HttpsConnection

What this blog is about ?

This blog is about setting up a https server with Node js. Node js runs at the 4th layer of OSI model. Therefore it provides a lot of core tweaking options
like CORS and https which are not intuitively available in other frameworks like Spring (No offense pls).

References:

I wrote this blog, following the blog below on https. I just tried it and added more details to it. I do not intend to steal some one else’s work.

Read my blog or the other blog cited below, or both, which ever is most helpful to you.

Ref:http://www.hacksparrow.com/node-js-https-ssl-certificate.html

STEPS:

The steps are stated for firefox, version 38.05.MAC OSC 10.9.5

1. Generate Private Key

openssl genrsa -out hacksparrow-key.pem 1024

<<1-generateRSPrivateKey.png>>

2.Make a certificate request.Provide some basic details and make the request.

openssl req -new -key hacksparrow-key.pem -out certrequest.csr

<2-makeCertificateRequest.png>

3.  Sign the certificate request and get a signed certificate.

openssl x509 -req -in certrequest.csr -signkey hacksparrow-key.pem -out

<<3-SignWithPrivateKey.png>>

4. create the package json file.

<<Enclosed package.json file in code tag>>

{
  "name": "NodeHttps",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "description": "NodeHttps",
  "main": "server.js",
  "author": "MaheshRajannan",
  "license": "ISC",
  "dependencies": {
    "https": "*",
    "fs": "*"
  }
}

5. Create the server.js file. Please note the location of the cert is obsolete path.

<<Enclosed server.js file in code tag>>

var https = require('https');
var fs = require('fs');

var hskey = fs.readFileSync('/Users/maheshrajannan/Samples/Workspaces/nodeJs/Udemy/sslCerts/hacksparrow-key.pem');
var hscert = fs.readFileSync('/Users/maheshrajannan/Samples/Workspaces/nodeJs/Udemy/sslCerts/hacksparrow-cert.pem')

var options = {
    key: hskey,
    cert: hscert
};

https.createServer(options, function (req, res) {
    res.writeHead(200);
    res.end("Hi from HTTPS");
}).listen(8000, function(){
  console.log('https web server listening on port '+8080);
});

Note: in production environments, certificates are mounted on an external mount and referred to by PATH variables. Using a path relative(or otherwise) to the project, will cause trouble.

Recommended Approach: Establish a path variable CONFIG. Refer to the cert as $CONFIG/ssl.

6. install the dependencies.

npm install
<6-npmInstall.png>

7. Run server.js

node server.js

<<7-RunServer.png>>

8. Access it in the browser.

<<8-AccessInBrowser.png>>

9. Expand I understand the risks and go to the next prompt.

<<9-PromptForException.png>>

10. Add Exception.

<<10-ConfirmSecurityException.png>>

11. After adding exception, you will see the page.

<<11-thePage.png>>

12. Now verify the certificate information.

<<12-CertificateFromBrowser.png>>

13. Click More information

<<13-MoreInformation.png>>

14. View the certificate

<<14-CertificateView.png>>

15. The important thing to note here is that details entered in step 2 and step 14 match.

Notice that the information we provided in creating the certificate is shown. What this means is that browser makes a request and server supplies the certificate information.The SSL connection is then made.

When buying CA signed certificate browser will establish connection after verifying the certificate authenticity. Most(99.9%) CA signed certificates(and their corresponding identities) are trusted by the browser.

16. IMPORTANT NOTE: If using SSL for a service it is important to visit the browser and add exception for the service port as well. Mozilla is very strict, with respect to untrusted SSL. Though you add https://localhost:8080, the service port https://localhost:3000 is not allowed by default , even for making a pre-flights call.