En

Obtaining SSL Certificates (Local Installation)#

Sherpa Orchestrator supports HTTPS connections to ensure secure communication. This guide describes ways to obtain SSL certificates for use in the system.

Recommendations for Obtaining Certificates#

Important: Before obtaining certificates, consult your internal network administrator or your company's certification authority. Corporate certificates are usually provided by the IT department and ensure better integration with existing security infrastructure.

If corporate certificates are not available, consider the following options for obtaining certificates for external domains in the sections below.

Obtaining Corporate Certificates#

If your organization has an internal certification authority (CA), contact your system administrator to obtain certificates. Provide them with the domain for the certificates and receive 2 files: the certificate (.crt) and the private key (.key). After receiving them, install them as follows:

# Create a directory for certificates
sudo mkdir -p /opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/

# Copy the certificates (rename the files as received)
sudo cp your_certificate.crt /opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/orchestrator.crt
sudo cp your_private.key /opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/orchestrator.key

# Set the correct permissions
sudo chmod 644 /opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/orchestrator.crt
sudo chmod 600 /opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/orchestrator.key
💡 Comments on Obtaining Corporate Certificates

sudo mkdir -p /opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/ - creates a directory for certificates

  • -p - creates parent directories as needed

sudo cp your_certificate.crt /opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/orchestrator.crt - copies the certificate sudo cp your_private.key /opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/orchestrator.key - copies the private key

chmod 644 - sets read permissions for certificates (owner can write, everyone can read) chmod 600 - sets permissions for the owner only on private keys

Obtaining Trusted Certificates via Let's Encrypt#

To obtain free trusted certificates from Let's Encrypt, use Certbot on a machine with internet access.

Installing Certbot#

# On Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt update
sudo apt install certbot

# On CentOS/RHEL
sudo yum install certbot

# On macOS (with Homebrew)
brew install certbot
💡 Comments on Installing Certbot

Ubuntu/Debian:

  • sudo apt update - updates the package list
  • sudo apt install certbot - installs Certbot

CentOS/RHEL:

  • sudo yum install certbot - installs Certbot via yum

macOS:

  • brew install certbot - installs Certbot via Homebrew

Obtaining a Certificate for a Domain#

# Obtain a certificate for your domain (replace yourdomain.com with your domain)
sudo certbot certonly --standalone -d yourdomain.com

# Or for a wildcard certificate (requires DNS challenge)
sudo certbot certonly --manual --preferred-challenges=dns -d yourdomain.com -d *.yourdomain.com
💡 Comments on Obtaining a Certificate

sudo certbot certonly --standalone -d yourdomain.com - obtains a certificate for the domain

  • certonly - obtains only certificates, without configuring the web server
  • --standalone - runs a temporary web server for HTTP-01 challenge
  • -d yourdomain.com - specifies the domain for the certificate

*sudo certbot certonly --manual --preferred-challenges=dns -d yourdomain.com -d .yourdomain.com - obtains a wildcard certificate

  • --manual - manual mode (requires DNS record)
  • --preferred-challenges=dns - uses DNS-01 challenge
  • -d *.yourdomain.com - wildcard domain

Location of Obtained Certificates#

After successfully obtaining certificates, they will be located in the directory /etc/letsencrypt/live/yourdomain.com/:

# Check the contents of the certificate directory
sudo ls -la /etc/letsencrypt/live/yourdomain.com/

# The output should contain:
# cert.pem (certificate)
# chain.pem (certificate chain)
# fullchain.pem (full chain)
# privkey.pem (private key)
💡 Comments on the Location of Certificates

sudo ls -la /etc/letsencrypt/live/yourdomain.com/ - shows the contents of the certificate directory

  • /etc/letsencrypt/live/ - standard Let's Encrypt directory
  • yourdomain.com/ - subdirectory for the domain

Certificate files:

  • cert.pem - domain certificate
  • chain.pem - chain of intermediate certificates
  • fullchain.pem - full certificate with chain
  • privkey.pem - private key

Transferring Certificates to the Sherpa Server#

Copy the certificates to the server where Sherpa Orchestrator is installed:

# Create a directory for certificates on the Sherpa server
sudo mkdir -p /opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/

# Copy the certificates (replace yourdomain.com with your domain)
sudo scp /etc/letsencrypt/live/yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem user@target-server:/opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/orchestrator.crt
sudo scp /etc/letsencrypt/live/yourdomain.com/privkey.pem user@target-server:/opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/orchestrator.key

# Set the correct permissions
sudo chmod 644 /opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/orchestrator.crt
sudo chmod 600 /opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/orchestrator.key
💡 Comments on Transferring Certificates

sudo scp /etc/letsencrypt/live/yourdomain.com/fullchain.pem user@target-server:/opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/orchestrator.crt - copies the certificate

  • scp - secure copy
  • fullchain.pem - full certificate with chain
  • Renamed to orchestrator.crt

sudo scp /etc/letsencrypt/live/yourdomain.com/privkey.pem user@target-server:/opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/orchestrator.key - copies the private key

  • privkey.pem - private key
  • Renamed to orchestrator.key

Creating Self-Signed Certificates (for Testing)#

WARNING: Self-signed certificates are not trusted and will trigger security warnings in browsers. Use this method only for testing or in isolated networks!

Creating a Self-Signed Certificate with OpenSSL#

# Create a directory for certificates
sudo mkdir -p /opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/

# Generate a private key
sudo openssl genrsa -out /opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/orchestrator.key 2048

# Create a self-signed certificate
sudo openssl req -new -x509 -key /opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/orchestrator.key -out /opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/orchestrator.crt -days 365 -subj "/C=RU/ST=State/L=City/O=Organization/CN=orchestrator.yourdomain.com"

# Set the correct permissions
sudo chmod 644 /opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/orchestrator.crt
sudo chmod 600 /opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/orchestrator.key
💡 Comments on Creating Self-Signed Certificates

sudo mkdir -p /opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/ - creates a directory for certificates

sudo openssl genrsa -out /opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/orchestrator.key 2048 - generates a private key

  • genrsa - generates an RSA key
  • -out file.key - output file
  • 2048 - key length in bits

sudo openssl req -new -x509 -key keyfile.key -out certfile.crt -days 365 -subj "/C=RU/..." - creates a self-signed certificate

  • req -new -x509 - creates a new self-signed certificate
  • -key keyfile.key - uses the specified private key
  • -out certfile.crt - output certificate file
  • -days 365 - validity period (1 year)
  • -subj "/C=RU/ST=State/L=City/O=Organization/CN=domain.com" - subject information

chmod 644 and chmod 600 - set the correct permissions

Verifying Created Certificates#

# Check certificate information
sudo openssl x509 -in /opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/orchestrator.crt -text -noout

# Check key and certificate match
sudo openssl rsa -in /opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/orchestrator.key -check

# Check certificate expiration date
sudo openssl x509 -in /opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/orchestrator.crt -enddate -noout
💡 Comments on Verifying Certificates

sudo openssl x509 -in /opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/orchestrator.crt -text -noout - shows information about the certificate

  • x509 - command for working with X.509 certificates
  • -in file.crt - input certificate file
  • -text - outputs textual information
  • -noout - does not output the encoded certificate

sudo openssl rsa -in /opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/orchestrator.key -check - checks the private key

  • rsa - command for working with RSA keys
  • -in file.key - input key file
  • -check - checks the validity of the key

sudo openssl x509 -in /opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/orchestrator.crt -enddate -noout - shows the expiration date of the certificate

Configuring TLS for the LDAPS Protocol (Optional)#

Important: If LDAPS support is not required, skip this section.

Copy the rootCA certificate named ca-certificates.crt to the directory /opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/

Configuring Certificates for the IMAP Server (Optional)#

Important: If you do not plan to use Triggers triggered by email or your mail server does not require certificates, skip this section.

Copy the certificates for IMAP to the folder /opt/SherpaOrchestrator/backend/config/certs/imap_certs

Activating Certificates#

After installing the certificates, you need to restart Nginx:

# Check the configuration syntax
sudo nginx -t

# Restart Nginx
sudo systemctl restart nginx

# Check the status
sudo systemctl status nginx

Checking HTTPS Connection#

# Check HTTPS availability
curl -I https://your-domain-or-ip

# Check the certificate
openssl s_client -connect your-domain-or-ip:443 -servername your-domain-or-ip < /dev/null 2>/dev/null | openssl x509 -noout -dates

Automatic Renewal of Let's Encrypt Certificates#

To automatically renew Let's Encrypt certificates, set up a cron job:

# Open crontab
sudo crontab -e

# Add the renewal task (runs twice a day at random times)
0 */12 * * * /usr/bin/certbot renew --quiet && systemctl reload nginx
💡 Comments on Automatic Renewal

certbot renew --quiet - renews all certificates that are expiring in less than 30 days

  • --quiet - suppresses output except for errors

systemctl reload nginx - reloads the Nginx configuration after renewing certificates

The task runs twice a day to ensure timely renewal.

Security Recommendations#

  1. Always use trusted certificates for production environments
  2. Regularly renew certificates before they expire
  3. Store private keys in a secure location with restricted access
  4. Monitor certificate expiration dates and set up alerts
  5. Use strong cipher suites in server configuration
  6. Configure HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security) to enforce HTTPS

Troubleshooting#

Issue: "ssl certificate verification failed"#

Solution:

  • Check the correctness of the certificate installation
  • Ensure the correct permissions on the certificate files
  • Check the path to the certificates in the Nginx configuration

Issue: "chain incomplete" or "unable to get local issuer certificate"#

Solution:

  • Use fullchain.pem instead of cert.pem for the certificate
  • Ensure that the certificate chain file is present and correct

Issue: "ssl handshake failure"#

Solution:

  • Check the compatibility of cipher suites
  • Ensure that the private key matches the certificate
  • Check the Nginx logs for errors

After obtaining and configuring certificates by any of the described methods, the Sherpa Orchestrator system will be accessible via HTTPS.