Secure communication
Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is an extension of the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) for secure communication over a computer network. In HTTPS, the communication protocol is encrypted using Transport Layer Security (TLS), or its predecessor, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).
In XProtect VMS, secure communication relies on TLS/SSL with asymmetric encryption (RSA).
A certificate authority (CA) is anyone who can issue certificates for HTTPS services. Each certificate includes the following to authenticate, secure, and manage secure connections:
Public key: Installed on the clients via a public certificate
Private key: Used by the server to sign its certificate
Whenever a service client calls the web service, the web service sends the server certificate, including the public key, to the client. The service client can validate the server certificate using the already installed public CA certificate. The client and the server can now use the public and private server certificates to exchange a secret key and thereby establish a secure TLS/SSL connection.
For manually distributed certificates, certificates must be installed before the client can verify the server.
See also: Transport Layer Security (external link).
Important
Certificates have an expiry date. XProtect VMS will not warn you when a certificate is about to expire. If a certificate expires:
The clients will no longer trust the recording server with the expired certificate and thus cannot communicate with it
The recording servers will no longer trust the management server with the expired certificate and thus cannot communicate with it
The mobile devices will no longer trust the mobile server with the expired certificate and thus cannot communicate with it
To renew the certificates, follow the steps in this guide as you did when you created certificates
For more information, see Certificates guide for Milestone XProtect productsCertificates guide for Milestone XProtect products