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Pekko Configuration (TheHive 5.4+)#

Note

This documentation applies to TheHive version 5.4 and later. For earlier versions, please refer to the Akka Configuration.

Introduction#

With the release of TheHive version 5.4, we have transitioned from the Scala framework Akka to Apache Pekko. This change enhances performance and introduces several updates that may require modifications to your application.conf file.

This guide provides instructions on updating your configuration to support this change.

Basic Configuration#

For a reliable cluster setup, it's essential to have a minimum of three nodes for TheHive application. Each node should be configured with Pekko as outlined below:

## Pekko server
pekko {
  cluster.enable = on
  actor {
    provider = cluster
  }
  remote.artery {
    canonical {
      hostname = "<HOSTNAME OR IP_ADDRESS>"
      port = 7355
    }
  }
# Seed node list contains at least one active node
  cluster.seed-nodes = [ "pekko://application@HOSTNAME1:7355", "pekko://application@HOSTNAME2:7355", "pekko://application@HOSTNAME3:7355" ]
}

In this configuration:

  • remote.artery.canonical.hostname should be set to the hostname or IP address of the node.
  • cluster.seed-nodes should contain the same list of Pekko nodes, ensuring consistency across all nodes.

Configuration of a Cluster with 3 Nodes

Pekko configuration for Node 1:

pekko {
  cluster.enable = on
  actor {
    provider = cluster
  }
  remote.artery {
    canonical {
      hostname = "10.1.2.1"
      port = 7355
    }
  }
  cluster.seed-nodes = [
    "pekko://application@10.1.2.1:7355",
    "pekko://application@10.1.2.2:7355",
    "pekko://application@10.1.2.3:7355"
  ]
}

Pekko configuration for Node 2:

pekko {
  cluster.enable = on
  actor {
    provider = cluster
  }
  remote.artery {
    canonical {
      hostname = "10.1.2.2"
      port = 7355
    }
  }
  cluster.seed-nodes = [
    "pekko://application@10.1.2.1:7355",
    "pekko://application@10.1.2.2:7355",
    "pekko://application@10.1.2.3:7355"
  ]
}

Pekko configuration for Node 3:

pekko {
  cluster.enable = on
  actor {
    provider = cluster
  }
  remote.artery {
    canonical {
      hostname = "10.1.2.3"
      port = 7355
    }
  }
  cluster.seed-nodes = [
    "pekko://application@10.1.2.1:7355",
    "pekko://application@10.1.2.2:7355",
    "pekko://application@10.1.2.3:7355"
  ]
}

SSL/TLS Support#

Pekko offers robust support for SSL/TLS encryption, ensuring secure communication between nodes. Below is a standard configuration to enable SSL/TLS support:

## Pekko server with SSL/TLS
pekko {
  cluster.enable = on
  actor {
    provider = cluster
  }
  remote.artery {
    transport = tls-tcp
    canonical {
      hostname = "<HOSTNAME_OR_IP_ADDRESS>"
      port = 7355
    }
    ssl.config-ssl-engine {
      key-store = "<PATH_TO_KEYSTORE>"
      trust-store = "<PATH_TO_TRUSTSTORE>"
      key-store-password = "change_me"
      key-password = "change_me"
      trust-store-password = "change_me"
      protocol = "TLSv1.2"
    }
  }
  cluster.seed-nodes = [
    "pekko://application@HOSTNAME1:7355",
    "pekko://application@HOSTNAME2:7355",
    "pekko://application@HOSTNAME3:7355"
  ]
}

Certificate Considerations

Ensure you use your internal PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) or keytool commands to generate certificates.

For detailed instructions, see: Using keytool for Certificate Generation

Your server certificates should include the following KeyUsage and ExtendedkeyUsage extensions for proper functioning:

  • KeyUsage extensions
    • nonRepudiation
    • dataEncipherment
    • digitalSignature
    • keyEncipherment
  • ExtendedkeyUsage extensions
    • serverAuth
    • clientAuth

Pekko Configuration with SSL/TLS for Node 1

## Pekko server
pekko {
  cluster.enable = on
  actor {
    provider = cluster
  }
  remote.artery {
    transport = tls-tcp
    canonical {
      hostname = "10.1.2.1"
      port = 7355
    }

    ssl.config-ssl-engine {
      key-store = "/etc/thehive/application.conf.d/certs/10.1.2.1.jks"
      trust-store = "/etc/thehive/application.conf.d/certs/internal_ca.jks"

      key-store-password = "chamgeme"
      key-password = "chamgeme"
      trust-store-password = "chamgeme"

      protocol = "TLSv1.2"
    }
  }

  cluster.seed-nodes = [ "pekko://application@10.1.2.1:7355", "pekko://application@10.1.2.2:7355", "pekko://application@10.1.2.3:7355" ]
}

Ensure to apply the same principle for configuring other nodes, and remember to restart all services afterward.

Note

From version 5.4 onwards, the secret.conf file must include a secret key of at least 32 characters for session security, as required by Play Framework 3. For clustered setups, all nodes must share the same key, ensuring consistency across the deployment.