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For this step, you must log in with an identity that has a role with the following permissions: Keys:All Slots, Management Commands:Certificates, Management Commands:Keys, Security:TLS Sign, and TLS Settings:Upload Key. You can use the default Administrator role and Admin identities.
To configure TLS authentication, choose one of the following methods:
  1. Enable server-side authentication.
  2. Create connection certificates for mutual authentication.
We recommend option 2, mutual authentication.

​
Enable server-side authentication

We recommend mutually authenticating to the HSM using client certificates, but the Vectera Plus also supports server-side authentication. The following steps outline the process for enabling server-side authentication. Choose one of the following methods to enable server-side authentication:

​
Excrypt Manager

To use Excrypt Manager to enable server-side authentication, go to the SSL/TLS Setup menu. Then, select the Excrypt Port in the Connection Pair drop-down list, check the Allow Anonymous box, and select [ Save ].

​
FXCLI

To use FXCLI to enable server-side authentication, run the tls-ports set FXCLI command to enable server-side authentication with the Allow Anonymous SSL/TLS setting:
FXCLI
  tls-ports set -p "Excrypt Port" --anon

​
Create connection certificates for mutual authentication

As mentioned previously, we recommend mutually authenticating to the HSM by using client certificates, and the system enforces mutual authentication by default. The following example shows how to use FXCLI to generate a CA to sign the HSM server certificate and a client certificate. Then, it shows how to generate the client keys and CSR by using OpenSSL.
  • For this example, you must connect the computer that is running FXCLI to the front USB port of the HSM.
  • If you do not specify a file path for commands that create an output file, FXCLI saves the file to the current working directory.
  • Using user-generated certificates requires you to load a PMK on the HSM.
  • If you run help by itself, a full list of available commands displays. You can see all options for a command by running the command name followed by help.
1
Open the FXCLI prompt by running fxcli-hsm in a terminal.
2
Connect your laptop to the HSM by using the USB port on the front, and run the following command.
FXCLI
  connect usb
3
Run the following command to log in with both default Admin identities. When prompted for the username and password, enter them. You must run this command twice.
FXCLI
  login user
4
Generate a TLS CA and store it in an available key slot on the HSM.
FXCLI
  generate --algo RSA --bits 2048 --usage mak --name TlsCaKeyPair --slot next
5
Create a root certificate.
FXCLI
  x509 sign \
      --private-slot TlsCaKeyPair \
      --key-usage DigitalSignature --key-usage KeyCertSign \
      --ca true --pathlen 0 \
      --dn 'O=Futurex\CN=Root' \
      --out TlsCa.pem
6
Generate the server keys for the HSM.
FXCLI
  tls-ports request --pair "Excrypt Port" --file production.csr --pki-algo RSA
7
Sign the server CSR with the newly created TLS CA.
FXCLI
  x509 sign \
      --private-slot TlsCaKeyPair \
      --issuer TlsCa.pem \
      --csr production.csr \
      --eku Server --key-usage DigitalSignature --key-usage KeyAgreement \
      --ca false \
      --dn 'O=Futurex\CN=Production' \
      --out TlsProduction.pem
8
Push the signed server PKI to the production port on the HSM.
FXCLI
  tls-ports set --pair "Excrypt Port" \
      --enable \
      --pki-source Generated \
      --clear-pki \
      --ca TlsCa.pem \
      --cert TlsProduction.pem \
      --no-anon
9
To generate client keys and CSR, run the following OpenSSL commands from Windows PowerShell rather than from the FXCLI program:
Powershell
# Generate the client keys
$ openssl genrsa -out privatekey.pem 2048
Powershell
# Generate a client CSR
$ openssl req -new -key privatekey.pem -out ClientPki.csr -days 365
10
Using FXCLI, sign the client CSR that was just generated using OpenSSL.
FXCLI
  x509 sign  \
   --private-slot TlsCaKeyPair \
   --issuer TlsCa.pem \
   --csr ClientPki.csr \
   --eku Client --key-usage DigitalSignature --key-usage KeyAgreement \
   --dn 'O=Futurex\CN=Client' \
   --out SignedPki.pem
11
Run the following command from PowerShell. Use OpenSSL to create a PKCS #12 file that you can use to authenticate as a client by using our PKCS #11 library:
Powershell
openssl pkcs12 -export -inkey privatekey.pem -in SignedPki.pem -certfile TlsCa.pem -out PKI.p12
For this step, you need to log in with an identity that has a role with the following permissions:
  • Keys:All Slots
  • Management Commands:Certificates
  • Management Commands:Keys
  • Security:TLS Sign
  • TLS Settings:Upload Key
You can use the default Administrator role and Admin identities.
To configure TLS authentication, choose one of the following methods:
  1. Enable server-side authentication.
  2. Create connection certificates for mutual authentication.
We recommend option 2, mutual authentication.

​
Enable server-side authentication

We recommend mutually authenticating to the HSM using client certificates, but the Vectera Plus also supports server-side authentication. The following steps outline the process for enabling server-side authentication. Choose one of the following methods to enable server-side authentication:

​
Excrypt Manager

To enable server-side authentication in Excrypt Manager, go to the SSL/TLS Setup menu. Then, select the Excrypt Port in the Connection Pair drop-down list, check the Allow Anonymous box, and select [ Save ].

​
FXCLI

To enable server-side authentication in FXCLI, run the tls-ports set FXCLI command to enable server-side authentication with the Allow Anonymous SSL/TLS setting:
FXCLI
  tls-ports set -p "Excrypt Port" --anon

​
Create connection certificates, client keypair, and a CSR

As mentioned previously, we recommend mutually authenticating to the HSM by using client certificates, and the system enforces mutual authentication by default. The following example shows how to use FXCLI to generate a CA to sign the HSM server certificate and a Futurex CNG (FXCNG) client certificate. Then, it shows how to generate the client key pair and CSR by using the Windows certreq utility.
  • For this example, you must connect the computer running FXCLI to the front USB port of the HSM.
  • If you do not specify a file path for commands that create an output file, FXCLI saves the file to the current working directory.
  • Using user-generated certificates requires you to load a PMK on the HSM.
  • If you run help by itself, a full list of available commands displays. You can see the options for a command by running the command name followed by help.
This section shows how to perform the following tasks:
  1. Create a certreq policy file.
  2. Generate a CSR from the certreq policy INF file.
  3. Generate a key pair and CSR for the Excrypt Port on the HSM.
  4. Sign the CSRs for the Excrypt Port and Futurex CNG.

​
Create a certreq policy file

Perform the following steps to create a certreq policy file:
1
On the computer where you installed the Futurex CNG, open a text editor.
2
Create a new file and copy and paste the following content into it:
None
[Version]
Signature = "$Windows NT$"

[NewRequest]
Subject = "CN=Microsoft ADCS"
Exportable = TRUE
KeyLength = 2048
MachineKeySet = TRUE
3
Save the file with the .inf extension (for example, certreq_policy.inf).

​
Generate a CSR

Perform the following steps to generate a CSR from the certreq policy INF file:
1
Open either Command Prompt or PowerShell.
2
Go to the directory with the certreq policy .inf file.
3
Run the following command to generate a CSR from the certreq policy .inf file:
Powershell
certreq -new -q -config "your.domain.com\Microsoft ADCS" certreq_policy.inf client.csr

​
Generate a key pair and CSR

Perform the following steps to generate a key pair and CSR for the Excrypt Port on the HSM:
1
Open the FXCLI prompt by running fxcli-hsm in a terminal.
2
Connect your laptop to the HSM through the USB port on the front, and run the following command:
FXCLI
  connect usb
3
Use the following command to log in with the default Admin1 and Admin2 identities. When prompted, enter the username and password. Run the command twice, once for each identity.
FXCLI
  login user
4
Generate a key pair and CSR for the Excrypt Port by using the following command:
FXCLI
  tls-ports request --pair "Excrypt Port" --file excrypt_port.csr --pki-algo RSA

​
Generate a keypair and certificate

Perform the following steps to generate a TLS CA keypair and certificate with FXCLI:
1
Open the FXCLI prompt by running fxcli-hsm in a terminal.
2
Connect your laptop to the HSM through the USB port on the front, and run the following command:
FXCLI
  connect usb
3
Log in with the default Admin1 and Admin2 identities. When prompted, enter the username and password. Run this command twice, once for each identity.
FXCLI
  login user
4
Generate a TLS CA keypair and store it in an available slot on the HSM
FXCLI
  generate --algo RSA --bits 2048 --usage mak --name TlsCaKeyPair --slot next
5
Create a TLS CA certificate from the key pair you created in step 4.
FXCLI
  x509 sign \
      --private-slot TlsCaKeyPair \
      --key-usage DigitalSignature --key-usage KeyCertSign \
      --ca true --pathlen 0 \
      --dn 'O=Futurex\CN=Root' \
      --out TlsCa.pem

​
Sign the CSRs

Perform the following steps to sign the CSRs for the Excrypt Port and Futurex CNG:
1
Open the FXCLI prompt by running fxcli-hsm in a terminal.
2
Connect your laptop to the HSM through the USB port on the front, and run the following command:
FXCLI
  connect usb
3
Log in with the default Admin1 and Admin2 identities. When prompted, enter the username and password. Run the following command twice, once for each identity:
FXCLI
  login user
4
Sign the CSR for the Excrypt Port by using the CA you created in the previous section.
FXCLI
  x509 sign \
      --private-slot TlsCaKeyPair \
      --issuer TlsCa.pem \
      --csr excrypt_port.csr \
      --eku Server --key-usage DigitalSignature --key-usage KeyAgreement \
      --ca false \
      --dn 'O=Futurex\CN=Excrypt Port' \
      --out signed_excrypt_cert.pem
5
Push the signed server PKI to the Excrypt Port on the HSM.
FXCLI
  tls-ports set --pair "Excrypt Port" \
      --enable \
      --pki-source Generated \
      --clear-pki \
      --ca TlsCa.pem \
      --cert signed_excrypt_cert.pem \
      --no-anon
6
Restart the SSL2TCP processor to apply the changes made to the Excrypt Port connection pair.
FXCLI
  tls-ports restart
7
Sign the client CSR for Futurex CNG by using the CA you created in the previous section.
FXCLI
  x509 sign  \
   --private-slot TlsCaKeyPair \
   --issuer TlsCa.pem \
   --csr client.csr \
   --eku Client --key-usage DigitalSignature --key-usage KeyAgreement \
   --out signed_client_cert.pem

​
Create an association between the signed certificate and its corresponding key pair

This section explains the necessary steps to associate the signed Futurex CNG client TLS certificate with its corresponding private key in the Windows Certificate Store. Before making this association, you must import the CA certificate that issued the Futurex CNG client TLS certificate into the Trusted Root Certification Authorities Windows Certificate Store.

​
Import the CA certificate

Perform the following steps to import the CA certificate that issued the Futurex CNG client TLS certificate into the Trusted Root Certification Authorities store:
1
On the computer where you installed Futurex CNG, open the Manage computer certificates program.
2
Right-click the Trusted Root Certification Authorities store and select All Tasks> Import.
3
Follow the steps in the Certificate Import Wizard to import the TLS CA root certificate file.
If the import succeeds, you get a confirmation message.

​
Associate the certificate with the key

Perform the following steps to associate the signed Futurex CNG certificate with its corresponding private key in the Windows Certificate Store:
1
Open either Command Prompt or PowerShell.
2
Go to the directory where you saved the signed Futurex CNG client TLS certificate file.
3
Run the following command to create an association between the signed Futurex CNG certificate and its corresponding key pair stored in your Windows account profile:
Powershell
certreq -accept -machine signed_client_cert.pem
If the command succeeds, information about the installed certificate displays.