AIX Systems: Using SSL With Agent for Apache HTTP Server (Sun Java System Access Manager Policy Agent 2.2 Guide for Apache HTTP Server 2.0.54)

Sun Java System Access Manager Policy Agent 2.2 Guide for Apache HTTP Server 2.0.54

AIX Systems: Using SSL With Agent for Apache HTTP Server

During installation, if you choose the HTTPS protocol, Agent for Apache HTTP Server is automatically configured and ready to communicate over Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). Before proceeding with tasks in this section, ensure that the Apache HTTP Server instance is configured for SSL.

Caution –

You should have a solid understanding of SSL concepts and the security certificates required to enable communication over the HTTPS protocol. See the documentation for Apache HTTP Server.

Default Trust Behavior of Agent for Apache HTTP Server on AIX Systems

This section only applies when Access Manager itself is running SSL. By default, the web agent installed on a remote Apache HTTP Server instance trusts any server certificate presented over SSL by the Access Manager host. The web agent does not check the root Certificate Authority (CA) certificate. If the Access Manager host is SSL-enabled and you want the agent to perform certificate checking, adhere to the guidelines as described in the following subsections:

Disabling the Default Trust Behavior of Agent for Apache HTTP Server on AIX Systems

The following property in the web agent AMAgent.properties configuration file controls the agent’s trust behavior, and by default it is set to true:

com.sun.am.trust_server_certs

With this property set to true, the web agent does not perform certificate checking. On AIX systems, setting this property to false is one of the steps involved in enabling the web agent to perform certificate checking as illustrated in the following task.

To Disable the Default Trust Behavior of Agent for Apache HTTP Server on AIX Systems

Set the following property in the web agent AMAgent.properties configuration file to false as follows:
```
com.sun.am.trust_server_certs = false
```

Set the directory Cert DB in the web agent AMAgent.properties configuration file as shown in the following example:
com.sun.am.sslcert.dir = Apache-base/conf/cert
where Apache-base represents the directory where Apache HTTP Server was installed.

Set the Cert DB Prefix, if required.

In cases where the specified Cert DB directory has multiple certificate databases, the following property must be set to the prefix of the certificate database to be used:

com.sun.am.certdb.prefix

Set the property as follows:
com.sun.am.certdb.prefix = https-host.domain.com.host-

Installing the Access Manager Root CA Certificate for a Remote Apache HTTP Server Instance on AIX Systems

The root CA certificate that you install on the remote instance of Apache HTTP Server must be the same certificate that is installed on the Access Manager host.

To Install the Access Manager Root CA Certificate on Apache HTTP Server on AIX Systems

The following steps outline a method for installing Access Manager Root CA Certificate on the Apache HTTP Server server. However, see the documentation for the Apache HTTP Server server for more information about installing certificates.

Change directories to the location of the Apache HTTP Server configuration file.

The following example is applicable for changing directories using the C shell when the Apache HTTP Server configuration file is in the default location of Apache-base /conf/:
# Apache-base/conf/
where Apache-base represents the directory where Apache HTTP Server was installed.

Change to the cert directory.

This cert directory is created by the agent installer.

Set the proper environment by issuing a command such as the following (using the tcsh shell, for example):
# setenv LIBPATH PolicyAgent-base/agents/apache/lib:$LIBPATH

(Conditional) If you have not already created the necessary certificate database, create that database now by issuing the following command:
# PolicyAgent-base/agents/bin/certutil -N -d .

Install root CA certificate by issuing the following command:
# PolicyAgent-base/agents/bin/certutil -A -n cert-name -t "C,C,C" -d cert-dir -i cert-file
cert-name

The name for this root CA certificate

cert-dir

The directory where the certificate and key stores are located

cert-file

The base-64 encoded root CA certificate file.

For example, if the Root CA certificate of the Access Manager host is present in the current directory, which is Apache-base/conf/cert, and if the name of this certificate file is root_ca.crt, then execute the following command:
/usr/local/apg/agents/bin/certutil -A -n am_root_ca_cert -t "C,C,C" -d . -i root_ca.crt
For this example, PolicyAgent-base is /usr/local/apg.

For more information on the cetrutil utility enter cetrutil -H for Help.

To verify that the certificate is properly installed, in the command line, issue the following command:

# PolicyAgent-base/agents/bin/certutil -L -d .

The root CA certificate is then listed in the output of the certutil -L command as illustrated in the following code example:

Certificate Name                             Trust Attrubutes


                     cert-name                                      C,C,C

p    Valid peer
P    Trusted peer (implies c)
c    Valid CA
T    Trusted CA to issue client certs (implies c)
C    Trusted CA to certs(only server certs for ssl) (implies c)
u    User cert
w    Send warning

Restart Apache HTTP Server.