Options for configuring TLS

This page applies to Apigee and Apigee hybrid.

View Apigee Edge documentation.

This section shows how to configure TLS for traffic from a proxy to a target.

About setting TLS options in a target endpoint or target server

A target can be represented by an XML object like the one below:

<HTTPTargetConnection>
    <Properties/>
    <URL>https:myTargetAddress</URL>
    <SSLInfo>
        <Enabled>true</Enabled>
        <Enforce>true</Enforce>
        <ClientAuthEnabled>true</ClientAuthEnabled>
        <KeyStore>ref://myKeystoreRef</KeyStore>
        <KeyAlias>myKeyAlias</KeyAlias>
        <TrustStore>ref://myTruststoreRef</TrustStore>
        <IgnoreValidationErrors>false</IgnoreValidationErrors>
        <Protocols>myProtocols</Protocols>
        <Ciphers>myCipher</Ciphers>
    </SSLInfo>
</HTTPTargetConnection>

The area of the target endpoint configuration that you modify to configure TLS is defined by the <SSLInfo> tag. You use the same <SSLInfo> tag to configure a target endpoint or target server.

For information about the child elements of <SSLInfo>, see TLS/SSL TargetEndpoint configuration.

The following table describes the TLS configuration elements used by the <SSLInfo> tag:

<Ciphers>
 <Cipher>TLS_RSA_WITH_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA</Cipher>    
 <Cipher>TLS_RSA_WITH_DES_CBC_SHA</Cipher>
</Ciphers>

<Protocols>
 <Protocol>TLSv1.2</Protocol>
 <Protocol>TLSv1.3</Protocol>
</Protocols>

About setting the <KeyStore> and <TrustStore> elements

In the example above, the keystore and truststore are specified by using references, in the form:

<KeyStore>ref://myKeystoreRef</KeyStore>
<TrustStore>ref://myTruststoreRef</TrustStore>

Apigee strongly recommends that you always use references to the keystore and truststore. A reference is a variable that contains the name of the keystore or truststore, rather than specifying the keystore name directly. In this example:

• myKeystoreRef is a reference that contains the name of the keystore. In this example, the name of the keystore is myKeystore.
• myTruststoreRef is a reference that contains the name of the truststore. In this example, the name of the truststore is myTruststore.

When a cert expires, you have to update the target endpoint/target server to specify the keystore or truststore containing the new cert. The advantage of a reference is that you can modify the value of the reference to change the keystore or truststore without having to modify the target endpoint/target server itself:

Changing the value of the reference does not require you to contact Google Cloud Customer Care.

Alternatively, you can specify the keystore name and truststore name directly:

<KeyStore>myKeystore</KeyStore>
<TrustStore>myTruststore</TrustStore> 

If you directly specify the name of the keystore or truststore, then you must contact Google Cloud Customer Care.

A third option is to use flow variables:

<KeyStore>{ssl.keystore}</KeyStore>
<TrustStore>{ssl.truststore}</TrustStore> 

Flow variables work let you update the keystore or truststore like references. For more information, see Using flow variables to set TLS/SSL values dynamically.

About configuring TLS

All Apigee customers, both paid and evaluation, have complete control over the configuration of target endpoints/target servers. In addition, paid Apigee customers have complete control over TLS properties.

Handling expired certificates

If a TLS certificate expires, or if your system configuration changes such that the certificate is no longer valid, then you need to update the certificate. When configuring TLS for a target endpoint/target server, you should decide how you are going to perform that update before you perform any configuration.

When a cert expires

On Apigee, you store certs in one of two places:

• Keystore - Contains the TLS certificate and private key used to identify the entity during TLS handshaking.
• Truststore - Contains trusted certificates on a TLS client used to validate a TLS server's certificate presented to the client. These certificates are typically self-signed certificates, certificates signed by a trusted CA, or certs used as part of two-way TLS (also known as mutual TLS or mTLS).

When a cert in a keystore expires, and you are using a reference to the keystore, you cannot upload a new cert to the keystore. Instead, you:

1. Create a new keystore.
2. Upload the new cert to the new keystore using the same alias name as in the old keystore.
3. Update the reference in the target server/target endpoint to use the new keystore.

When a cert in a truststore expires, and you are using a reference to the truststore, you:

1. Create a new truststore.
2. Upload the new cert to the new truststore. The alias name does not matter for truststores. Note: If a cert is part of a chain, then you must either create a single file containing all the certs and upload that file to a single alias, or upload all certs in the chain separately to the truststore using a different alias for each cert.
3. Update the reference in your target server/target endpoint to use the new truststore.

Summary of methods for updating an expired cert

The method that you use to specify the name of the keystore and truststore in the target endpoint/target server determines how you perform the cert update. You can use:

• References
• Direct names
• Flow variables

Each of these methods has different repercussions on the update process, as described in the following table: