Generating and Managing SSL Keys for Atavism Server
Welcome to this detailed lesson on managing SSL keys for Atavism server. We’ll go through each command, understand its purpose, and learn why it’s essential for securing your Atavism server.
Overview
Secure communication is vital in any server environment, especially in gaming servers like Atavism. SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption ensures that the data transmitted between the server and clients remains private and integral. This lesson will guide you through the process of generating and managing SSL keys for your Atavism server.
Prerequisites
- Basic understanding of Linux commands
- Access to the Atavism server with sudo privileges
- Familiarity with OpenSSL
Steps
1. Generating the RSA Private Key
Command:
sudo sh -c ‘openssl genrsa -des3 –out /opt/atavism_server/bin/atavism.pem 2048‘
Purpose: This command generates a 2048-bit RSA private key using triple DES encryption. The key is saved as atavism.pem
in the Atavism server’s binary directory.
Why: A private key is the first step in SSL encryption. It’s essential for creating a public key and signing certificates. The 2048-bit length ensures robust encryption.
2. Extracting the Public Key
Command:
sudo sh -c ‘openssl rsa –in /opt/atavism_server/bin/atavism.pem -outform PEM -pubout –out /opt/atavism_server/bin/atavismkey.txt’
Purpose: This command extracts the public key from the previously generated private key and saves it as atavismkey.txt
.
Why: The public key is used in encryption and is shared with clients to enable secure data transmission.
3. Converting the Private Key to PEM Format
Command:
sudo sh -c ‘openssl rsa –in /opt/atavism_server/bin/atavism.pem –out /opt/atavism_server/bin/private.pem -outform PEM’
Purpose: Converts the private key to the PEM (Privacy Enhanced Mail) format, more commonly used and compatible with various applications.
Why: PEM format is necessary for certain applications and services that require this specific format for SSL certificates.
4. Converting Private Key to PKCS#8 Format
Command:
sudo sh -c ‘openssl pkcs8 -topk8 -inform PEM -outform DER –in /opt/atavism_server/bin/private.pem -nocrypt > /opt/atavism_server/bin/private.key’
Purpose: Converts the private key from PEM to DER format in PKCS#8 encoding. It’s saved as private.key
.
Why: PKCS#8 format is used for storing private keys and is often required by software that implements newer encryption standards.
5. Transferring the Public Key
Instruction: Download the file /opt/atavism_server/bin/atavismkey.txt
to your local development machine and place it in the Resources
folder inside your project root folder /Assets/Resources/atavismkey.txt
.
Purpose: This step involves transferring the public key to your development environment, where it will be used in your project.
Why: The public key is necessary for your application to communicate securely with the Atavism server. Placing it in the project’s Resources
folder makes it easily accessible for the application.
Conclusion
By following these steps, you have successfully generated and managed the SSL keys for your Atavism server. This process enhances the security of your server and ensures safe communication between the server and its clients.
Note: Please reset your Atavism User accounts once this process has been done. This is a requirement as all password will be encrypted and they will no longer match the previously saved passwords.
Next Steps
- Test your server-client communication for any SSL-related errors.
- Learn more about SSL certificates and their role in server security.
- Explore automating this process for efficiency.
Happy secure coding! 🛡️🔑