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Configuring SSL on an exacqVision Server for Active Directory/LDAP (Windows)

exacqVision 7.2 and higher:

Check the box labeled “Use SSL” on the “ActiveDirectory/LDAP” configuration page, then press “Apply”.
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exacqVision prior to 7.2:

This article contains procedures for configuring SSL on exacqVision servers. These steps are necessary if you want Active Directory operations to be made more secure by use of SSL on the exacqVision server.

While there are a number of ways that you can generate, install, and manage certificates in order to use SSL, this document will only describe one of the easiest ways to do so. You can simply export the trusted root certificate that already exists in your Active Directory domain, install it on each of your exacqVision Servers, and thereby enable SSL for successful operations. This article will give you step-by-step instructions on how to do this.

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Export Trusted Root Certificate for Your Domain

  1. Log in to any Windows workstation that has already been added to your domain. You must have at least local admin permissions.
  2. Start the Microsoft Management Console (mmc.exe).
  3. If you haven’t already, add the Certificates snap-in:

    a) On the File menu, click Add/Remove Snap-In.
    b) Select Certificates and click Add.
    c) When prompted, select the option to manage certificates for your user account (instead of the service or computer account).
    d) Click Finish.
    e) Click OK to complete this step.
  4. Expand Certificates – Current User in the left pane.
  5. Expand Trusted Root Certification Authorities.
  6. Select the Certficates folder to display your workstation’s currently installed CA certificates. The Issued To field should contain something similar to mydomain-ROOT-CA, where mydomain is your domain name.
  7. Select that Issued To entry, and then right-click All Tasks and select Export.
  8. In the Certificate Export Wizard, select the format choice of Base-64 encoded binary X.509 (.CER). Save it to a local .cer file that you can relocate later. You will then install this same certificate file on every exacqVision Server for which you intend to use SSL.

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Certificate Database Location on exacqVision Server

Whenever exacqVision Server attempts to connect to an Active Directory server, it creates the following files in the installation directory, if necessary:

  • cert8.db
  • key3.db
  • secmod.db

In the exacqVision Server installation directory on any exacqVision Server, the following command shows all certificates, including all trusted root certificates, that you have made available to that exacqVision Server for connecting to the directory via SSL:

certutil -L -d .
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Import Trusted Root Certificate into Each exacqVision Server

  1. On the actual exacqVision Server, copy your trusted root certificate to the server’s installation directory.
  2. If you have not already verified your exacqVision Server’s LDAP configuration with SSL disabled, do this now. This will create your certificate database files if they do not already.
  3. From within the server’s installation directory, execute the following command as local admin:

certutil -A -n “my domain ca cert” -t “C,C,C” -a -i my_cert_file.cer -d .

where my_cert_file.cer represents your trusted root certificate file, and my domain ca cert represents the name by which you want this certificate to be known in the database.

  1. If you get a certutil error similar to “error converting ascii to binary,” try re-exporting your certificate. You might not have correctly selected the “base-64 encoded” format option as indicated.
  2. If you do not get any error messages, then your trusted root certificate should have been successfully imported into your certificate database. Verify by then executing this command:

certutil -L -d .

  1. If your certificate was successfully imported, you will see something similar to “my domain ca cert” and “C,C,C.
  2. On your exacqVision Server, run exacqVision Client and open the Active Directory/LDAP tab. Select the SSL checkbox (the port should automatically change to 636), and click Apply. Your exacqVision Server should then reconnect to your Active Directory domain controller.

NOTE: The attached article is an older document pertinent to using SSL for communication with an Active Directory or LDAP server.

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Configuring-SSL-on-an-exacqVision-Server-for-Active-Directory-LDAP-Windows-1.pdf