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Enable TLS for the MySQL Client

This document describes how to enable TLS for MySQL client of the TiDB cluster on Kubernetes. Starting from TiDB Operator v1.1, TLS for the MySQL client of the TiDB cluster on Kubernetes is supported.

To enable TLS for the MySQL client, perform the following steps:

  1. Issue two sets of certificates: a set of server-side certificates for TiDB server, and a set of client-side certificates for MySQL client. Create two Secret objects, ${cluster_name}-tidb-server-secret and ${cluster_name}-tidb-client-secret, respectively including these two sets of certificates.

    Certificates can be issued in multiple methods. This document describes two methods. You can choose either of them to issue certificates for the TiDB cluster:

  2. Deploy the cluster, and set .spec.tidb.tlsClient.enabled to true.

    • To skip TLS authentication for internal components that serve as the MySQL client (such as TidbInitializer, Dashboard, Backup, and Restore), you can add the tidb.tidb.pingcap.com/skip-tls-when-connect-tidb="true" annotation to the cluster's corresponding TidbCluster.
    • To disable the client CA certificate authentication on the TiDB server, you can set .spec.tidb.tlsClient.disableClientAuthn to true. This means skipping setting the ssl-ca parameter when you configure TiDB server to enable secure connections.
    • To skip the CA certificate authentication for internal components that serve as the MySQL client, you can set .spec.tidb.tlsClient.skipInternalClientCA to true.
  3. Configure the MySQL client to use an encrypted connection.

If you need to renew the existing TLS certificate, refer to Renew and Replace the TLS Certificate.

Issue two sets of certificates for the TiDB cluster

This section describes how to issue certificates for the TiDB cluster using two methods: cfssl and cert-manager.

Using cfssl

  1. Download cfssl and initialize the certificate issuer:

    mkdir -p ~/bin curl -s -L -o ~/bin/cfssl https://pkg.cfssl.org/R1.2/cfssl_linux-amd64 curl -s -L -o ~/bin/cfssljson https://pkg.cfssl.org/R1.2/cfssljson_linux-amd64 chmod +x ~/bin/{cfssl,cfssljson} export PATH=$PATH:~/bin mkdir -p cfssl cd cfssl cfssl print-defaults config > ca-config.json cfssl print-defaults csr > ca-csr.json
  2. Configure the client auth (CA) option in ca-config.json:

    { "signing": { "default": { "expiry": "8760h" }, "profiles": { "server": { "expiry": "8760h", "usages": [ "signing", "key encipherment", "server auth" ] }, "client": { "expiry": "8760h", "usages": [ "signing", "key encipherment", "client auth" ] } } } }
  3. Change the certificate signing request (CSR) of ca-csr.json:

    { "CN": "TiDB Server", "CA": { "expiry": "87600h" }, "key": { "algo": "rsa", "size": 2048 }, "names": [ { "C": "US", "L": "CA", "O": "PingCAP", "ST": "Beijing", "OU": "TiDB" } ] }
  4. Generate CA by the configured option:

    cfssl gencert -initca ca-csr.json | cfssljson -bare ca -
  5. Generate the server-side certificate:

    First, create the default server.json file:

    cfssl print-defaults csr > server.json

    Then, edit this file to change the CN, hosts attributes:

    ... "CN": "TiDB Server", "hosts": [ "127.0.0.1", "::1", "${cluster_name}-tidb", "${cluster_name}-tidb.${namespace}", "${cluster_name}-tidb.${namespace}.svc", "*.${cluster_name}-tidb", "*.${cluster_name}-tidb.${namespace}", "*.${cluster_name}-tidb.${namespace}.svc", "*.${cluster_name}-tidb-peer", "*.${cluster_name}-tidb-peer.${namespace}", "*.${cluster_name}-tidb-peer.${namespace}.svc" ], ...

    ${cluster_name} is the name of the cluster. ${namespace} is the namespace in which the TiDB cluster is deployed. You can also add your customized hosts.

    Finally, generate the server-side certificate:

    cfssl gencert -ca=ca.pem -ca-key=ca-key.pem -config=ca-config.json -profile=server server.json | cfssljson -bare server
  6. Generate the client-side certificate:

    First, create the default client.json file:

    cfssl print-defaults csr > client.json

    Then, edit this file to change the CN, hosts attributes. You can leave the hosts empty:

    ... "CN": "TiDB Client", "hosts": [], ...

    Finally, generate the client-side certificate:

    cfssl gencert -ca=ca.pem -ca-key=ca-key.pem -config=ca-config.json -profile=client client.json | cfssljson -bare client
  7. Create the Kubernetes Secret object.

    If you have already generated two sets of certificates as described in the above steps, create the Secret object for the TiDB cluster by the following command:

    kubectl create secret generic ${cluster_name}-tidb-server-secret --namespace=${namespace} --from-file=tls.crt=server.pem --from-file=tls.key=server-key.pem --from-file=ca.crt=ca.pem kubectl create secret generic ${cluster_name}-tidb-client-secret --namespace=${namespace} --from-file=tls.crt=client.pem --from-file=tls.key=client-key.pem --from-file=ca.crt=ca.pem

    You have created two Secret objects for the server-side and client-side certificates:

    • The TiDB server loads one Secret object when it starts
    • The MySQL client uses another Secret object when it connects to the TiDB cluster

You can generate multiple sets of client-side certificates. At least one set of client-side certificates is needed for the internal components of TiDB Operator to access the TiDB server. Currently, TidbInitializer accesses the TiDB server to set the password or perform initialization.

Using cert-manager

  1. Install cert-manager.

    Refer to cert-manager installation on Kubernetes.

  2. Create an Issuer to issue certificates for the TiDB cluster.

    To configure cert-manager, create the Issuer resources.

    First, create a directory which saves the files that cert-manager needs to create certificates:

    mkdir -p cert-manager cd cert-manager

    Then, create a tidb-server-issuer.yaml file with the following content:

    apiVersion: cert-manager.io/v1 kind: Issuer metadata: name: ${cluster_name}-selfsigned-ca-issuer namespace: ${namespace} spec: selfSigned: {} --- apiVersion: cert-manager.io/v1 kind: Certificate metadata: name: ${cluster_name}-ca namespace: ${namespace} spec: secretName: ${cluster_name}-ca-secret commonName: "TiDB CA" isCA: true duration: 87600h # 10yrs renewBefore: 720h # 30d issuerRef: name: ${cluster_name}-selfsigned-ca-issuer kind: Issuer --- apiVersion: cert-manager.io/v1 kind: Issuer metadata: name: ${cluster_name}-tidb-issuer namespace: ${namespace} spec: ca: secretName: ${cluster_name}-ca-secret

    This .yaml file creates three objects:

    • An Issuer object of SelfSigned class, used to generate the CA certificate needed by Issuer of CA class
    • A Certificate object, whose isCa is set to true
    • An Issuer, used to issue TLS certificates for the TiDB server

    Finally, execute the following command to create an Issuer:

    kubectl apply -f tidb-server-issuer.yaml
  3. Generate the server-side certificate.

    In cert-manager, the Certificate resource represents the certificate interface. This certificate is issued and updated by the Issuer created in Step 2.

    First, create a tidb-server-cert.yaml file with the following content:

    apiVersion: cert-manager.io/v1 kind: Certificate metadata: name: ${cluster_name}-tidb-server-secret namespace: ${namespace} spec: secretName: ${cluster_name}-tidb-server-secret duration: 8760h # 365d renewBefore: 360h # 15d subject: organizations: - PingCAP commonName: "TiDB Server" usages: - server auth dnsNames: - "${cluster_name}-tidb" - "${cluster_name}-tidb.${namespace}" - "${cluster_name}-tidb.${namespace}.svc" - "*.${cluster_name}-tidb" - "*.${cluster_name}-tidb.${namespace}" - "*.${cluster_name}-tidb.${namespace}.svc" - "*.${cluster_name}-tidb-peer" - "*.${cluster_name}-tidb-peer.${namespace}" - "*.${cluster_name}-tidb-peer.${namespace}.svc" ipAddresses: - 127.0.0.1 - ::1 issuerRef: name: ${cluster_name}-tidb-issuer kind: Issuer group: cert-manager.io

    ${cluster_name} is the name of the cluster. Configure the items as follows:

    • Set spec.secretName to ${cluster_name}-tidb-server-secret
    • Add server auth in usages
    • Add the following 6 DNSs in dnsNames. You can also add other DNSs according to your needs:
      • ${cluster_name}-tidb
      • ${cluster_name}-tidb.${namespace}
      • ${cluster_name}-tidb.${namespace}.svc
      • *.${cluster_name}-tidb
      • *.${cluster_name}-tidb.${namespace}
      • *.${cluster_name}-tidb.${namespace}.svc
      • *.${cluster_name}-tidb-peer
      • *.${cluster_name}-tidb-peer.${namespace}
      • *.${cluster_name}-tidb-peer.${namespace}.svc
    • Add the following 2 IPs in ipAddresses. You can also add other IPs according to your needs:
      • 127.0.0.1
      • ::1
    • Add the Issuer created above in the issuerRef
    • For other attributes, refer to cert-manager API.

    Execute the following command to generate the certificate:

    kubectl apply -f tidb-server-cert.yaml

    After the object is created, cert-manager generates a ${cluster_name}-tidb-server-secret Secret object to be used by the TiDB server.

  4. Generate the client-side certificate:

    Create a tidb-client-cert.yaml file with the following content:

    apiVersion: cert-manager.io/v1 kind: Certificate metadata: name: ${cluster_name}-tidb-client-secret namespace: ${namespace} spec: secretName: ${cluster_name}-tidb-client-secret duration: 8760h # 365d renewBefore: 360h # 15d subject: organizations: - PingCAP commonName: "TiDB Client" usages: - client auth issuerRef: name: ${cluster_name}-tidb-issuer kind: Issuer group: cert-manager.io

    ${cluster_name} is the name of the cluster. Configure the items as follows:

    • Set spec.secretName to ${cluster_name}-tidb-client-secret
    • Add client auth in usages
    • dnsNames and ipAddresses are not required
    • Add the Issuer created above in the issuerRef
    • For other attributes, refer to cert-manager API

    Execute the following command to generate the certificate:

    kubectl apply -f tidb-client-cert.yaml

    After the object is created, cert-manager generates a ${cluster_name}-tidb-client-secret Secret object to be used by the TiDB client.

  5. Create multiple sets of client-side certificates (optional).

    Four components in the TiDB Operator cluster need to request the TiDB server. When TLS is enabled, these components can use certificates to request the TiDB server, each with a separate certificate. The four components are listed as follows:

    • TidbInitializer
    • PD Dashboard
    • Backup
    • Restore

    If you need to restore data using TiDB Lightning, you need to generate a server-side certificate for the TiDB Lightning component.

    To create certificates for these components, take the following steps:

    1. Create a tidb-components-client-cert.yaml file with the following content:

      apiVersion: cert-manager.io/v1 kind: Certificate metadata: name: ${cluster_name}-tidb-initializer-client-secret namespace: ${namespace} spec: secretName: ${cluster_name}-tidb-initializer-client-secret duration: 8760h # 365d renewBefore: 360h # 15d subject: organizations: - PingCAP commonName: "TiDB Initializer client" usages: - client auth issuerRef: name: ${cluster_name}-tidb-issuer kind: Issuer group: cert-manager.io --- apiVersion: cert-manager.io/v1 kind: Certificate metadata: name: ${cluster_name}-pd-dashboard-client-secret namespace: ${namespace} spec: secretName: ${cluster_name}-pd-dashboard-client-secret duration: 8760h # 365d renewBefore: 360h # 15d subject: organizations: - PingCAP commonName: "PD Dashboard client" usages: - client auth issuerRef: name: ${cluster_name}-tidb-issuer kind: Issuer group: cert-manager.io --- apiVersion: cert-manager.io/v1 kind: Certificate metadata: name: ${cluster_name}-backup-client-secret namespace: ${namespace} spec: secretName: ${cluster_name}-backup-client-secret duration: 8760h # 365d renewBefore: 360h # 15d subject: organizations: - PingCAP commonName: "Backup client" usages: - client auth issuerRef: name: ${cluster_name}-tidb-issuer kind: Issuer group: cert-manager.io --- apiVersion: cert-manager.io/v1 kind: Certificate metadata: name: ${cluster_name}-restore-client-secret namespace: ${namespace} spec: secretName: ${cluster_name}-restore-client-secret duration: 8760h # 365d renewBefore: 360h # 15d subject: organizations: - PingCAP commonName: "Restore client" usages: - client auth issuerRef: name: ${cluster_name}-tidb-issuer kind: Issuer group: cert-manager.io

      In the .yaml file above, ${cluster_name} is the name of the cluster. Configure the items as follows:

      • Set the value of spec.secretName to ${cluster_name}-${component}-client-secret.
      • Add client auth in usages.
      • dnsNames and ipAddresses are not required.
      • Add the Issuer created above in the issuerRef.
      • For other attributes, refer to cert-manager API.

      To generate a client-side certificate for TiDB Lightning, use the following content and set tlsCluster.tlsClientSecretName to ${cluster_name}-lightning-client-secret in TiDB Lightning's values.yaml file.

      apiVersion: cert-manager.io/v1 kind: Certificate metadata: name: ${cluster_name}-lightning-client-secret namespace: ${namespace} spec: secretName: ${cluster_name}-lightning-client-secret duration: 8760h # 365d renewBefore: 360h # 15d subject: organizations: - PingCAP commonName: "Lightning client" usages: - client auth issuerRef: name: ${cluster_name}-tidb-issuer kind: Issuer group: cert-manager.io
    2. Create the certificate by running the following command:

      kubectl apply -f tidb-components-client-cert.yaml
    3. After creating these objects, cert-manager will generate four secret objects for the four components.

Deploy the TiDB cluster

In this step, you create a TiDB cluster and perform the following operations:

  • Enable TLS for the MySQL client
  • Initialize the cluster (an app database is created for demonstration)
  • Create a Backup object to back up the cluster
  • Create a Restore object to restore the cluster
  • Use separate client-side certificates for TidbInitializer, PD Dashboard, Backup, and Restore (specified by tlsClientSecretName)
  1. Create three .yaml files:

    • tidb-cluster.yaml file:

      apiVersion: pingcap.com/v1alpha1 kind: TidbCluster metadata: name: ${cluster_name} namespace: ${namespace} spec: version: v7.5.0 timezone: UTC pvReclaimPolicy: Retain pd: baseImage: pingcap/pd maxFailoverCount: 0 replicas: 1 requests: storage: "10Gi" config: {} tlsClientSecretName: ${cluster_name}-pd-dashboard-client-secret tikv: baseImage: pingcap/tikv maxFailoverCount: 0 replicas: 1 requests: storage: "100Gi" config: {} tidb: baseImage: pingcap/tidb maxFailoverCount: 0 replicas: 1 service: type: ClusterIP config: {} tlsClient: enabled: true --- apiVersion: pingcap.com/v1alpha1 kind: TidbInitializer metadata: name: ${cluster_name}-init namespace: ${namespace} spec: image: tnir/mysqlclient cluster: namespace: ${namespace} name: ${cluster_name} initSql: |- create database app; tlsClientSecretName: ${cluster_name}-tidb-initializer-client-secret
    • backup.yaml:

      apiVersion: pingcap.com/v1alpha1 kind: Backup metadata: name: ${cluster_name}-backup namespace: ${namespace} spec: backupType: full br: cluster: ${cluster_name} clusterNamespace: ${namespace} sendCredToTikv: true from: host: ${host} secretName: ${tidb_secret} port: 4000 user: root tlsClientSecretName: ${cluster_name}-backup-client-secret s3: provider: aws region: ${my_region} secretName: ${s3_secret} bucket: ${my_bucket} prefix: ${my_folder}
    • restore.yaml:

      apiVersion: pingcap.com/v1alpha1 kind: Restore metadata: name: ${cluster_name}-restore namespace: ${namespace} spec: backupType: full br: cluster: ${cluster_name} clusterNamespace: ${namespace} sendCredToTikv: true to: host: ${host} secretName: ${tidb_secret} port: 4000 user: root tlsClientSecretName: ${cluster_name}-restore-client-secret s3: provider: aws region: ${my_region} secretName: ${s3_secret} bucket: ${my_bucket} prefix: ${my_folder}

    In the above file, ${cluster_name} is the name of the cluster, and ${namespace} is the namespace in which the TiDB cluster is deployed. To enable TLS for the MySQL client, set spec.tidb.tlsClient.enabled to true.

  2. Deploy the TiDB cluster:

    kubectl apply -f tidb-cluster.yaml
  3. Back up the cluster:

    kubectl apply -f backup.yaml
  4. Restore the cluster:

    kubectl apply -f restore.yaml

Configure the MySQL client to use an encrypted connection

To connect the MySQL client with the TiDB cluster, use the client-side certificate created above and take the following methods. For details, refer to Configure the MySQL client to use encrypted connections.

Execute the following command to acquire the client-side certificate and connect to the TiDB server:

kubectl get secret -n ${namespace} ${cluster_name}-tidb-client-secret -ojsonpath='{.data.tls\.crt}' | base64 --decode > client-tls.crt kubectl get secret -n ${namespace} ${cluster_name}-tidb-client-secret -ojsonpath='{.data.tls\.key}' | base64 --decode > client-tls.key kubectl get secret -n ${namespace} ${cluster_name}-tidb-client-secret -ojsonpath='{.data.ca\.crt}' | base64 --decode > client-ca.crt
mysql --comments -uroot -p -P 4000 -h ${tidb_host} --ssl-cert=client-tls.crt --ssl-key=client-tls.key --ssl-ca=client-ca.crt

Finally, to verify whether TLS is successfully enabled, refer to checking the current connection.

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