Experience Sitecore !

I am experiencing an urgent request to prepare a Sitecore instance for the test of some external tools our prospect partners making demos for us. In good times, I'd, of course, spin up a proper PaaS / Kubernetes environment, however, I am occasionally out of control of any cloud subscription, and what is much more important - time! The deadline for such tasks is usually "yesterday", so I started thinking of potential "poor man's deployment" options.

Like many developers do, I also have a "server in a wardrobe", however, that is not a retired laptop but a proper high-speck machine that currently serves me as a hypervisor server plugged by a gigabit Google Fiber connection. My cat loves spending time there, and I am generally OK with that given she does not block the heat sink vents output:

This server runs on ltsc2022 kernel, which provides me additional performance benefits, as I wrote about in a previous post of running 10.3 in Process Isolation mode. So why not re-use the codebase from that same containerized Next.js starter kit for the sake of PoC?

Please note: you should not utilize this approach for hosting real-life projects or going for something bigger than a quick PoC of a demo showcase. The stability of a tunneled channel remains at the courtesy of a service provider, and it also may violate one's particular license, so please use it with care.

The next question comes of how do I make it accessible from the outer global internet so that people making demos can login from where they are and work with Sitecore as they would normally do. Typically, to make that happen I need to undertake three steps:

1. Define a hostname and configure Sitecore to install with its subdomains.
2. Generate a wildcard certificate for a domain name of the above hostname.
3. Make required DNC changes to change A-record and subdomains to point public IP of that machine.

But wait a bit, do I have a public IP? Sadly, I don't, therefore, start looking for a variety of DynDNS options which still required more effort than I initially was going to commit into. Eventually, I remembered a specific class of tunneling software that serves exactly that purpose. From a wide range, LocalTunnel appeared to be the most promising free-to-use solution that some folks use to proxy out their basic sites for demos. 

Looking at its features it looks very much attractive:

• it is totally free of charge
• does not require any registration/tokens
• ultrasimple installation with npm
• because of the above, it potentially can tunnel directly into containers
• gives you an option of a temporal claiming subdomain, if one is available
• allows mapping invalid SSL certificates

The typical installation and execution are ultra-simple:

npm install -g localtunnel
lt --port 8080

After the second command, LocalTunnel responds with a URL navigating which will tunnel your request to port 8080 of the host machine it was run at.

But how do I apply that knowledge to a complicated Sitecore installation, given that most of the Sitecore services in containers are behind Traefik, which also serves SSL offload point? In addition, the Identity Server requires a publically accessible URL to return the successfully authenticated request.

The more advanced call syntax looks as below:

lt --local-host HOST_ON_LOCAL_MACHINE --local-https --allow-invalid-cert --port 443 --subdomain SUBDOMAIN_TO_REQUEST

Basically, for Sitecore to operate from outside I must set it up in a way that external URLs match those URLs run locally at the host where LocalTunnel runs. With the above command, if a subdomain request is satisfied, it will be served by the URL https://SUBDOMAIN_TO_REQUEST.loca.lt which leads to HOST_ON_LOCAL_MACHINE on port 443.

So, in a headless Sitecore we have four typical parts running on subdomains of a hostname served by a wildcard certificate:

• Content Management (aka Sitecore itself)
• Content Delivery
• Identity Server
• Rendering Host

OOB they are served by default with something like cm.YourProject.localhost, cd.YourProject.localhost, id.YourProject.localhost and www.YourProject.localhost correspondingly. In order to match HOST_ON_LOCAL_MACHINE to SUBDOMAIN_TO_REQUEST for the sake of this exercise, I choose the following hostnames for installation:

The scripts that create Next.js StarteKit Template and Init.ps1 script don't modify all the required hostname changes, so just in case you'll do it manually (recommended), I will name the locations to change

1. Init.ps1 - a block that makes and installs certificates (search by & $mkcert -install)

2. Init.ps1 - a block that adds host file entries (search by Add-HostsEntry)

3. Init.ps1 - a block that sets the environment variables (search Set-EnvFileVariable "CM_HOST")

4. Up.ps1 - authentication using Sitecore CLI (search by dotnet sitecore login)

5. Up.ps1 - final execution in the browser (search by Start-Process at the bottom of the file)

6. .env file - replace CM_HOST, ID_HOST, RENDERING_HOST and CD_HOST variables

7. Make sure Traefik config (docker\traefik\config\dynamic\certs_config.yaml) references the correct certificate and key files

8. Create-jss-project.ps1 - features --layoutServiceHost and --deployUrl parameters of jss setup command

9. src\rendering\scjssconfig.json

10. src\rendering\src\temp\config.js

After the whole installation completes successfully and you see Sitecore CM and Rendering Host in the browser with alternated domain URLs.

Now you can start LocalTunnel:

lt --local-host identity.loca.lt --local-https --allow-invalid-cert --port 443 --subdomain identity
lt --local-host sitecore.loca.lt --local-https --allow-invalid-cert --port 443 --subdomain sitecore
lt --local-host rendering.loca.lt --local-https --allow-invalid-cert --port 443 --subdomain rendering
lt --local-host delivery.loca.lt --local-https --allow-invalid-cert --port 443 --subdomain delivery

On the first run from outside it may show you a notification screen that LocalTunnel serves given URL, and with relatively great piing, that's it.

I briefly tested it and it works well: no SSL issues, Experience Editor runs and allows to bring changes, then publishes them correctly so that they get reflected while browsing Rendering Host. All seems to work well and as expected!

There are sometimes cases of misunderstanding SSL or misinterpreting certain aspects of it. Therefore I made these FAQs from the very basics, which may clear out any confusion.

1. What is SSL?

SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer, a protocol used to encrypt and authenticate data transmitted between applications, such as a browser and a web server.

2. Where did SSL come from?

SSL version 1.0 was developed by Netscape in the early 1990s. But due to security flaws, it was never published. The first public release was SSL 2.0, which came out in February 1995. It was an improved version, but still, after a complete redesign, version 3.0 got approved.

3. What is its purpose?

The SSL protocol prevents attackers from reading and modifying transactions and messages between the browser and the server, for example, the transfer of credit card data, logins, etc. This ensures that all data remains confidential and protected.

4. What is TLS-certificate?

TLS stands for Transport Layer Security - the successor and improved version of SSL. It has more reliable encryption algorithms, but despite some similarities, it is considered to be a different standard.

5. What protocols and versions are used nowadays?

SSL, surprisingly, is not used now. As described above, there were 3 versions (1.0, 2.0, and 3.0) initially. Then based on SSL 3.0 they created the TLS 1.0 protocol. Then TLS got upgraded to 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3 came out. Currently, only the last two are used.

6. How does an SSL certificate operate?

When the browser is connected to the site, an "SSL handshake" occurs ("handshake" keys are created), then cryptographic data is exchanged and, in the end, session keys are formed, on the basis of which the traffic is encrypted.

7. What types of certificates do exist and what's the difference between those?

• SSC (Self-Signed Certificate) - you can create yourself, but there is no trust
• SGC (Server Gated Cryptography) - for very old browsers
• SAN/UCC (Unified Communications Certificates) - multi-domain for MS Exchange
• Code Signing - for software signing
• Wildcard SSL Certificate - for domain and subdomains
• DV (Domain Validation) - confirms the domain name
• OV (Organisation Validation) - checking organization, address, and location
• EV (Extended validation) - gives the most protection

8. Are there any other types available?

Yes, for example, a Multi-Domain SSL certificate for several domains - does not require the purchase of certificates for each individual domain which simplifies administration. Code Signing certificates are designed to protect your code, content, and other files while they are being transferred online.

9. What data is stored inside of SSL certificate?

SSL certificate contains information:

• Version
• Serial number
• Search Algorithm ID
• Publisher name
• Validity period (no earlier than / no later)
• The subject of the certificate
• Subject's public key information
• Unique identifier of the publisher
• Subject unique identifier
• Add-ons
• Signature

10. Are SSL and HTTPS actually the same thing?

No, they aren't. 

SSL is a security protocol used to establish a secure connection between a web browser and a web server. 

HTTPS works as a sublevel between applications. HTTPS encrypts a regular HTTP message before sending and decrypts it during delivery.

11. How do I verify if a site uses SSL/HTTPS and it is correct?

Most browsers display a padlock and/or message at the address bar to mark secure connections protected by SSL / TLS certificates. The computer OS maintains a list of root certificates that make up a chain of trust.

12. What is a Chain of Trust?

When opening a site, the browser checks the entire chain of certificates, up to the root. If even one of the certificates is invalid, then the entire chain is also considered invalid.

12. Why SSL certificates are that expensive?

SSL certificates can be viewed as a kind of and insurance, they are expensive due to the guarantees that come with them. If something goes wrong, the SSL Certificate Provider will pay the affected end user an insurance premium.

13. Are there free certificates and how secure are they?

Free certificates do exist, perform the same function as paid ones, but usually have the lowest security level (DV), there will probably not be a guarantee for it, i.e. they are safe to some extent. When threatened, your site visitors will not be able to claim a guarantee. The most known free certificates provider is Let's Encrypt.

14. What is the way of buying a certificate?

If your hosting provider does not offer any free SSL certificates, or you need a different type of certificate, you can purchase your own certificate from a Certification Authority or a discounted reseller, which will be cheaper.

15. What is a Certificate Authority then?

Certificate Authority (CA) - an international organization that issues and is responsible for SSL certificates. CA verifies the domains and sources that authenticate organizations. Certification authorities are trusted by 99% of browsers.

16. What is the process for obtaining a certificate upon payment completion?

First, you generate a CSR and a private key. Then you send the CSR to the Certification Authority (CA) and get an archive with text/binaries for different types of web servers. Then you install it on your hosting or your server.

17. How do I use an SSL / TLS certificate?

1. Deploy your site on the hosting provider's server.
2. Create a CSR - Certificate Request, buy a certificate from a trusted CA or reseller.
3. Install SSL / TLS certificate in the hosting control panel or on the server.
4. Create a redirect to the protected version of the site - HTTPS.