path: root/INSTALL.SSL.md

Configuring Open vSwitch for SSL
================================

If you plan to configure Open vSwitch to connect across the network to
an OpenFlow controller, then we recommend that you build Open vSwitch
with OpenSSL.  SSL support ensures integrity and confidentiality of
the OpenFlow connections, increasing network security.

This file explains how to configure an Open vSwitch to connect to an
OpenFlow controller over SSL.  Refer to [INSTALL.md] for instructions
on building Open vSwitch with SSL support.

Open vSwitch uses TLS version 1.0 or later (TLSv1), as specified by
RFC 2246, which is very similar to SSL version 3.0.  TLSv1 was
released in January 1999, so all current software and hardware should
implement it.

This document assumes basic familiarity with public-key cryptography
and public-key infrastructure.

SSL Concepts for OpenFlow
-------------------------

This section is an introduction to the public-key infrastructure
architectures that Open vSwitch supports for SSL authentication.

To connect over SSL, every Open vSwitch must have a unique
private/public key pair and a certificate that signs that public key.
Typically, the Open vSwitch generates its own public/private key pair.
There are two common ways to obtain a certificate for a switch:

  * Self-signed certificates: The Open vSwitch signs its certificate
    with its own private key.  In this case, each switch must be
    individually approved by the OpenFlow controller(s), since there
    is no central authority.

    This is the only switch PKI model currently supported by NOX
    (http://noxrepo.org).

  * Switch certificate authority: A certificate authority (the
    "switch CA") signs each Open vSwitch's public key.  The OpenFlow
    controllers then check that any connecting switches'
    certificates are signed by that certificate authority.

    This is the only switch PKI model supported by the simple
    OpenFlow controller included with Open vSwitch.

Each Open vSwitch must also have a copy of the CA certificate for the
certificate authority that signs OpenFlow controllers' keys (the
"controller CA" certificate).  Typically, the same controller CA
certificate is installed on all of the switches within a given
administrative unit.  There are two common ways for a switch to obtain
the controller CA certificate:

  * Manually copy the certificate to the switch through some secure
    means, e.g. using a USB flash drive, or over the network with
    "scp", or even FTP or HTTP followed by manual verification.

  * Open vSwitch "bootstrap" mode, in which Open vSwitch accepts and
    saves the controller CA certificate that it obtains from the
    OpenFlow controller on its first connection.  Thereafter the
    switch will only connect to controllers signed by the same CA
    certificate.

Establishing a Public Key Infrastructure
----------------------------------------

Open vSwitch can make use of your existing public key infrastructure.
If you already have a PKI, you may skip forward to the next section.
Otherwise, if you do not have a PKI, the ovs-pki script included with
Open vSwitch can help.  To create an initial PKI structure, invoke it
as:

    % ovs-pki init

to create and populate a new PKI directory.  The default location for
the PKI directory depends on how the Open vSwitch tree was configured
(to see the configured default, look for the --dir option description
in the output of "ovs-pki --help").

The pki directory contains two important subdirectories.  The
controllerca subdirectory contains controller CA files, including the
following:

  - cacert.pem: Root certificate for the controller certificate
    authority.  Each Open vSwitch must have a copy of this file to
    allow it to authenticate valid controllers.

  - private/cakey.pem: Private signing key for the controller
    certificate authority.  This file must be kept secret.  There is
    no need for switches or controllers to have a copy of it.

The switchca subdirectory contains switch CA files, analogous to those
in the controllerca subdirectory:

  - cacert.pem: Root certificate for the switch certificate
    authority.  The OpenFlow controller must have this file to
    enable it to authenticate valid switches.

  - private/cakey.pem: Private signing key for the switch
    certificate authority.  This file must be kept secret.  There is
    no need for switches or controllers to have a copy of it.

After you create the initial structure, you can create keys and
certificates for switches and controllers with ovs-pki.  Refer to the
ovs-pki(8) manage for complete details.  A few examples of its use
follow:

CONTROLLER KEY GENERATION

To create a controller private key and certificate in files named
ctl-privkey.pem and ctl-cert.pem, run the following on the machine
that contains the PKI structure:

      % ovs-pki req+sign ctl controller

ctl-privkey.pem and ctl-cert.pem would need to be copied to the
controller for its use at runtime.  If, for testing purposes, you were
to use ovs-testcontroller, the simple OpenFlow controller included
with Open vSwitch, then the --private-key and --certificate options,
respectively, would point to these files.

It is very important to make sure that no stray copies of
ctl-privkey.pem are created, because they could be used to impersonate
the controller.

SWITCH KEY GENERATION WITH SELF-SIGNED CERTIFICATES

If you are using self-signed certificates (see "SSL Concepts for
OpenFlow"), this is one way to create an acceptable certificate for
your controller to approve.

1. Run the following command on the Open vSwitch itself:

       % ovs-pki self-sign sc

   (This command does not require a copy of any of the PKI files
   generated by "ovs-pki init", and you should not copy them to the
   switch because some of them have contents that must remain secret
   for security.)

   The "ovs-pki self-sign" command has the following output:

     * sc-privkey.pem, the switch private key file.  For security,
       the contents of this file must remain secret.  There is
       ordinarily no need to copy this file off the Open vSwitch.

     * sc-cert.pem, the switch certificate, signed by the switch's
       own private key.  Its contents are not a secret.

2. Optionally, copy controllerca/cacert.pem from the machine that has
   the OpenFlow PKI structure and verify that it is correct.
   (Otherwise, you will have to use CA certificate bootstrapping when
   you configure Open vSwitch in the next step.)

3. Configure Open vSwitch to use the keys and certificates (see
   "Configuring SSL Support", below).

SWITCH KEY GENERATION WITH A SWITCH PKI (EASY METHOD)

If you are using a switch PKI (see "SSL Concepts for OpenFlow",
above), this method of switch key generation is a little easier than
the alternate method described below, but it is also a little less
secure because it requires copying a sensitive private key from file
from the machine hosting the PKI to the switch.

1. Run the following on the machine that contains the PKI structure:

       % ovs-pki req+sign sc switch

   This command has the following output:

     * sc-privkey.pem, the switch private key file.  For
       security, the contents of this file must remain secret.

     * sc-cert.pem, the switch certificate.  Its contents are
       not a secret.

2. Copy sc-privkey.pem and sc-cert.pem, plus controllerca/cacert.pem,
   to the Open vSwitch.

3. Delete the copies of sc-privkey.pem and sc-cert.pem on the PKI
   machine and any other copies that may have been made in transit.
   It is very important to make sure that there are no stray copies of
   sc-privkey.pem, because they could be used to impersonate the
   switch.

   (Don't delete controllerca/cacert.pem!  It is not
   security-sensitive and you will need it to configure additional
   switches.)

4. Configure Open vSwitch to use the keys and certificates (see
   "Configuring SSL Support", below).

SWITCH KEY GENERATION WITH A SWITCH PKI (MORE SECURE)

If you are using a switch PKI (see "SSL Concepts for OpenFlow",
above), then, compared to the previous method, the method described
here takes a little more work, but it does not involve copying the
private key from one machine to another, so it may also be a little
more secure.

1. Run the following command on the Open vSwitch itself:

       % ovs-pki req sc

   (This command does not require a copy of any of the PKI files
   generated by "ovs-pki init", and you should not copy them to the
   switch because some of them have contents that must remain secret
   for security.)

   The "ovs-pki req" command has the following output:

     * sc-privkey.pem, the switch private key file.  For security,
       the contents of this file must remain secret.  There is
       ordinarily no need to copy this file off the Open vSwitch.

     * sc-req.pem, the switch "certificate request", which is
       essentially the switch's public key.  Its contents are not a
       secret.

     * A fingerprint, on stdout.

2. Write the fingerprint down on a slip of paper and copy sc-req.pem
   to the machine that contains the PKI structure.

3. On the machine that contains the PKI structure, run:

       % ovs-pki sign sc switch

   This command will output a fingerprint to stdout and request that
   you verify it.  Check that it is the same as the fingerprint that
   you wrote down on the slip of paper before you answer "yes".

   "ovs-pki sign" creates a file named sc-cert.pem, which is the
   switch certificate.  Its contents are not a secret.

4. Copy the generated sc-cert.pem, plus controllerca/cacert.pem from
   the PKI structure, to the Open vSwitch, and verify that they were
   copied correctly.

   You may delete sc-cert.pem from the machine that hosts the PKI
   structure now, although it is not important that you do so.  (Don't
   delete controllerca/cacert.pem!  It is not security-sensitive and
   you will need it to configure additional switches.)

5. Configure Open vSwitch to use the keys and certificates (see
   "Configuring SSL Support", below).

Configuring SSL Support
-----------------------

SSL configuration requires three additional configuration files.  The
first two of these are unique to each Open vSwitch.  If you used the
instructions above to build your PKI, then these files will be named
sc-privkey.pem and sc-cert.pem, respectively:

    - A private key file, which contains the private half of an RSA or
      DSA key.

      This file can be generated on the Open vSwitch itself, for the
      greatest security, or it can be generated elsewhere and copied
      to the Open vSwitch.

      The contents of the private key file are secret and must not be
      exposed.

    - A certificate file, which certifies that the private key is that
      of a trustworthy Open vSwitch.

      This file has to be generated on a machine that has the private
      key for the switch certification authority, which should not be
      an Open vSwitch; ideally, it should be a machine that is not
      networked at all.

      The certificate file itself is not a secret.

The third configuration file is typically the same across all the
switches in a given administrative unit.  If you used the
instructions above to build your PKI, then this file will be named
cacert.pem:

  - The root certificate for the controller certificate authority.
    The Open vSwitch verifies it that is authorized to connect to an
    OpenFlow controller by verifying a signature against this CA
    certificate.

Once you have these files, configure ovs-vswitchd to use them using
the ovs-vsctl "set-ssl" command, e.g.:

    ovs-vsctl set-ssl /etc/openvswitch/sc-privkey.pem /etc/openvswitch/sc-cert.pem /etc/openvswitch/cacert.pem

Substitute the correct file names, of course, if they differ from the
ones used above.  You should use absolute file names (ones that begin
with "/"), because ovs-vswitchd's current directory is unrelated to
the one from which you run ovs-vsctl.

If you are using self-signed certificates (see "SSL Concepts for
OpenFlow") and you did not copy controllerca/cacert.pem from the PKI
machine to the Open vSwitch, then add the --bootstrap option, e.g.:

    ovs-vsctl -- --bootstrap set-ssl /etc/openvswitch/sc-privkey.pem /etc/openvswitch/sc-cert.pem /etc/openvswitch/cacert.pem

After you have added all of these configuration keys, you may specify
"ssl:" connection methods elsewhere in the configuration database.
"tcp:" connection methods are still allowed even after SSL has been
configured, so for security you should use only "ssl:" connections.

Reporting Bugs
--------------

Please report problems to bugs@openvswitch.org.

[INSTALL.md]:INSTALL.md