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I am running nginx reverse-proxying to a python API right now. Dealing with certificate renewal is a matter of running a daily cronjob issuing 'certbot renew'.

by fb03 9y ago

I am running nginx reverse-proxying to a python API right now. Dealing with certificate renewal is a matter of running a daily cronjob issuing 'certbot renew'. If it works it replaces the fullchain.pem certificate, and that's it, easy peasy. Am I missing something?

scrollaway 9y ago
And by running Caddy instead, I have one less piece to monitor and worry about. The way Let's Encrypt works, it makes a lot of sense to have the functionality be part of the web server.
- JshWright 9y ago
  > The way Let's Encrypt works, it makes a lot of sense to have the functionality be part of the web server. That's an odd thing to say in this particular conversation thread... Why would you want to tightly couple your webserver to the availability of another service provider?
  - scrollaway 9y ago
    It's not tightly coupled any more than it would be with certbot. The issue I filed is an issue because it's unexpected behaviour (despite early closure, it has actually now been fixed).
- stephenr 9y ago
  > by running Caddy instead, I have one less piece to monitor and worry about No, with Caddy you have several vaguely related pieces glued together with superglue. > The way Let's Encrypt works, it makes a lot of sense to have the functionality be part of the web server. I think this thread is pretty much proof that that approach will bite you in the ass.
  - scrollaway 9y ago
    > I think this thread is pretty much proof that that approach will bite you in the ass. What bit me here is the fact that I'm running alpha software instead of a battle-tested web server; I'm doing so willingly, with full awareness of the risks that that entails. Drawing the conclusion you did from the variables at play is shortsighted. If anything bites people in the ass, it's prejudice and shortsightedness. I wouldn't want you handling my ops/infrastructure.
    - stephenr 9y ago
      > What bit me here is the fact that I'm running alpha software This wasn't caused by a bug. This was a deliberate decision to fail to start if the certificates on-disk were <= 30 days away from expiring and the CA can't be contacted. > Drawing the conclusion you did from the variables at play is shortsighted Using caddy is the web-server-stack equivalent of "putting all your eggs in one basket". If one thing about it isn't working the way you want, you have to either a) replace it completely or b) work out how to disable the bit that's not working how you want, and replace that part of it. > Drawing the conclusion you did from the variables at play is shortsighted - People use a piece of software that serves as both ACME TLS certificate client and web server - Said software by design won't start if the CA can't be contacted 30-days out from expiry The conclusion I drew is that such integration leave the operator with less control than if they followed a separation-of-concerns approach, and left web serving to a web server, and TLS certificate renewal to an ACME client. The former doesn't need to care about how old the certificates are, just use what it's given.
      - scrollaway 9y ago
        You're drawing conclusions from unintended behaviour, which has now changed (and a release has been issued).
        gommm 9y ago
        I still think that refusing to start if the cert expires in 7 days or less is still an issue if Let's Encrypt is down. There should be at most a warning but it should start. Otherwise you end up with an external dependency that can cause your web server to not start through no fault of your own.
tyingq 9y ago
The simple config syntax and sane defaults is nice in Caddy. For example, 3 lines of config nets a https server with http/2 support and an A rating with Qualsys for ssl setup.
- stephenr 9y ago
  > sane defaults Failure to start if a CA is down is a "sane default" ?
  - tyingq 9y ago
    Yes, that's exactly what I meant. You can tell because I didn't present any examples. And because one issue invalidates everything else. And I didn't express my opinion on this issue up thread.

by fb03 9y ago

scrollaway 9y ago

And by running Caddy instead, I have one less piece to monitor and worry about. The way Let's Encrypt works, it makes a lot of sense to have the functionality be part of the web server.

JshWright 9y ago
> The way Let's Encrypt works, it makes a lot of sense to have the functionality be part of the web server. That's an odd thing to say in this particular conversation thread... Why would you want to tightly couple your webserver to the availability of another service provider?
- scrollaway 9y ago
  It's not tightly coupled any more than it would be with certbot. The issue I filed is an issue because it's unexpected behaviour (despite early closure, it has actually now been fixed).
stephenr 9y ago
> by running Caddy instead, I have one less piece to monitor and worry about No, with Caddy you have several vaguely related pieces glued together with superglue. > The way Let's Encrypt works, it makes a lot of sense to have the functionality be part of the web server. I think this thread is pretty much proof that that approach will bite you in the ass.
- scrollaway 9y ago
  > I think this thread is pretty much proof that that approach will bite you in the ass. What bit me here is the fact that I'm running alpha software instead of a battle-tested web server; I'm doing so willingly, with full awareness of the risks that that entails. Drawing the conclusion you did from the variables at play is shortsighted. If anything bites people in the ass, it's prejudice and shortsightedness. I wouldn't want you handling my ops/infrastructure.
  - stephenr 9y ago
    > What bit me here is the fact that I'm running alpha software This wasn't caused by a bug. This was a deliberate decision to fail to start if the certificates on-disk were <= 30 days away from expiring and the CA can't be contacted. > Drawing the conclusion you did from the variables at play is shortsighted Using caddy is the web-server-stack equivalent of "putting all your eggs in one basket". If one thing about it isn't working the way you want, you have to either a) replace it completely or b) work out how to disable the bit that's not working how you want, and replace that part of it. > Drawing the conclusion you did from the variables at play is shortsighted - People use a piece of software that serves as both ACME TLS certificate client and web server - Said software by design won't start if the CA can't be contacted 30-days out from expiry The conclusion I drew is that such integration leave the operator with less control than if they followed a separation-of-concerns approach, and left web serving to a web server, and TLS certificate renewal to an ACME client. The former doesn't need to care about how old the certificates are, just use what it's given.
    - scrollaway 9y ago
      You're drawing conclusions from unintended behaviour, which has now changed (and a release has been issued).
      - gommm 9y ago
        I still think that refusing to start if the cert expires in 7 days or less is still an issue if Let's Encrypt is down. There should be at most a warning but it should start. Otherwise you end up with an external dependency that can cause your web server to not start through no fault of your own.

tyingq 9y ago

The simple config syntax and sane defaults is nice in Caddy. For example, 3 lines of config nets a https server with http/2 support and an A rating with Qualsys for ssl setup.

stephenr 9y ago
> sane defaults Failure to start if a CA is down is a "sane default" ?
- tyingq 9y ago
  Yes, that's exactly what I meant. You can tell because I didn't present any examples. And because one issue invalidates everything else. And I didn't express my opinion on this issue up thread.