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The following sections show how to set up the most commonly-used Java Servlet containers to support HTTP over SSL.

Enabling the HTTPS support in Tomcat

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7.0

Loosely based on http://tomcat.apache.org/tomcat-7.0-doc/ssl-howto.html.

1. For Production use: Follow this procedure to set up SSL on your server. Using a "real" server certificate ensures your users' browsers will accept it without complaints. In the examples below, $CATALINA_BASEis the directory under which your Tomcat is installed.

   1. Create a Java keystore for your server with the password changeit, and install your server certificate under the alias "tomcat". This assumes the certificate was put in the file server.pem:

      Code Block
      $JAVA_HOME/bin/keytool -import -noprompt -v -storepass changeit -keystore $CATALINA_BASE/conf/keystore -alias tomcat -file myserver.pem

   2. Install the CA (Certifying Authority) certificate for the CA that granted your server cert, if necessary. This assumes the server CA certificate is in ca.pem:

      Code Block
      $JAVA_HOME/bin/keytool -import -noprompt -storepass changeit -trustcacerts -keystore $CATALINA_BASE/conf/keystore -alias ServerCA -file ca.pem

   3. Optional – ONLY if you need to accept client certificates for the X.509 certificate stackable authentication module See the configuration section for instructions on enabling the X.509 authentication method. Load the keystore with the CA (certifying authority) certificates for the authorities of any clients whose certificates you wish to accept. For example, assuming the client CA certificate is in client1.pem:

      Code Block
      $JAVA_HOME/bin/keytool -import -noprompt -storepass changeit -trustcacerts -keystore $CATALINA_BASE/conf/keystore -alias client1 -file client1.pem

   4. Now add another Connector tag to your server.xmlTomcat configuration file, like the example below. The parts affecting or specific to SSL are shown in bold. (You may wish to change some details such as the port, pathnames, and keystore password)

      Code Block
      language html/xml
      <Connector port="8443" maxThreads="150" minSpareThreads="25" maxSpareThreads="75" enableLookups="false" disableUploadTimeout="true" acceptCount="100" debug="0" scheme="https" secure="true" sslProtocol="TLS" keystoreFile="conf/keystore" keystorePass="changeit" clientAuth="true" - ONLY if using client X.509 certs for authentication! truststoreFile="conf/keystore" trustedstorePass="changeit" />

      Also, check that the default Connector is set up to redirect "secure" requests to the same port as your SSL connector, e.g.:

      Code Block
      language html/xml
      <Connector port="8080" maxThreads="150" minSpareThreads="25" maxSpareThreads="75" enableLookups="false" redirectPort="8443" acceptCount="100" debug="0" />

2. Quick-and-dirty Procedure for Testing: If you are just setting up a DSpace server for testing, or to experiment with HTTPS, then you don't need to get a real server certificate. You can create a "self-signed" certificate for testing; web browsers will issue warnings before accepting it but they will function exactly the same after that as with a "real" certificate. In the examples below, $CATALINA_BASEis the directory under which your Tomcat is installed.
   1. Optional – ONLY if you don't already have a server certificate. Follow this sub-procedure to request a new, signed server certificate from your Certifying Authority (CA):

      • Create a new key pair under the alias name "tomcat". When generating your key, give the Distinguished Name fields the appropriate values for your server and institution. CN should be the fully-qualified domain name of your server host. Here is an example:

        Code Block
        $JAVA_HOME/bin/keytool -genkey -alias tomcat -keyalg RSA -keysize 1024 \ -keystore $CATALINA_BASE/conf/keystore -storepass changeit -validity 365 \ -dname 'CN=dspace.myuni.edu, OU=MIT Libraries, O=Massachusetts Institute of Technology, L=Cambridge, S=MA, C=US'

      • Then, create a CSR (Certificate Signing Request) and send it to your Certifying Authority. They will send you back a signed Server Certificate. This example command creates a CSR in the file tomcat.csr

        Code Block
        $JAVA_HOME/bin/keytool -keystore $CATALINA_BASE/conf/keystore \ -storepass changeit \ -certreq -alias tomcat -v -file tomcat.csr

      • Before importing the signed certificate, you must have the CA's certificate in your keystore as a trusted certificate. Get their certificate, and import it with a command like this (for the example mitCA.pem):

        Code Block
        $JAVA_HOME/bin/keytool -keystore $CATALINA_BASE/conf/keystore \ -storepass changeit -import -alias mitCA -trustcacerts -file mitCA.pem

      • Finally, when you get the signed certificate from your CA, import it into the keystore with a command like the following example: (cert is in the file signed-cert.pem)

        Code Block
        $JAVA_HOME/bin/keytool -keystore $CATALINA_BASE/conf/keystore \ -storepass changeit \ -import -alias tomcat -trustcacerts -file signed-cert.pem

        Since you now have a signed server certificate in your keystore, you can, obviously, skip the next steps of installing a signed server certificate and the server CA's certificate.

   2. Create a Java keystore for your server with the password changeit, and install your server certificate under the alias "tomcat". This assumes the certificate was put in the file server.pem:

      Code Block
      $JAVA_HOME/bin/keytool -genkey -alias tomcat -keyalg RSA -keystore \ $CATALINA_BASE/conf/keystore -storepass changeit

      When answering the questions to identify the certificate, be sure to respond to "First and last name" with the fully-qualified domain name of your server (e.g. test-dspace.myuni.edu). The other questions are not important.

   3. Optional – ONLY if you need to accept client certificates for the X.509 certificate stackable authentication module See the configuration section for instructions on enabling the X.509 authentication method. Load the keystore with the CA (certifying authority) certificates for the authorities of any clients whose certificates you wish to accept. For example, assuming the client CA certificate is in client1.pem:

      Code Block
      $JAVA_HOME/bin/keytool -import -noprompt -storepass changeit \ -trustcacerts -keystore $CATALINA_BASE/conf/keystore -alias client1 \ -file client1.pem

   4. Follow the procedure in the section above to add another Connector tag, for the HTTPS port, to your server.xml file.

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