HP VAN SDN Controller Administrator Guide

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3 SDN Controller Authentication
HP VAN SDN Controller Security Guidelines
The HP VAN SDN controller communicates with different components, both internal and external
to the controller, via secure channels. This section documents these channels, their defaults, and
how to configure them in a deployment environment.
SDN Controller Authentication
The SDN controller identifies itself via Public-Key Infrastructure (PKI) for its communication with
external subsystems and other controllers. It uses a Java keystore and truststore to keep its private
key and public key respectively. For REST APIs, the controller does not rely on the truststore to
establish trust. Instead, it uses token authentication to authenticate the client. The client must
present a valid token via the X-Auth-Header to authenticate itself with the controller. Token
authentication is discussed more under "Openflow Controller Keystore and Truststore Locations
and Passwords" on page 46.
The controller ships with a self-signed certificate. Therefore, it is recommended that the self-signed
certificate be replaced by a certificate signed by a reputable Certificate Authority (CA). Also, the
default password for the keystore and truststore should be changed as well.
Creating SDN Controller Keystore and Truststore
1. Login to the system running the SDN controller and stop the controller.
2. As the SDN user (i.e. sudo - sdn), do the following:
3. Back up your default /opt/sdn/admin/keystore and /opt/sdn/admin/truststore to a safe location.
4. Create a new keystore:
cd /opt/sdn/admin
rm keystore truststore
keytool -genkey -alias serverKey -keyalg rsa -keysize 2048 -keystore
keystore
You must specify a fully qualified domain for your server for the “first and last name” question as
some CAs, such as VeriSign, expect it.
5. Generate a CSR (Certificate Signing Request) for signing:
keytool -keystore keystore -certreq -alias serverKey -keyalg rsa -file
sdn-server.csr