SSL connections in PowerBuilder
PowerBuilder provides two system objects for use with secure
connections:
- SSLServiceProvider
service object The SSLServiceProvider object is an implementation of the
EAServer CtsSecurity::SSLServiceProvider interface. For more information
about this interface, you can view the EAServer interface repository
documentation in a Web browser by connecting to your server at http://hostname:portnumber/ir.
You use the GetGlobalProperty and SetGlobalProperty functions
of the SSLServiceProvider object to configure global SSL properties. For a description
of the global properties you can set and/or get, see “SSL properties”.You can also set SSL properties at the connection level by
specifying them in an options string for the Connection or JaguarORB
object. Interactive applications typically use the SSLServiceProvider
object in conjunction with the SSLCallback object. Applications
that run without user interaction typically configure SSL settings
at the connection level. For information about setting properties
at the connection level, see “ORB properties”. - SSLCallback object To enable EAServer to request additional information from
the client using a callback method, you can implement your own logic
for the callback methods in an instance of the SSLCallBack object.
The SSLCallback object is an implementation of the EAServer CtsSecurity::SSLCallback
interface.
SSL properties
The following table lists the properties that can be set or
retrieved using SetGlobalProperty or GetGlobalProperty. For any
SSL connection, you must set the qop (quality of protection) property
and, unless you implement a callback to obtain it, you must also
set the pin property. You also need to connect to a server address
that can support your chosen level of security, as described in “Secure server addresses”.
Setting global properties in a PowerBuilder session When you run a client application in PowerBuilder, you can
set global properties only once
during the
PowerBuilder session. You will need to restart PowerBuilder each
time you test the code that sets global SSL properties.
If some properties are
not set or are set incorrectly, an SSL callback method is invoked.
If you do not specify an instance of the SSLCallback object, the default
callback implementation aborts the connection attempt.
| Property | Description | Get | Set |
|---|---|---|---|
| callbackImpl | Instance of the SSLCallback object. For more information, see “Using SSL callbacks” |
Yes | Yes |
| certificateLabel | The client certificate to use if the connection requires mutual authentication. The label is a simple name that identifies an X.509 certificate/private key in a PKCS #11 token Required for mutual authenticationIf not set and the connection requires mutual authentication, invokes the getCertificateLabel callback method, passing an array of available certificate names as an input parameter |
Yes | Yes |
| qop | The name of a security characteristic to useRequired for SSLSee “Choosing a security characteristic” for more information |
Yes | Yes |
| cacheSize | The size of the SSL session ID cache. Default is 100 |
Yes | Yes |
| SessLingerTime | The number of seconds that a session ID entry is kept in the cache after the last connection that used it is terminated. Default is 28800 seconds (8 hours) |
Yes | Yes |
| SessShareCount | The number of concurrent SSL sessions that can use the same session ID. Default is 10 |
Yes | Yes |
| pin | The PKCS #11 token PIN. This is required for logging in to a PKCS #11 token for client authentication and for retrieving trust informationRequired for SSLIf not set, set to any, or set incorrectly, the getPin callback method is invoked |
No | Yes |
| availableQop | A list of available security characteristics. The qop property can be set only to values that appear in this list |
Yes | No |
| availableQopDesc | A list of descriptions for the available security characteristics, in the same order as listed in the value of the availableQop property |
Yes | No |
| availableVersions | A list of SSL protocol versions supported by the SSL runtime engine |
Yes | No |
| entrustReady | TRUE if Entrust PKI software is available on the client, FALSE otherwise |
Yes | No |
| entrustIniFile | The path name for the Entrust INI file that provides information on how to access EntrustRequired when the useEntrustid property is set to trueIf not set, the getCredentialAttribute callback method is invoked |
Yes | Yes |
| entrustUserProfile | The full path to the file containing an Entrust user profileOptional when the Entrust single-login feature is available, required otherwiseIf not set, the getCredentialAttribute callback method is invoked |
Yes | Yes |
| useEntrustID | Whether to use the Entrust ID or the Sybase PKCS #11 token for authentication. This is a boolean property. If this property is set to FALSE, Sybase PKCS #11 token properties are valid and Entrust-specific properties are ignored. If this property is set to TRUE, Entrust-specific properties are valid and Sybase PKCS #11 token properties are ignored |
Yes | Yes |
| entrustPassword | The password for logging in to Entrust with the specified user profileOptional when the Entrust single-login feature is available, required otherwiseIf the password is required but not set or set incorrectly, the getPin callback method is invoked |
No | Yes |
Choosing a security characteristic
To use SSL, you must specify the name of an available security
characteristic for the qop property. The characteristic describes
the CipherSuites the client uses when negotiating an SSL connection.
When connecting, the client sends the list of CipherSuites that
it uses to the server, and the server selects a CipherSuite from
that list. The server chooses the first CipherSuite in the list that
it can use. If the server cannot use any of the available CipherSuites,
the connection fails.
The “Security Configuration” chapter in the EAServer Security Administration and Programming Guide
describes the security
characteristics that are provided with EAServer. You can retrieve
a list of characteristics available on the server and their descriptions
by retrieving the availableQop and availableQopDesc properties with
GetGlobalProperty.
Secure server addresses
You can connect only to a server listener that uses a security
level that is equivalent to or greater than the level requested
in the qop setting. If you use JaguarORB.string_to_object
to instantiate a proxy for the SessionManager::Manager interface,
the listener specified by the server address must use a security
profile that matches the client’s qop setting.
ORB properties
When you connect to EAServer using either the Connection object
or the JaguarORB object, you are using the EAServer C++ client
ORB. You can set its properties in the Options string of the Connection
object or using JaguarORB’s Init function. These are the
ORB properties that apply specifically to secure connections:
- ORBqop
- ORBcertificateLabel
- ORBpin
- ORBuseEntrustID
- ORBentrustPassword
- ORBentrustIniFile
- ORBentrustUserProfile
The meaning of each of these properties is the same as that
of the corresponding SSL property, but the value affects only the
connection that is being established and not the entire session.
Set ORBqop to sybpks_none to prevent
any use of SSL on a connection. This setting is useful if you have
set the QOP globally for all ORBs using the SSLServiceProvider object,
and you want to override the QOP for a single connection.
For a complete list of ORB properties, see the Help for the
Connection object.
This example sets the ORBqop property to sybpks_simple
and specifies a log file:
|
1 |
myconnect.options = "ORBqop='sybpks_simple', " &<br /> + "ORBLogFile='C: mplog.txt'" |