Configure via SignServer Cloud Configuration Wizard in Azure

The following covers how to configure using the SignServer Cloud configuration wizard.

If you are using the 1.x version of SignServer Enterprise Cloud, proceed to the next step Log in to SignServer Enterprise Cloud 1.X on AWS to retrieve the superadmin certificate from your instance.

Step 1: Host Settings

In the first step, you enter the host settings for the instance.

1. The host name is automatically detected but can be changed. The host name must match the name of the host or DNS name that will be entered into a browser when accessing the Administration Interface of this SignServer installation.
2. Using a Subject Alternative Name (SAN) with this host can be done so that a public URL can be used to access SignServer. For example, if you would like to use https://pki.company.com/ to access a cluster of hosts, you can enter that DNS name into the wizard to be added as a SAN in the instance's TLS certificate. To use this feature, select the option to specify a Valid domain name. Note that the wizard will not verify that the domain name is a valid domain, but will confirm that the syntax is a recognized domain format.
3. Click Next to continue to the database configuration.

Host Settings Fields

The following lists available fields.

Step 2: Database Configuration

The Database Configuration settings are optional. By default, a MariaDB server will be installed locally and you can optionally specify to use an external database using either MariaDB/MySQL, PostgreSQL or Oracle Database.

Select to use a new installation or to join a node to an existing SignServer database, provided you already have a database with an existing SignServer installation. 

2a: New Installation

1. To use a cloud hosted database such as Azure Database for MySQL, select the option to use an external database and enter the database information including Access URL, username, password and database name. The Azure Database engine can be MariaDB, PostgreSQL or Oracle Database.  Azure configures TLS on all deployed databases automatically.
   In order for this feature to work, you must have configured a valid Azure database instance. For more information, refer to the Azure documentation on Create an Azure Database Instance.
2. Click the database Test button to ensure success. Note that you are not allowed to continue with a cloud database installation unless the test passes successfully. This should be a fresh Azure Datavase instance with no existing SignServer database. If the database exists already and the Existing SignServer Database option is cleared, the wizard will give the error Database exists!. If this database was created ahead of time, it can be dropped since the database is created automatically by the wizard.
   If the Azure Database instance is unavailable for any reason, the installation will fall back to a local installation to ensure success. The only way to recover from this is to export the database, import it into Azure Database, and reconfigure the node to point to a cloud database. It is recommended to fix the database connectivity problem and launch a new node from the Marketplace. Please see the latest SIgnServer Cloud Documentation for more information. The most common problem connecting to a cloud database is security group configuration. Ensure that the SignServer Cloud instance is allowed to talk to the Azure Database instance.
3. Once the database connection is successful, the Success message is shown.
4. Click Next to continue to Step 3: ManagementCA Configuration.

2b: Cluster Join

To join a node to an existing SignServer database, provided you already have a database with an existing SignServer installation:

1. Select Existing SignServer Database (cluster join)? to join this node to an existing SignServer installation.

   

   Cluster Join Note

   If you are running a version of SignServer older than 6.0 there are steps needed to migrate your older Liquidsec public keys to CloudHSM. For more information, please see the CloudHSM Integration Guide section regarding CloudHSM Liquidsec Key Conversion.

2. Click Test to ensure success. The wizard will check the connection to the Azure Database and check for the existence of the database provided in the database name field. If the wizard cannot find this database, the test will fail and not allow you to proceed.

3. When Existing SignServer Database (cluster join)? is enabled, all other options in the wizard are disabled and you can continue to Step 5: Review and Submit.

Database Configuration Fields

The following lists available fields.

Step 3: ManagementCA Configuration

The Management CA can either be created during the installation or imported from an existing Management CA.

Create a new ManagementCA

SignServer will create a Management CA based on attributes of the system to guarantee uniqueness. You can optionally import an existing ManagementCA to the instance and have certificates from that CA be allowed access to this installation, see Use Existing (Import) ManagementCA.

Note that the only required field when creating a new Management CA is the Superadmin password. For all available fields, see ManagementCA Configuration Fields below.

ManagementCA Configuration Fields

The following lists available fields. Note that the only required field on this page is the Superadmin password.

Use Existing (Import) ManagementCA

You can optionally import an existing ManagementCA to the instance and have certificates from that CA be allowed access to this installation.

When importing an external ManagementCA, a role will be added for the supplied, case sensitive, Common Name (CN) provided. For example, if you supply "jsmith" as the username to be added, you must have a keystore issued to "jsmith" from the CA whose public certificate you are providing. The most common use case is an existing ManagementCA from another SignServer installation and a SuperAdmin certificate to match.

You must have a keypair generated with the Common Name supplied from the CAs public certificate you are uploading to this instance when choosing Import CA.

To use an existing Management CA with this instance, do the following:

1. Select Use existing ManagementCA.
2. Click Browse and select the public portion of the superadmin certificate from the existing Certificate Authority.
3. Enter the Admin's Issuer Public Cert for the user for which you have a keystore from this CA.
4. Click Next to continue to the Review and Submit page to review a summary of all settings.

For help getting the public portion of a superadmin and superadmins issuers certificate, use a tool like Keystore Explorer.  Keystore explorer can easily extract these artifacts. Follow these steps:

Install and open Keystore Explorer.  Pick "Open an existing Keystore" and select your superadmin.p12 (or other SignServer administrator keystore).

Enter the password for the keystore to access its contents:

Once you are into the keystore, double click on it to access its contents.  You should then see the CA it came from and the certificate itself nested underneath it:

Click the administrator portion of the certificate (in this case SuperAdmin) and select Export. This will bring up a dialog to save the certificate.  Save it to your local computer.  This will be the Public Admin Cert for the SignServer Cloud Wizard:

Click the Issuer of that keystore (in this case ManagementCA) and again, select Export. This will be the Admins Issuer Public Cert for the SignServer Cloud Wizard:

Add these to the Signserver Cloud Wizard:

Step 4: Azure Key Vault Configuration

The Azure Key Vault Configuration settings are not relevant if you have selected to Use Existing ManagementCA since this means that no CA keys will be created.

The Azure Key Vault Configuration settings are optional. EJBCA will create keys for the ManagementCA in the database by default. Azure Key Vault key generation can be configured now so that the initial ManagementCAs keys are stored and created in Azure Key Vault. If you would like to have those keys created in Azure Key Vault, you can enter the credentials for your vault here.

• You must have completed the Azure Key Vault setup for this feature to work. Using the instructions in the Azure Key Vault Integration Guide, complete through vault creation and have your Application User password, Client ID and Vault name.
• You also must have applied the Firewalls and Virtual Network settings that allow the EJBCA Cloud instance communication to the configured Azure Key Vault.

Testing connectivity to the Azure Key Vault before the installation is not possible. Therefore, if the EJBCA installation fails to connect to the Azure Key Vault with the credentials provided for any reason, the setup will fall back to a soft key pair generation so the EJBCA installation itself does not fail. There may be more details in the log file /var/log/install.log on the EJBCA host as to why installation with Azure Key Vault failed if it does.

To set up your own HSM later, skip this step and click Next to continue to the Review and Submit page to review a summary of all settings.

Azure Key Vault Configuration Fields

The following lists available fields.

Step 5: Review and Submit

The Review and Submit page provides a summary of all the settings. 

Once you have reviewed the settings, click Submit. 

If for any reason you need to go back, click Previous and make changes accordingly.

Once you click Submit a timer will begin. At this point, your instance configuration with your chosen settings is starting. The page will automatically refresh and you can proceed to the next section.