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Documentation > Security > Edge over TLS/SSL
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Edge over TLS/SSL

This guide outlines steps to secure connections between ThingsBoard and Edge instances using gRPC connections over TLS/SSL.

You can configure SSL termination in two ways: by utilizing the built-in SSL capabilities of the platform for gRPC traffic or by employing an external load balancer as the termination point.

The instructions are divided into two main parts: configuring the server side (platform) and the client side (edge).

Server SSL Configuration

Choose between the built-in mechanism or using a load balancer for SSL termination for gRPC traffic. Use the content toggle below to select and view the instructions for each option.

Build-in mechanism
Load Balancer

Follow the instructions below to generate your own certificate files. This approach is useful for testing but is time-consuming and not recommended for production environments.

Generate a Private Key

Generate a new private key using the command below. This will create a 2048-bit RSA private key and store it in a file named privateKey.pem:

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openssl genpkey -algorithm RSA -out privateKey.pem -pkeyopt rsa_keygen_bits:2048

Generate a Certificate Signing Request (CSR)

Next, use your private key to generate a CSR. You will need to provide details such as your organization’s name, common name (domain name), and an email address, which will be included in the certificate’s subject field. Save the CSR as certRequest.csr:

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openssl req -new -key privateKey.pem -out certRequest.csr
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If your ThingsBoard server is running locally, ensure you set ‘localhost’ as the common name (domain name) when generating your certificate. If the server is hosted, use its domain name.

SSL connections will fail if the certificate’s domain name does not match the server’s hostname.

Generate a Self-Signed Certificate

Finally, create a self-signed certificate from your CSR. The following command generates a certificate named certFile.crt, valid for 365 days. You can modify the -days parameter to adjust the certificate’s validity period:

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openssl x509 -req -in certRequest.csr -signkey privateKey.pem -out certFile.crt -days 365

Enable SSL Communication on the Server

For both Ubuntu and CentOS/RHEL installations, enable SSL communication server-side with the following command:

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sudo sh -c 'cat <<EOL >> /etc/thingsboard/conf/thingsboard.conf
export EDGES_RPC_SSL_ENABLED=true
export EDGES_RPC_SSL_CERT=certFile.crt
export EDGES_RPC_SSL_PRIVATE_KEY=privateKey.pem
EOL'

Restart the server to apply the changes:

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sudo systemctl restart thingsboard

The guide recommends using HAProxy as the SSL termination point for your platform.

For those utilizing Ubuntu Server, please follow these specific steps.

If you’re on a CentOS/RHEL Server, adhere to these instructions.

Configuring Edge to Use SSL Connection

Ubuntu or CentOS/RHEL

To enable SSL communication on the Edge for Ubuntu or CentOS/RHEL installations, execute the following command:

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sudo sh -c 'cat <<EOL >> /etc/tb-edge/conf/tb-edge.conf
export CLOUD_RPC_SSL_ENABLED=true
EOL'

If you are using self-signed certificates, it is necessary to add the server-side public certificate to the Edge’s configuration to verify the server’s certificate:

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sudo sh -c 'cat <<EOL >> /etc/tb-edge/conf/tb-edge.conf
export CLOUD_RPC_SSL_CERT=certFile.crt
EOL'

To apply these changes, restart the Edge:

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sudo systemctl restart tb-edge

Docker

In Docker setups, make sure the CLOUD_RPC_SSL_ENABLED variable in the docker-compose.yml file is set to ‘true’. If using self-signed certificates, also set CLOUD_RPC_SSL_CERT accordingly.

After making these changes, restart the ThingsBoard Edge docker container with the command:

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docker compose restart mytbedge

Next Steps