must be running and accessible.

A new administrator certificate is generated for the new subsystem and stored in a PKCS #12 file in $HOME/.dogtag/pki_instance_name.

As in a shared instance, to install TPS in a separate instance the authentication database must be specified in the [TPS] section, and optionally the server-side key generation can be enabled. If the CA, KRA, or TKS subsystems required by TPS are running on a remote instance the following parameters must be added into the [TPS] section to specify their locations:

pki_ca_uri=https://<ca_hostname>:<ca_https_port>
pki_kra_uri=https://<kra_hostname>:<kra_https_port>
pki_tks_uri=https://<tks_hostname>:<tks_https_port>

If TPS and TKS are installed on separate instances the shared secret key should be imported over the wire between the TKS and TPS automatically.

If the automated procedure fails for any unlikely reason the following manual procedure will serve as a fallback. The key needs to be created on the TKS side and imported into the TPS side in this case.

Generate the shared secret key (if needed) in TKS with the following command:

$ tkstool -T -d /var/lib/pki/pki-tomcat/alias -n sharedSecret

Verify the shared secret key in TKS with the following command:

$ tkstool -L -d /var/lib/pki/pki-tomcat/alias

Once TPS is installed, shutdown TPS instance, then import the shared secret key into TPS with the following command:

$ tkstool -I -d /var/lib/pki/pki-tomcat/alias -n sharedSecret

Verify the shared secret key in TPS with the following command:

$ tkstool -L -d /var/lib/pki/pki-tomcat/alias

The shared secret key nickname should be stored in the following property in the TPS's CS.cfg:

conn.tks1.tksSharedSymKeyName=sharedSecret

Finally, restart the TPS instance.

Installing CA, KRA, OCSP, TKS, or TPS using HSM¶

This section provides sample myconfig.txt files when a Hardware Security Module (HSM) is being utilized in a shared PKI instance.

For this example, assume that a new CA instance has been installed by executing the following command:

$ pkispawn -s CA -f myconfig.txt

where myconfig.txt contains the following text:

[DEFAULT]
pki_admin_password=Secret.123
pki_client_pkcs12_password=Secret.123
pki_ds_password=Secret.123
# Provide HSM parameters
pki_hsm_enable=True
pki_hsm_libfile=<hsm_libfile>
pki_hsm_modulename=<hsm_modulename>
pki_token_name=<hsm_token_name>
pki_token_password=<pki_token_password>
# Provide PKI-specific HSM token names
pki_audit_signing_token=<hsm_token_name>
pki_sslserver_token=<hsm_token_name>
pki_subsystem_token=<hsm_token_name>
[CA]
# Provide CA-specific HSM token names
pki_ca_signing_token=<hsm_token_name>
pki_ocsp_signing_token=<hsm_token_name>

To install a shared KRA in the same instance used by the CA execute the following command:

$ pkispawn -s KRA -f myconfig.txt

where myconfig.txt contains the following text:

[DEFAULT]
pki_admin_password=Secret.123
pki_client_database_password=Secret.123
pki_client_pkcs12_password=Secret.123
pki_ds_password=Secret.123
pki_security_domain_password=Secret.123
# Provide HSM parameters
pki_hsm_enable=True
pki_hsm_libfile=<hsm_libfile>
pki_hsm_modulename=<hsm_modulename>
pki_token_name=<hsm_token_name>
pki_token_password=<pki_token_password>
# Provide PKI-specific HSM token names
pki_audit_signing_token=<hsm_token_name>
pki_sslserver_token=<hsm_token_name>
pki_subsystem_token=<hsm_token_name>
[KRA]
# Provide KRA-specific HSM token names
pki_storage_token=<hsm_token_name>
pki_transport_token=<hsm_token_name>

To install a shared OCSP in the same instance used by the CA execute the following command:

$ pkispawn -s OCSP -f myconfig.txt

where myconfig.txt contains the following text:

[DEFAULT]
pki_admin_password=Secret.123
pki_client_database_password=Secret.123
pki_client_pkcs12_password=Secret.123
pki_ds_password=Secret.123
pki_security_domain_password=Secret.123
# Provide HSM parameters
pki_hsm_enable=True
pki_hsm_libfile=<hsm_libfile>
pki_hsm_modulename=<hsm_modulename>
pki_token_name=<hsm_token_name>
pki_token_password=<pki_token_password>
# Provide PKI-specific HSM token names
pki_audit_signing_token=<hsm_token_name>
pki_sslserver_token=<hsm_token_name>
pki_subsystem_token=<hsm_token_name>
[OCSP]
# Provide OCSP-specific HSM token names
pki_ocsp_signing_token=<hsm_token_name>

To install a shared TKS in the same instance used by the CA execute the following command:

$ pkispawn -s TKS -f myconfig.txt

where myconfig.txt contains the following text:

[DEFAULT]
pki_admin_password=Secret.123
pki_client_database_password=Secret.123
pki_client_pkcs12_password=Secret.123
pki_ds_password=Secret.123
pki_security_domain_password=Secret.123
# Provide HSM parameters
pki_hsm_enable=True
pki_hsm_libfile=<hsm_libfile>
pki_hsm_modulename=<hsm_modulename>
pki_token_name=<hsm_token_name>
pki_token_password=<pki_token_password>
# Provide PKI-specific HSM token names
pki_audit_signing_token=<hsm_token_name>
pki_sslserver_token=<hsm_token_name>
pki_subsystem_token=<hsm_token_name>

To install a shared TPS in the same instance used by the CA execute the following command:

$ pkispawn -s TPS -f myconfig.txt

where myconfig.txt contains the following text:

[DEFAULT]
pki_admin_password=Secret.123
pki_client_database_password=Secret.123
pki_client_pkcs12_password=Secret.123
pki_ds_password=Secret.123
pki_security_domain_password=Secret.123
# Provide HSM parameters
pki_hsm_enable=True
pki_hsm_libfile=<hsm_libfile>
pki_hsm_modulename=<hsm_modulename>
pki_token_name=<hsm_token_name>
pki_token_password=<pki_token_password>
# Provide PKI-specific HSM token names
pki_audit_signing_token=<hsm_token_name>
pki_sslserver_token=<hsm_token_name>
pki_subsystem_token=<hsm_token_name>
[TPS]
# Shared TPS instances optionally utilize their shared KRA
# for server-side keygen
pki_enable_server_side_keygen=True
pki_authdb_basedn=dc=example,dc=com

Important: Since HSM keys are stored in the HSM, they cannot be backed up, moved, or copied to a PKCS #12 file. For example, if pki_hsm_enable is set to True, pki_backup_keys should be set to False and pki_backup_password should be left unset (the default values in /usr/share/pki/server/etc/default.cfg). Similarly, for the case of clones using an HSM, this means that the HSM keys must be shared between the master and its clones. Therefore, if pki_hsm_enable is set to True, both pki_clone_pkcs12_path and pki_clone_pkcs12_password should be left unset (the default values in /usr/share/pki/server/etc/default.cfg). Failure to comply with these rules will result in pkispawn reporting an appropriate error and exiting.

Installing CA Clone¶

To install a CA clone execute the following command:

$ pkispawn -s CA -f myconfig.txt

where myconfig.txt contains the following text:

[DEFAULT]
pki_admin_password=Secret.123
pki_client_database_password=Secret.123
pki_client_pkcs12_password=Secret.123
pki_ds_password=Secret.123
pki_security_domain_password=Secret.123
pki_security_domain_hostname=<master_ca_hostname>
pki_security_domain_https_port=<master_ca_https_port>
pki_security_domain_user=caadmin
pki_security_domain_post_login_sleep_seconds=5
[Tomcat]
pki_clone=True
pki_clone_pkcs12_password=Secret.123
pki_clone_pkcs12_path=<path_to_pkcs12_file>
pki_clone_replicate_schema=True
pki_clone_uri=https://<master_ca_hostname>:<master_ca_https_port>

A cloned CA is a CA which uses the same signing, OCSP signing, and audit signing certificates as the master CA, but issues certificates within a different serial number range. It has its own internal database -- separate from the master CA database -- but using the same base DN, that keeps in sync with the master CA through replication agreements between the databases. This is very useful for load sharing and disaster recovery. To create a clone, the myconfig.txt uses pkiclone* parameters in its [Tomcat] section which identify the original CA to use as a master template. Additionally, it connects to the master CA as a remote CA and uses its security domain.

Before the clone can be generated, the Directory Server must be created that is separate from the master CA's Directory Server. The example assumes that the master CA and cloned CA are on different machines, and that their Directory Servers are on port 389.

In addition, since this example does not utilize an HSM, the master's system certs and keys have been stored in a PKCS #12 file that is copied over to the clone subsystem in the location specified in <path_to_pkcs12_file>. This file needs to be readable by the user the Certificate Server runs as (by default, pkiuser) and be given the SELinux context pki_tomcat_cert_t.

The master's system certificates can be exported to a PKCS#12 file when the master is installed if the parameter pki_backup_keys is set to True and the pki_backup_password is set. The PKCS#12 file is then found under /var/lib/pki/<instance_name>/alias. Alternatively, the PKCS#12 file can be generated at any time post-installation using PKCS12Export.

The pki_security_domain_post_login_sleep_seconds config specifies sleep duration after logging into a security domain, to allow the security domain session data to be replicated to subsystems on other hosts. It is optional and defaults to 5 seconds.

An example invocation showing the export of the system certificates and keys, copying the keys to the replica subsystem, and setting the relevant SELinux and file permissions is shown below. pwfile is a text file containing the password for the masters NSS DB (found in /etc/pki/instance_name/password.conf). pkcs12_password_file is a text file containing the password selected for the generated PKCS12 file.

master# PKCS12Export -d /etc/pki/pki-tomcat/alias -p pwfile \


        -w pkcs12_password_file -o backup_keys.p12
master# scp backup_keys.p12 clone:/backup_keys.p12
clone# chown pkiuser: /backup_keys.p12
clone# semanage -a -t pki_tomcat_cert_t /backup_keys.p12

Note: From Dogtag 10.3, a slightly different mechanism has been provided to create and specify the required PKCS#12 file to the clone subsystem. This new method is provided in addition to the method above, but will become the preferred method in future releases.

This method can be used if both master and clone are 10.3 or above.

To export the required keys from the master, use the pki-server command line tool.

master# pki-server ca-clone-prepare -i pki-tomcat \


        --pkcs12-file backup_keys.p12 \


        --pkcs12-password Secret123
master# scp backup_keys.p12 clone:/backup_keys.p12
master# scp /etc/pki/pki-tomcat/external_certs.conf \


         clone:/external_certs.conf

The external_certs.conf file contains information about third party certificates that were added to the master's certificate database using the pki-server command. The certificates themselves are stored in the backup_keys.p12 file. If there are no third-party certifcates that have been added, then the external_certs.conf file may not exist and should be ignored.

The two files (backup_keys.p12 and external_certs.conf) are specified to pkispawn as below.

[DEFAULT]
pki_admin_password=Secret.123
pki_client_database_password=Secret.123
pki_client_pkcs12_password=Secret.123
pki_ds_password=Secret.123
pki_security_domain_password=Secret.123
pki_security_domain_hostname=<master_ca_hostname>
pki_security_domain_https_port=<master_ca_https_port>
pki_security_domain_user=caadmin
[Tomcat]
pki_server_pkcs12_path=<path to pkcs12 file>
pki_server_pkcs12_password=Secret.123
pki_server_external_certs_path=<path to external_certs.conf file>
pki_clone=True
pki_clone_replicate_schema=True
pki_clone_uri=https://<master_ca_hostname>:<master_ca_https_port>

Note that the previous p12 parameters (pki_clonepkcs12*) are no longer needed, and will be ignored.

Note: One current cloning anomaly to mention is the following scenario:

Here the Director Server instance may have worked itself in into a state where it no longer accepts connections, aborting the clone configuration quickly.

The fix to this is to simply restart the Directory Server instance before creating the clone for the second time. After restarting the Directory Server it should be possible to create the mentioned clone instance.

Installing KRA or TKS Clone¶

To install a KRA or TKS (OCSP and TPS unsupported as of now) execute the following command:

$ pkispawn -s <subsystem> -f myconfig.txt

where subsystem is KRA or TKS and myconfig.txt contains the following text:

[DEFAULT]
pki_admin_password=Secret.123
pki_client_database_password=Secret.123
pki_client_pkcs12_password=Secret.123
pki_ds_password=Secret.123
pki_security_domain_password=Secret.123
pki_security_domain_hostname=<master_ca_hostname>
pki_security_domain_https_port=<master_ca_https_port>
pki_security_domain_user=caadmin
[Tomcat]
pki_clone=True
pki_clone_pkcs12_password=Secret.123
pki_clone_pkcs12_path=<path_to_pkcs12_file>
pki_clone_replicate_schema=True
pki_clone_uri=https://<master_subsystem_host>:<master_subsystem_https_port>
pki_issuing_ca=https://<ca_hostname>:<ca_https_port>

As with a CA clone, a KRA or TKS clone uses the same certificates and basic configuration as the original subsystem. The configuration points to the original subsystem to copy its configuration. This example also assumes that the CA is on a remote machine and specifies the CA and security domain information.

The parameter pki_clone_uri should be modified to point to the required master (KRA or TKS).

As of 10.3, a slightly different mechanism has been introduced to generate and specify the PKCS#12 file and any third-party certificates. See the Installing CA Clone section for details.

Installing CA Clone on the Same Host¶

For testing purposes, it is useful to configure cloned CAs which exist (with their internal databases) on the same host as the master CA. To configure the cloned CA execute the following command:

$ pkispawn -s CA -f myconfig.txt

where myconfig.txt contains the following text:

[DEFAULT]
pki_admin_password=Secret123
pki_client_database_password=Secret123
pki_client_pkcs12_password=Secret123
pki_ds_password=Secret123
pki_ds_ldap_port=<unique port different from master>
pki_ds_ldaps_port=<unique port different from master>
pki_http_port=<unique port different from master>
pki_https_port=<unique port different from master>
pki_instance_name=<unique name different from master>
pki_security_domain_hostname=<master_ca_hostname>
pki_security_domain_https_port=<master_ca_https_port>
pki_security_domain_password=Secret123
[Tomcat]
pki_ajp_port=<unique port different from master>
pki_clone=True
pki_clone_pkcs12_password=Secret123
pki_clone_pkcs12_path=<path_to_pkcs12_file>
pki_clone_uri=https://<master_ca_hostname>:<master_ca_https_port>
pki_tomcat_server_port=<unique port different from master>
[CA]
pki_ds_base_dn=<identical value as master>
pki_ds_database=<identical value as master>

In this case, because both CA Tomcat instances are on the same host, they must have distinct ports. Similarly, each CA must use a distinct directory server instance for its internal database. Like the Tomcat instances, these are distinguished by distinct ports. The suffix being replicated (pki_ds_base), however, must be the same for both master and clone.

Installing Subordinate CA in Existing Security Domain¶

To install a subordinate CA in an existing security domain execute the following command:

$ pkispawn -s CA -f myconfig.txt

where myconfig.txt contains the following text:

[DEFAULT]
pki_admin_password=Secret.123
pki_client_database_password=Secret.123
pki_client_pkcs12_password=Secret.123
pki_ds_password=Secret.123
pki_security_domain_password=Secret.123
pki_security_domain_hostname=<security_domain_ca_hostname>
pki_security_domain_https_port=<security_domain_ca_https_port>
pki_security_domain_user=caadmin
[CA]
pki_subordinate=True
pki_issuing_ca=https://<master_ca_hostname>:<master_ca_https_port>
pki_ca_signing_subject_dn=cn=CA Subordinate Signing,o=example.com

A sub-CA derives its certificate configuration -- such as allowed extensions and validity periods -- from a superior or root CA. Otherwise, the configuration of the CA is independent of the root CA, so it is its own instance rather than a clone. A sub-CA is configured using the pki_subordinate parameter and a pointer to the CA which issues the sub-CA's certificates.

Note: The value of pki_ca_signing_subject_dn of a subordinate CA should be different from the root CA's signing subject DN.

Installing Subordinate CA in New Security Domain¶

To install a subordinate CA in a new security domain execute the following command:

$ pkispawn -s CA -f myconfig.txt

where myconfig.txt contains the following text:

[DEFAULT]
pki_admin_password=Secret.123
pki_client_database_password=Secret.123
pki_client_pkcs12_password=Secret.123
pki_ds_password=Secret.123
pki_security_domain_password=Secret.123
pki_security_domain_hostname=<master CA security domain hostname>
pki_security_domain_https_port=<master CA security domain https port>
pki_security_domain_user=caadmin
[CA]
pki_subordinate=True
pki_issuing_ca=https://<master_ca_hostname>:<master_ca_https_port>
pki_ca_signing_subject_dn=cn=CA Subordinate Signing,o=example.com
pki_subordinate_create_new_security_domain=True
pki_subordinate_security_domain_name=Subordinate CA Security Domain

In this section, the subordinate CA logs onto and registers with the security domain CA (using parameters pki_security_domain_hostname, pki_security_domain_user and pki_security_domain_password) as in the previous section, but also creates and hosts a new security domain. To do this, pki_subordinate_create_new_security_domain must be set to True. The subordinate CA security domain name can also be specified by specifying a value for pki_subordinate_security_domain_name.

Note: The value of pki_ca_signing_subject_dn of a subordinate CA should be different from the root CA's signing subject DN.

Installing Externally-Signed CA¶

To install an externally signed CA execute the following command:

$ pkispawn -s CA -f myconfig.txt

This is a two-step process.

In the first step, a certificate signing request (CSR) is generated for the signing certificate and myconfig.txt contains the following text:

[DEFAULT]
pki_admin_password=Secret.123
pki_client_database_password=Secret.123
pki_client_pkcs12_password=Secret.123
pki_ds_password=Secret.123
pki_security_domain_password=Secret.123
[CA]
pki_external=True
pki_ca_signing_csr_path=/tmp/ca_signing.csr
pki_ca_signing_subject_dn=cn=CA Signing,ou=External,o=example.com

The CSR is written to pki_ca_signing_csr_path. The pki_ca_signing_subject_dn should be different from the subject DN of the external CA that is signing the request. The pki_ca_signing_subject_dn parameter can be used to specify the signing certificate's subject DN.

The CSR is then submitted to the external CA, and the resulting certificate and certificate chain are saved to files on the system.

In the second step, the configuration file has been modified to install the issued certificates. In place of the original CSR, the configuration file now points to the issued CA certificate and certificate chain. There is also a flag to indicate that this completes the installation process (pki_external_step_two).

[DEFAULT]
pki_admin_password=Secret.123
pki_client_database_password=Secret.123
pki_client_pkcs12_password=Secret.123
pki_ds_password=Secret.123
pki_security_domain_password=Secret.123
[CA]
pki_external=True
pki_external_step_two=True
pki_cert_chain_path=/tmp/ca_cert_chain.cert
pki_ca_signing_cert_path=/tmp/ca_signing.cert
pki_ca_signing_subject_dn=cn=CA Signing Certificate,ou=External,o=example.com

Then, the pkispawn command is run again:

$ pkispawn -s CA -f myconfig.txt

Installing PKI Subsystem with Secure LDAP Connection¶

There are three scenarios in which a PKI subsystem (e.g. a CA) needs to communicate securely via LDAPS with a directory server:

Scenario 1: A directory server exists which is already running LDAPS using a CA certificate that has been issued by some other CA. For this scenario, the CA certificate must be made available via a PEM file (e.g. $HOME/dscacert.pem) prior to running pkispawn such that the new CA may be installed and configured to communicate with this directory server using LDAPS.

Scenario 2: A directory server exists which is currently running LDAP. Once a CA has been created, there is a desire to use its CA certificate to issue an SSL certificate for this directory server so that this CA and this directory server can communicate via LDAPS. For this scenario, since there is no need to communicate securely during the pkispawn installation/configuration, simply use pkispawn to install and configure the CA using the LDAP port of the directory server, issue an SSL certificate from this CA for the directory server, and then reconfigure the CA and directory server to communicate with each other via LDAPS.

Scenario 3: Similar to the previous scenario, a directory server exists which is currently running LDAP, and the desire is to create a CA and use it to establish LDAPS communications between this CA and this directory server. However, for this scenario, there is a need for the CA and the directory server to communicate securely during pkispawn installation and configuration. For this to succeed, the directory server must generate a temporary self-signed certificate which then must be made available via a PEM file (e.g. $HOME/dscacert.pem) prior to running pkispawn. Once the CA has been created, swap things out to reconfigure the CA and directory server to utilize LDAPS through the desired certificates.

Set up a Directory Server instance with a self-signed CA certificate (see dscreate(8)), then export the certificate into a PEM file

Once the self-signed CA certificate is obtained, add the following parameters into the [DEFAULT] section in myconfig.txt:

pki_ds_secure_connection=True
pki_ds_secure_connection_ca_pem_file=$HOME/dscacert.pem

Then execute pkispawn to create the CA subsystem.

Managing PKI instance¶

To start a PKI instance named <pki_instance_name>:

$ systemctl start pki-tomcatd@<pki_instance_name>.service

To stop a PKI instance named <pki_instance_name>:

$ systemctl stop pki-tomcatd@<pki_instance_name>.service

To restart a PKI instance named <pki_instance_name>:

$ systemctl restart pki-tomcatd@<pki_instance_name>.service

To obtain the status of a PKI instance named <pki_instance_name>:

$ systemctl status pki-tomcatd@<pki_instance_name>.service

To obtain a detailed status of a Tomcat PKI instance named <pki_instance_name>:

$ pki-server status <pki_instance_name>

To list all available PKI instances installed on a system:

$ pki-server instance-find