Web-based System Manager Administration Guide

Administering Multiple Sites

Use this scenario if you have multiple sites and do not want to distribute private key ring files between sites. Suppose you have site A and site B, and you define your internal Web-based System Manager Certificate Authority (CA) on a machine in site A. See step 1 of "Ready-to-Go Key Ring Files" for directions on configuring a CA.

Note: For all clients and for site A servers, you can follow the instructions in usingUsing Ready-to-Go Key Ring Files.

For servers in site B, follow these steps:

Generate Private Keys and Certificate Requests for Your Web-based System Manager Servers.
Provide the full TCP/IP names of all Web-based System Manager servers in site B. You can enter them in the dialog one at a time, or you can provide a file containing a list of your servers, one per line.
On a server in site B, log in locally as root user and start Web-based System Manager. The security configuration applications of Web-based System Manager are not accessible if you are not logged in as root user or if you are running the Web-based System Manager in remote application or applet mode.
Select Management Environment --> hostname --> System Manager Security --> Server Security.
On the task list for Server Security, select Generate Servers' Private Keys and Certificate Requests. Fill in the following information:
- List of servers
  Add the names of your Web-based System Manager servers in site B to the list. You can enter them in the dialog one at a time or you can provide a file containing a list of your servers, one per line. To get the server names from the file, enter the file name in the File containing list of servers entry field and click the Browse file button. Use the Browse Server List File dialog to select some or all of the servers in the list.
- Organization name
  Enter a descriptive name that identifies your company or your organization.
- ISO country code
  Enter your two-character ISO country code or select it from the list.
- Location for private key ring files
  Enter the directory where you want the server private key ring files and certificate requests written. In step 2, transfer the certificate request files to the CA in site A for signing. In step 3, transfer the signed certificates from the CA in Site A back to this directory.
- Length in bits of server keys
  Select a key length (this field displays only if you have the sysmgt.websm.security-us fileset installed).
- Encrypt the server private key ring files
  This dialog creates a private key ring file for each server that you specified. Each private key ring file contains the private key of the server, and therefore, must always be kept protected. You can protect the private key ring files by encrypting them. If you select this option, you are prompted for a password, which you need when you import the signed certificates and when you install the private key rings on the servers.
When you click OK, a private key ring file and a certificate request is created for each server that you specified.
You can also generate private keys and certificate requests from the command line with the /usr/websm/bin/smgenkeycr command.
Get the Certificates Signed by the CA in Site A.
Transfer the certificate request files to the CA in site A. The certificate requests do not contain secret data. However, the integrity and authenticity during transfer must be ensured.
Transfer a copy of the certificate request files from the server in site B to a directory on the CA machine in site A.
Log in to the CA machine in site A locally as root user and start the Web-based System Manager. The security configuration applications of the Web-based System Manager are not accessible if you are not logged in as root user or if you are running the Web-based System Manager in remote application or applet mode.
Select Management Environment --> hostname --> System Manager Security --> Certificate Authority.
On the task list for Certificate Authority, select Sign Certificate Requests. Fill in the following information:
- Directory for certificate requests
  Enter the directory containing the certificate requests. Then click the Update List button. The certificate request list displays.
- Select certificate requests to sign
  To select individual certificate requests, click on them in the list box. To select all of the listed certificate requests, click the Select All button.
- Certificate expiration date
  After the certificate expires, you need to repeat this process to generate new private key ring files for your servers. You can change this date or accept the default date.
When you click OK, a certificate file is created for each server that you selected. The certificates are written to the directory containing the certificate requests.
You can also get the certificates signed by the CA by running the following command from the command line: /usr/websm/bin/smsigncert.
Import the Signed Certificates to the Servers Private Key Ring Files.
In this step, transfer the certificates from the CA in site A back to the server in site B. Copy them to the directory containing the certificate requests and server private key files that you created in step 1.
Then, on the server in site B from the Server Security task list, select Import Signed Certificates.
Fill in the following information:
- Directory for certificates and private keys
  Enter the directory containing the signed certificates and server private key files. Then, click the Update List button. The list of servers for which there is a signed certificate and a private key file displays.
- Select one or more servers from the list
  To select individual servers, click on them in the list box. To select all of the listed servers, click the Select All button.
When you click OK, if the server private key files were encrypted in step 1, you are prompted for the password. Then, for each server that you selected, the certificate is imported into the private key file and the private key ring file is created.
You can import signed certificates from the command line with the /usr/websm/bin/smimpservercert command.
Distribute the Private Key Ring Files to All Servers.
Each server's private key ring file must be installed on the server.
You can move the files to their targets in any secure way. Shared directory and diskette TAR methods are described here:
- Shared directory: Place all of the key ring files on a shared directory (for example, NFS or DFS) that is accessible to each server.
  
  Note: For this method, you should have chosen to encrypt the server private key ring files on the Generate private keys and certificate requests for this server or other servers dialog, because the files are transferred in the clear, that is, the files are transferred without encryption. It is also recommended that you restrict the access rights to the shared directory to the administrator.
- Diskette TAR: Generate a diskette TAR containing all of the server private key ring files. The TAR archive should contain only the file names without the paths. To do this, change directories to the directory containing the server private key ring files and run the command tar -cvf /dev/fd0 *.privkr.
Next, install the server private key rings on each server. Log in to each server as root user and start Web-based System Manager. Select Management Environment --> hostname --> System Manager Security --> Server Security. Then select Install the private key ring files for this server. Select the source for the server private key ring files. If using a diskette TAR, insert the diskette before clicking OK. If the key ring files are encrypted, you are asked for the password. The server's private key is installed in /var/websm/security/SM.privkr. Repeat this procedure on each server.
You can also distribute the private key ring files from the command line with the /usr/websm/bin/sminstkey command.
Distributing the CA Public Key Ring File to All Servers and Clients in Site B.
A copy of CA public key ring file from the directory you specified in step 1 must be placed in the /usr/websm/codebase directory of your Web-based System Manager servers and clients.

Note: The content of this file is not secret. However, placing it on a client machine specifies which CA the client trusts. Thus, make sure that you limit access to this file on the client machine. In applet mode, the client can trust the server to send over this file along with the applet itself, provided the HTTPS protocol is used.