Configuring the primary server to use an external CA-signed certificate
A NetBackup host ID-based certificate is deployed on the primary server during installation or upgrade. You can configure the primary server to use an external CA-signed certificate after installation. It includes:
Defining the external certificate configuration options
See Configuration options for external CA-signed certificates.
Enrolling the external certificate for the primary server host
The enrolled certificate is used for communication between the host and the primary server domain that is listed in the SERVER configuration option on the host.
See Viewing external CA-signed certificates in the NetBackup web UI.
See Configuring an external certificate for a clustered primary server.
Ensure that the NetBackup domain is enabled to use external CA-signed certificates by configuring the NetBackup web server.
See Configure an external certificate for the NetBackup web server.
External certificates for the NetBackup web server and the primary server must be issued by the same root certificate authority.
If the two certificate authorities do not match, communication between the NetBackup Administration Console and the NetBackup Web Management Console service (nbwmc service) fails.
Ensure that the certificate revocation lists (CRLs) for the external CA are stored at the required location.
If CRL distribution point (CDP) is used, ensure that the URLs that are specified in the CDP are accessible.
When NetBackup primary server is configured to use the service user (non-privileged user on UNIX and Local Service on Windows) to start most of the daemons or services, you must ensure that the following ECA paths are accessible to the service user:
ECA_CERT_PATH
ECA_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH
ECA_TRUST_STORE_PATH
ECA_KEY_PASSPHRASEFILE (optional)
ECA_CRL_PATH (optional)
See About a NetBackup service user account.
To grant access to the service user, do the following:
On Unix, use the chmod or the chown command.
On Windows run the following command:
install_path\NetBackup\bin\goodies\nbserviceusercmd.exe -addAcl ECA path -reason reason
To configure the primary server to use an external certificate
- Update the NetBackup configuration file (
bp.conffile on UNIX or Windows registry) on the primary server with the external certificate-specific parameters.See Configuration options for external CA-signed certificates.
For Windows certificate store
Use the nbsetconfig command to configure the following parameters:
ECA_CERT_PATH
ECA_CRL_CHECK (optional)
ECA_CRL_PATH (optional)
ECA_CRL_PATH_SYNC_HOURS (optional)
ECA_CRL_REFRESH_HOURS (optional)
ECA_DR_BKUP_WIN_CERT_STORE (optional)
For file-based certificates
Use the nbsetconfig command to configure the following parameters:
ECA_CERT_PATH
ECA_PRIVATE_KEY_PATH
ECA_TRUST_STORE_PATH
ECA_KEY_PASSPHRASEFILE (optional)
ECA_CRL_CHECK (optional)
ECA_CRL_PATH (optional)
ECA_CRL_PATH_SYNC_HOURS (optional)
ECA_CRL_REFRESH_HOURS (optional)
Note:
If you have a Flex Appliance application instance, the certificate files must be stored in the following directories on the instance:
ECA_CERT_PATH, ECA_PRIVATE_KEY PATH, and ECA_TRUST_STORE_PATH:
/mnt/nbdata/hostcert/ECA_CRL_PATH:
/mnt/nbdata/hostcert/crl - Run the following command on the primary server to enroll an external certificate with the primary server domain that is defined in the SERVER option:
nbcertcmd -enrollCertificate
For more details on the command, refer to the NetBackup Commands Reference Guide.