Automated Deployment of Multiple Certificate Files Across Multiple Servers
What are SSL Certificates?
x.509 certificates, also called SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) / TLS (Transport Layer Security) certificates provide a specific method of encryption. They ensure that data flowing between the user’s computer and a website stays secure and unreadable to malicious intruders like hackers and identity thieves. This is achieved by encrypting the data in a way that only the two participants of the transaction can decrypt it.
SSL certificates, as an entity, consist of information like domain name, server name, company name & location, and so on, which are bound together into the identity of the certificate.
Benefits of SSL Certificates:
● Promotes data security by keeping information flows encrypted
● Builds digital trust and shows that you care about your visitors’ data safety
● HTTPS-protected websites might experience a ranking boost on search engines (compared to non-HTTPS websites), thereby enhancing SEO.
The Traditional certificate push-to-server process:
Deploying a certificate is a multi-step process. First, the user generates a CSR (Certificate Signing Request) and submits it to the CA (Certificate Authority). The CA then reviews the CSR and provides the certificate to the user. Next, the user copies this certificate into the location of the server and makes the necessary changes to the server config file. After all the changes have been made, the user restarts the servers and the certificate is securely deployed on it.
When this process has to be repeated multiple times to deploy certificates onto various servers, it becomes tedious and time-consuming, and also exposes itself to the risk of manual configuration errors.
Certificate Deployment using AppViewX:
AppViewX can greatly simplify the deployment process. AppViewX has a Certificate Management Module that allows the user to monitor and manage all certificates installed within an organization. AppViewX can also generate a CSR, submit it to a CA, and get it approved by the CA. All this is fully automated and programmable. Using AppViewX, SSL Certificates can also be pushed to servers with a single click. AppViewX enables users to keep track of certificates that are pushed to a specified location, which allows them to ascertain whether the server is currently secure or not.
Use-Case with AppViewX:
Pushing a cert/key to a server is simple via SCP/ftp. For large scale pushes in enterprises however, this process is understandably quite drawn out. At AppViewX, we decided to simplify the process for our users. We came up with an automation workflow that could push multiple certificates to multiple locations on multiple servers, with just the click of a button. Think about it — with AppViewX, you don’t need to make a multitude of connections to multiple servers and multiple paths anymore.
Prerequisite Settings:
● Servers should be in ‘Managed’ state in the AppViewX Inventory.
● If an external certificate is to be uploaded, the user should check if it is already in the AppViewX Inventory.
Process Flow:
Solution Overview:
Once the user triggers the workflow in AppViewX, a user input form will be displayed where the user has to enter the following details:
The user will then be able to do the following operations, in this order:
● Upload a certificate/key to the AppViewX Inventory.
● Select a certificate/key which is already in the AppViewX Inventory.
● Specify the location (path) in the server where the certificates are to be pushed.
This particular use-case demonstrates how users can successfully deploy multiple certificates to several locations on multiple servers without having to manually configure every push. AppViewX’s automation engine makes this functionality easy to access and simple to configure and execute.
To see how we can help you set this up within your organization, contact us for a quick demo. Watch this space for more nifty hacks and tips on certificate lifecycle management.
