- SSL configuration using PEM certificates file
- SSL configuration using Java keystore (deprecated)
- Self-signed certificates generation
- Client Examples
ThingsBoard provides the ability to run HTTP server that process API calls from devices over SSL. This guide is effectively the copy of Enable HTTPS guide.
Most of the ThingsBoard environments use the load balancer as a termination point for the SSL connection between the device and the platform. In other words, internet traffic is encrypted between the device and the load balancer, but is decrypted between the load balancer and platform services. The advantage of such options is a simple configuration. Most of the cloud load balancers (AWS, Google cloud, etc) have built-in certificate generation tools and rich documentation how to configure SSL.
Nevertheless, it is possible to configure ThingsBoard to enable SSL and avoid SSL termination on the Load Balancer. We recommend to use valid SSL certificates generated using trusted CA authorities and avoid spending time on resolving issues with self-signed certificates. See instructions below on how to configure SSL for certificates stored in PEM file format or Java Keystore.
SSL configuration using PEM certificates file
支持TB版本3.3.2 |
Configure the following environment variables via configuration file, docker-compose or kubernetes scripts. We will use thingsboard.conf for example:
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...
export SSL_ENABLED=true
export SSL_CREDENTIALS_TYPE=PEM
export SSL_PEM_CERT=server.pem
export SSL_PEM_KEY=server_key.pem
export SSL_PEM_KEY_PASSWORD=secret
...
where:
- SSL_ENABLED - Enable/disable SSL support;
- SSL_CREDENTIALS_TYPE - Server credentials type. PEM - pem certificate file; KEYSTORE - java keystore;
- SSL_PEM_CERT - Path to the server certificate file. Holds server certificate or certificate chain, may also include server private key;
- SSL_PEM_KEY - Path to the server certificate private key file. Optional by default. Required if the private key is not present in server certificate file;
- SSL_PEM_KEY_PASSWORD - Optional server certificate private key password.
After completing the setup, start or restart the ThingsBoard server.
SSL configuration using Java keystore (deprecated)
Configure the following environment variables via configuration file, docker-compose or kubernetes scripts. We will use thingsboard.conf for example:
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...
export SSL_ENABLED=true
export SSL_CREDENTIALS_TYPE=KEYSTORE
export SSL_KEY_STORE_TYPE=PKCS12
export SSL_KEY_STORE=keystore.p12
export SSL_KEY_STORE_PASSWORD=thingsboard
export SSL_KEY_ALIAS=server
export SSL_KEY_PASSWORD=thingsboard
...
where:
- SSL_ENABLED - Enable/disable SSL support;
- SSL_CREDENTIALS_TYPE - Server credentials type. PEM - pem certificate file; KEYSTORE - java keystore;
- SSL_KEY_STORE_TYPE - Type of the key store supported by your Java distribution. PKCS12 is recommended.
- SSL_KEY_STORE - Path to the key store that holds the SSL certificate. Holds server certificate or certificate chain and the private key;
- SSL_KEY_STORE_PASSWORD - Password to access the key store;
- SSL_KEY_ALIAS - Optional alias of the private key; If not set, the platform will load the first private key from the keystore;
- SSL_KEY_PASSWORD - Optional password to access the private key. If not set, the platform will attempt to load the private keys that are not protected with the password;
After completing the setup, start or restart the ThingsBoard server.
Self-signed certificates generation
Use instructions below to generate your own certificate files. Useful for tests, but time consuming and not recommended for production.
PEM certificate file
Note This step requires Linux based OS with openssl installed.
To generate a server self-signed PEM certificate and private key, use the following command:
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openssl ecparam -out server_key.pem -name secp256r1 -genkey
openssl req -new -key server_key.pem -x509 -nodes -days 365 -out server.pem
You can also add -nodes (short for no DES) if you don’t want to protect your private key with a passphrase. Otherwise, it will prompt you for “at least a 4 character” password.
The days parameter (365) you can replace with any number to affect the expiration date. It will then prompt you for things like “Country Name”, but you can just hit Enter and accept the defaults.
Add -subj ‘/CN=localhost’ to suppress questions about the contents of the certificate (replace localhost with your desired domain).
Self-signed certificates are not validated with any third party unless you import them to the browsers previously. If you need more security, you should use a certificate signed by a certificate authority (CA).
Java keystore
Note This step requires Linux based OS with Java installed.
Download server.keygen.sh from the official ThingsBoard repository to your working directory.
Download keygen.properties file to your working directory and populate it with desired values. For example:
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DOMAIN_SUFFIX="$(hostname)"
SUBJECT_ALTERNATIVE_NAMES="ip:127.0.0.1"
ORGANIZATIONAL_UNIT=ThingsBoard
ORGANIZATION=ThingsBoard
CITY="San Francisco"
STATE_OR_PROVINCE=CA
TWO_LETTER_COUNTRY_CODE=US
SERVER_KEYSTORE_PASSWORD=password
SERVER_KEY_PASSWORD=password
SERVER_KEY_ALIAS="serveralias"
SERVER_FILE_PREFIX="server"
SERVER_KEY_ALG="EC"
SERVER_KEY_GROUP_NAME="secp256r1"
SERVER_KEYSTORE_DIR="/etc/thingsboard/conf"
where
- DOMAIN_SUFFIX - Corresponds to CN value of the certificate. Must correspond to the target server domain (wildcards are allowed). Defaults to the current hostname
- ORGANIZATIONAL_UNIT - Corresponds to OU value of the certificate.
- ORGANIZATION - Corresponds to O value of the certificate.
- CITY - Corresponds to L value of the certificate.
- STATE_OR_PROVINCE - Corresponds to ST value of the certificate.
- TWO_LETTER_COUNTRY_CODE - Corresponds to C value of the certificate.
- SERVER_KEYSTORE_PASSWORD - Server Keystore password
- SERVER_KEY_PASSWORD - Server Key password. May or may not be the same as SERVER_KEYSTORE_PASSWORD
- SERVER_KEY_ALIAS - Server key alias. Must be unique within the keystore
- SERVER_FILE_PREFIX - Prefix to all server keygen-related output files
- SERVER_KEYSTORE_DIR - The default location where the key would be optionally copied. Can be overriden by -d option in server.keygen.sh script or entered manually upon the scrip run
The rest of the values are not important for the server keystore generation
To run the server keystore generation, use following commands.
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chmod +x server.keygen.sh
sudo ./server.keygen.sh
You may run this script with no arguments, or alternatively, you can specify the following optional arguments:
- -c | –copy - Specifies if the keystore should be copied to the server directory. Defaults to true
- -d | –dir - Server keystore directory, where the generated SERVER_FILE_PREFIX.jks keystore file will be copied. If specified, overrides the value from the properties file
- -p | –props | –properties - Specifies the relative path to the properties file. Defaults to ./keygen.properties
This script will run keytool using the configuration specified. It will generate the following output files:
- SERVER_FILE_PREFIX.jks - Java keystore file. This is the file which will be used by ThingsBoard MQTT Service
- SERVER_FILE_PREFIX.cer - Server public key file. It will be then imported to client’s .jks keystore file.
- SERVER_FILE_PREFIX.pub.pem - Server public key in PEM format, which can be then used as a keystore or imported by non-Java clients.
Client Examples
See Access Token based authentication for example of one-way SSL connection.