You’ve taken the step of securing your Maximo environment by implementing SSL in your WebSphere environment. However, just because you’ve implemented the SSL configurations doesn’t mean users must use them. How do you force users to append that little “S” to the back of the HTTP when they navigate to Maximo?
There are passive options, to be sure, but why not force users to the HTTPS address? If the Maximo environment is open to the internet do you really want your data passing through un-encrypted? One method of forcing SSL/HTTPS is by using Apache’s Rewrite Module which we’ll describe below. This way, if a user forgets to use the proper address, they will be automatically re-routed to the correct address.
- Ensure that your system is properly setup to handle SSL (HTTPS). I can’t stress this enough. Before forcing users to use secure protocols, make sure that those protocols are working properly. If you need assistance, visit our blog post on Configuring SSL with Maximo.
- Backup the httpd.conf file, normally located in the C:\IBM\HTTPServer\conf directory.
- Open the httpd.conf in your favorite text editor.
- Add the following lines to the file, substituting the appropriate path for “C:/IBM/HTTPServer” for your file system:
LoadModule rewrite_module modules/mod_rewrite.so
# Rewrite Rule for SSL. Ensure traffic on SSL.
RewriteEngine On
# If it's not 443 (SSL Port) ...
RewriteCond %{SERVER_PORT} !^443$
#...redirect it to the same address but make it SSL
RewriteRule ^(.*) https://%{SERVER_NAME}%{REQUEST_URI} [L,R]
5. Restart your IBM HTTP Service.
6. Test your solution!
#Security #WebSphere #SSL