1OVS-PKI(8) Open vSwitch OVS-PKI(8)
2
6 ovs-pki - OpenFlow public key infrastructure management utility
7
9 Each command takes the form:
10 ovs-pki <options> <command> <args>...
12 The implemented commands and their arguments are:
14 • ovs-pki init
16 • ovs-pki req <name>
18 • ovs-pki sign <name> [<type>]
20 • ovs-pki req+sign <name> [<type>]
22 • ovs-pki verify <name> [<type>]
24 • ovs-pki fingerprint <file>
26 • ovs-pki self-sign <name>
28 Each <type> above is a certificate type, either switch (default) or
30 controller.
31 The available options are:
33 • -k <type> or --key=<type>
35 • -B <nbits> or --bits=<nbits>
37 • -D <file> or --dsaparam=<file>
39 • -b or --batch
41 • -f or --force
43 • -d <dir> or --dir=<dir>
45 • -l <file> or --log=<file>
47 • -u or --unique
49 • -h or --help
51
53 The ovs-pki program sets up and manages a public key infrastructure for
54 use with OpenFlow. It is intended to be a simple interface for organi‐
55 zations that do not have an established public key infrastructure.
56 Other PKI tools can substitute for or supplement the use of ovs-pki.
57 ovs-pki uses openssl(1) for certificate management and key generation.
59
61 The following ovs-pki commands support manual PKI administration:
62 • init
64 Initializes a new PKI (by default in /var/lib/openvswitch/pki, al‐
66 though this default may be changed at Open vSwitch build time) and
67 populates it with a pair of certificate authorities for controllers
68 and switches.
69 This command should ideally be run on a high-security machine sepa‐
71 rate from any OpenFlow controller or switch, called the CA machine.
72 The files pki/controllerca/cacert.pem and pki/switchca/cacert.pem
73 that it produces will need to be copied over to the OpenFlow switches
74 and controllers, respectively. Their contents may safely be made
75 public.
76 By default, ovs-pki generates 2048-bit RSA keys. The -B or --bits
78 option (see below) may be used to override the key length. The -k
79 dsa or --key=dsa option may be used to use DSA in place of RSA. If
80 DSA is selected, the dsaparam.pem file generated in the new PKI hier‐
81 archy must be copied to any machine on which the req command (see be‐
82 low) will be executed. Its contents may safely be made public.
83 Other files generated by init may remain on the CA machine. The
85 files pki/controllerca/private/cakey.pem and pki/switchca/pri‐
86 vate/cakey.pem have particularly sensitive contents that should not
87 be exposed.
88 • req <name>
90 Generates a new private key named <name>-privkey.pem and correspond‐
92 ing certificate request named <name>-req.pem. The private key can be
93 intended for use by a switch or a controller.
94 This command should ideally be run on the switch or controller that
96 will use the private key to identify itself. The file <name>-req.pem
97 must be copied to the CA machine for signing with the sign command
98 (below).
99 This command will output a fingerprint to stdout as its final step.
101 Write down the fingerprint and take it to the CA machine before con‐
102 tinuing with the sign step.
103 When RSA keys are in use (as is the default), req, unlike the rest of
105 the ovs-pki commands, does not need access to a PKI hierarchy created
106 by ovs-pki init. The -B or --bits option (see below) may be used to
107 specify the number of bits in the generated RSA key.
108 When DSA keys are used (as specified with --key=dsa), req needs ac‐
110 cess to the dsaparam.pem file created as part of the PKI hierarchy
111 (but not to other files in that tree). By default, ovs-pki looks for
112 this file in the PKI directory as dsaparam.pem, but the -D or
113 --dsaparam option (see below) may be used to specify an alternate lo‐
114 cation.
115 <name>-privkey.pem has sensitive contents that should not be exposed.
117 <name>-req.pem may be safely made public.
118 • sign <name> [<type>]
120 Signs the certificate request named <name>-req.pem that was produced
122 in the previous step, producing a certificate named <name>-cert.pem.
123 <type>, either switch (default) or controller, indicates the use for
124 which the key is being certified.
125 This command must be run on the CA machine.
127 The command will output a fingerprint to stdout and request that you
129 verify that it is the same fingerprint output by the req command.
130 This ensures that the request being signed is the same one produced
131 by req. (The -b or --batch option suppresses the verification step.)
132 The file <name>-cert.pem will need to be copied back to the switch or
134 controller for which it is intended. Its contents may safely be made
135 public.
136 • req+sign <name> [<type>]
138 Combines the req and sign commands into a single step, outputting all
140 the files produced by each. The <name>-privkey.pem and
141 <name>-cert.pem files must be copied securely to the switch or con‐
142 troller. <name>-privkey.pem has sensitive contents and must not be
143 exposed in transit. Afterward, it should be deleted from the CA ma‐
144 chine.
145 This combined method is, theoretically, less secure than the individ‐
147 ual steps performed separately on two different machines, because
148 there is additional potential for exposure of the private key. How‐
149 ever, it is also more convenient.
150 • verify <name> [<type>]
152 Verifies that <name>-cert.pem is a valid certificate for the given
154 <type> of use, either switch (default) or controller. If the cer‐
155 tificate is valid for this use, it prints the message
156 <name>-cert.pem: OK; otherwise, it prints an error message.
157 • fingerprint <file>
159 Prints the fingerprint for <file>. If <file> is a certificate, then
161 this is the SHA-1 digest of the DER encoded version of the certifi‐
162 cate; otherwise, it is the SHA-1 digest of the entire file.
163 • self-sign <name>
165 Signs the certificate request named <name>-req.pem using the private
167 key <name>-privkey.pem, producing a self-signed certificate named
168 <name>-cert.pem. The input files should have been produced with
169 ovs-pki req.
170 Some controllers accept such self-signed certificates.
172
174 • -k <type> or --key=<type>
175 For the init command, sets the public key algorithm to use for the
177 new PKI hierarchy. For the req and req+sign commands, sets the pub‐
178 lic key algorithm to use for the key to be generated, which must
179 match the value specified on init. With other commands, the value
180 has no effect.
181 The <type> may be rsa (the default) or dsa.
183 • -B <nbits> or --bits=<nbits>
185 Sets the number of bits in the key to be generated. When RSA keys
187 are in use, this option affects only the init, req, and req+sign com‐
188 mands, and the same value should be given each time. With DSA keys
189 are in use, this option affects only the init command.
190 The value must be at least 1024. The default is 2048.
192 • -D <file> or --dsaparam=<file>
194 Specifies an alternate location for the dsaparam.pem file required by
196 the req and req+sign commands. This option affects only these com‐
197 mands, and only when DSA keys are used.
198 The default is dsaparam.pem under the PKI hierarchy.
200 • -b or --batch
202 Suppresses the interactive verification of fingerprints that the sign
204 command by default requires.
205 • -d <dir> or --dir=<dir>
207 Specifies the location of the PKI hierarchy to be used or created by
209 the command. All commands, except req, need access to a PKI hierar‐
210 chy.
211 The default PKI hierarchy is /var/lib/openvswitch/pki, although this
213 default may be changed at Open vSwitch build time
214 • -f or --force
216 By default, ovs-pki will not overwrite existing files or directories.
218 This option overrides this behavior.
219 • -l <file> or --log=<file>
221 Sets the log file to <file>. The default is ovs-pki.log in the OVS
223 log directory. The default OVS log directory is /var/log/open‐
224 vswitch, although this default may be changed at Open vSwitch build
225 time.
226 • -u or --unique
228 Changes the format of the certificate’s Common Name (CN) field. By
230 default, this field has the format <name> id:<uuid-or-date>. This
231 option causes the provided name to be treated as unique and changes
232 the format of the CN field to be simply <name>.
233 • -h or --help
235 Prints a help usage message and exits.
237
239 The Open vSwitch Development Community
240
242 2016-2023, The Open vSwitch Development Community
2433.1 Jun 08, 2023 OVS-PKI(8)