Network Protocols

The N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 supports a variety of network protocols for communication among the software applications. You select the protocol to apply to each of the following types of network communication:

• Communication between the Master Server and Local Distributors or Remote Agents

• Communication between a particular Local Distributor and Remote Agents

• Communication between the Master Server and a CLI Client

The N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 supports the following protocols:

• Raw TCP/IP

• Secure Shell

• Secure Sockets Layer

You can tailor your network security to meet the needs of your particular network topology. For example, the communication within each of your data centers is secure, but your network connection to a remote data center passes through the public Internet. You might configure the Master Server to use SSL when communicating with a Local Distributor that is installed inside the firewall of the remote data center. Consequently, the communication over the Internet to the remote data center is secure. The Local Distributor might use raw TCP/IP to communicate with the Remote Agents because the communication over the local network is secure. For more information about the different protocols and about configuring the protocols, read Chapter 6, Configuring the N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 to Use Secure Shell and Chapter 7, Configuring the N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 for SSL.

Raw TCP/IP

Raw TCP/IP is standard TCP/IP without additional encryption or authentication. The advantage of raw TCP/IP is that it requires no additional set-up and configuration. If your data center network is protected by a firewall and secured from intrusion, using raw TCP/IP provides a convenient method for communication among N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 applications.

Secure Shell

Secure Shell (SSH) is a UNIX command suite and protocol for securely accessing a remote computer. SSH secures network client/server communications by authenticating both endpoints with a digital certificate and by encrypting passwords. SSH uses RSA public key cryptography to manage connections and authentication. SSH is more secure than telnet or other shell-based communication methods.

You can configure the N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 applications to communicate using SSH. The N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 supports OpenSSH which is a free version of SSH that has been primarily developed by the OpenBSD Project. For more details about OpenSSH, see http://www.openssh.com. The software can be configured to support other versions of SSH as well.

Secure Sockets Layer

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) is a protocol for securing communication over IP networks. SSL uses TCP/IP sockets technology to exchange messages between a client and a server while protecting the message with a public-and-private key encryption system developed by RSA. Support for SSL is included in most web server products, as well as in the Netscape Navigator^TM browser and Microsoft web browsers.

You can configure the N1 Grid Service Provisioning System 5.0 applications to use SSL for network communications to help prevent the software messages from being read or altered. Optionally, the applications can be configured to use SSL to authenticate each other before communicating, thereby increasing network security.