- Created by Armando Carratala , last modified on Jun 13, 2020
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Alison Wizard is a web assistant that facilitates the deployment of Alison Desktop on the end users stations, determines if all the necessary components are correctly installed and to suggest installation or update if necessary.
It detects the minimum conditions under which it should be performed and suggests the necessary corrective steps.
Among the tasks performed we can mention:
- Execute the download of its components
- Facilitate the correct installation of the components
- Validate its correct installation by signing a test transaction (if the user has a certificate)
Alison Desktop is used to generate the key pair, certificate installation, and digital signature operations for the following browser: Internet Explorer, Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Safari.
Alison Desktop can recognize certificates installed in various secure repositories like Microsoft CSP, Firefox NSS, PKCS # 11 devices, Smartcards, eTokens, and multiple platforms (Windows, Mac OS, Linux).
Advantages and benefits
- Alison Wizard simplifies the download of the required components to operate and enable them on the browser properly.
- Users will have the same user experience, no matter which browser is using.
- End-user can test the correct installation of the certificate, even check if the certificate is valid or revoked.
Related Product
Alison Desktop
You can obtain the current version of Alison Desktop from ACME Alison Wizard site.
For developers, go to the Alison Desktop documentation.
Alison SDK js
Alison SDK allows a developer to integrate Alison Desktop in its pages in an easier way. Go to the Alison SDK documentation.
Debbie
Debbie is used to validate certificates and signatures.
Functionality
Step 1: Detect Alison-Desktop
This is Alison Wizard's first step. The target is to verify if Alison Desktop is installed on the end-user machine. If not detected, downloads the appropriate installer for the operating system in use. End-user has to install it and run Alison-Desktop to allow Alison Wizard to continue. A new icon will appear on the tray to access additional features. | ![]() |
Step 2: Integrate
Verify the correct communication between the browser and Alison Desktop. If necessary, the process will prompt the end-user to install additional components.
If communication between the browser in use and Alison Desktop is enabled, Alison Wizard will jump to the third step.
Integration is shared between different browsers, like Internet Explorer and Chrome, but it's recommended to run the wizard on each browser that the end-user has. Alison Wizard is a diagnostic tool that facilitates end-user error detection and suggests a solution.
Step 3: Test user certificate
Once that all the Alison components are installed on the end-user machine, Wizard allows end-user to validate the correct operation of Alison Desktop through a test signature operation. It requires at least one certificate installed on some of the enabled Keystore repositories. If no certificate is detected, the end-user will see a notice. |
Installation
CertiSur distributes Alison Wizard from Docker Hub (https://hub.docker.com/).
Download Docker image
In order to download the images, the user must be registered in the aforesaid platform. Contact CertiSur to request access, and inform the Docker Hub profile to grant access to the docker image.
Step 1- Login using a Docker Hub account
# docker login -u <docker hub account> Password: WARNING! Your password will be stored unencrypted in /root/.docker/config.json. Configure a credential helper to remove this warning. See https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/commandline/login/#credentials-store Login Succeeded
Inform your docker hub account
You have to inform your docker hub account in order to authorize to download the package. Send an email to support@certisur.com.
Security warning
It is possible to save the user’s credentials so as to login safely following the steps on this link(https://docs.docker.com/engine/reference/commandline/login/#credentials-store).
Step 2- Pulling an image from Docker
# docker pull certisursa/wizard:latest latest: Pulling from certisursa/wizard a02a4930cb5d: Pull complete b5ffff9dbcda: Pull complete ... 7e5f58de12ac: Pull complete Digest: sha256:332ee89371399b7c6235465beb00fbd2071868fecee33fc14d04b87ba99b265d Status: Downloaded newer image for certisursa/wizard:latest docker.io/certisursa/wizard:latest
Step 3- Run Alison Wizard docker image
# docker run -d \ -it \ -p 8080:8080 \ --name wizard \ --mount type=bind,source="$(pwd)"/config/tenants, \ target=/opt/jboss/config/tenants \ certisursa/wizard:latest
Alison Wizard default configuration
Alison Wizard docker image includes an ACME tenant inside. You must overwrite that definition to include your own company or project tenants.
In case you want to modify the default configuration, go to step 5 to download a template of a different configuration. You can copy its content to your local machine and make the changes to:
- replace the default logo with your image (clientLogo.jpg),
- adjust the .css
- define filters for the certificates.
At the moment of running the image, follow the instructions of Step 3
Step 4- Test Alison wizard
Open your browser pointing to localhost:8080 (or the port defined by you) to access the URL where you published your Alison Wizard installation. You'll see the following image.
If you can see this image means that you have Alison Wizard running into your docker container. | ![]() |
Add Custom Tenant
After you have Alison Wizard running on your own container, you can add a custom tenant following the next steps:
Step 5- Download a custom example (looney)
Download the files from the following link looney-demo.tgz.
├── debbie │ ├── config │ │ ├── certstore │ │ │ ├── CertiSur.root.ClassB.G1.pilot.509.cer │ │ │ └── CertiSur.shared.ClassB.G1.pilot.509.cer │ │ ├── debbie.json │ │ ├── debbielog.properties │ │ └── policies │ │ └── looney.policy.json │ ├── logs │ └── repository ├── docker-compose.yml └── wizard ├── alison-sdk ├── logs └── tenants ├── looney │ ├── config │ │ ├── alison-config.json │ │ ├── authtoken-desktop.json │ │ └── license-desktop.json │ ├── images │ │ ├── background_world_map.png │ │ └── clientLogo.jpg │ └── stylesheets │ └── custom.css └── versiones.yml
Step 6- Define environment variables and mount external volumes
Define following variables to your docker instance:
Variable | Value |
---|---|
ENABLED_TENANTS | looney |
WIZARD_SECRET_KEY_BASE | 95820b3cea66376d006bf3ca3adf48287c1fc671e81c5956f8cd56aaffc4ac707673872d3d8561e14d851dea4c685a9874329a86f5c4b741e6e187cb70895820 |
BASE_INSTALLERS_PATH | https://s3.amazonaws.com/downloads.certisur.net/installers |
Configure your docker-compose file to mount the following volumes.
External directory | Container directory |
---|---|
./wizard/tenants | /opt/jboss/config/tenants |
./wizard/logs | /opt/jboss/logs |
Note: ./wizard/tenants external directory is the directory included into the example tenant config file (looney-demo.tgz) that you downloaded and stored in your local computer.
Note
For more details about Alison Wizard configuration varables, see next section Wizard Configuration.
Step 7- Configure docker_compose.yml and restart the container
Use the previous variables and volume mappings to define the new configuration, in this example as a docker_compose.yml file.
version: '3' services: wizard: image: certisursa/wizard:latest environment: ENABLED_TENANTS: looney WIZARD_SECRET_KEY_BASE: 95820b3cea66376d006bf3ca3adf48287c1fc671e81c5956f8cd56aaffc4ac707673872d3d8561e14d851dea4c685a9874329a86f5c4b741e6e187cb70895820 BASE_INSTALLERS_PATH: https://s3.amazonaws.com/downloads.certisur.net/installers volumes: - "./wizard/tenants:/opt/jboss/config/tenants" - "./wizard/logs:/opt/jboss/logs" ports: - 8082:8080
Launch the container from a shell
> docker-compose --verbose -f docker-compose.yml up -d
Open your browser pointing to localhost:8082 (or the port defined by you) to access the URL where you published your Alison Wizard installation. You'll see the following image.
If you can see this image means that you have Alison Wizard running into your docker container. |
Certificate Validation
Up to here, you can change look&feel likes logos, styles, from the front-end. Your customer can download the desktop application, install it and test that is integrated to the browser.
To complete installation you can add a validation module (Debbie) to test your customer's certificates.
Add Validation
After you have Alison Wizard running on your own container, you can add a custom validation for your customer's certificates following the next steps:
Step 7- Download Debbie module
Debbie is a validation module
# docker pull certisursa/wizard:latest latest: Pulling from certisursa/wizard a02a4930cb5d: Pull complete b5ffff9dbcda: Pull complete ... 7e5f58de12ac: Pull complete Digest: sha256:332ee89371399b7c6235465beb00fbd2071868fecee33fc14d04b87ba99b265d Status: Downloaded newer image for certisursa/wizard:latest docker.io/certisursa/wizard:latest
Step - Download a custom example (looney)
Download the files from the following link looney-demo.tgz.
├── debbie │ ├── config │ │ ├── certstore │ │ │ ├── CertiSur.root.ClassB.G1.pilot.509.cer │ │ │ └── CertiSur.shared.ClassB.G1.pilot.509.cer │ │ ├── debbie.json │ │ ├── debbielog.properties │ │ └── policies │ │ └── looney.policy.json │ ├── logs │ └── repository ├── docker-compose.yml └── wizard ├── alison-sdk ├── logs └── tenants ├── looney │ ├── config │ │ ├── alison-config.json │ │ ├── authtoken-desktop.json │ │ └── license-desktop.json │ ├── images │ │ ├── background_world_map.png │ │ └── clientLogo.jpg │ └── stylesheets │ └── custom.css └── versiones.yml
Step 6- Define environment variables and mount external volumes
Define following variables to your docker instance:
Variable | Value |
---|---|
ENABLED_TENANTS | looney |
WIZARD_SECRET_KEY_BASE | 95820b3cea66376d006bf3ca3adf48287c1fc671e81c5956f8cd56aaffc4ac707673872d3d8561e14d851dea4c685a9874329a86f5c4b741e6e187cb70895820 |
BASE_INSTALLERS_PATH | https://s3.amazonaws.com/downloads.certisur.net/installers |
Configure your docker-compose file to mount the following volumes.
External directory | Container directory |
---|---|
./wizard/tenants | /opt/jboss/config/tenants |
./wizard/logs | /opt/jboss/logs |
Note: ./wizard/tenants external directory is the directory included into the example tenant config file (looney-demo.tgz) that you downloaded and stored in your local computer.
Note
For more details about Alison Wizard configuration varables, see next section Wizard Configuration.
Step 7- Restart the container
Use the previous variables and volume mappings to define the new configuration, in this example as a docker_compose.yml file.
version: '3' services: wizard: image: certisursa/wizard:latest environment: ENABLED_TENANTS: looney WIZARD_SECRET_KEY_BASE: 95820b3cea66376d006bf3ca3adf48287c1fc671e81c5956f8cd56aaffc4ac707673872d3d8561e14d851dea4c685a9874329a86f5c4b741e6e187cb70895820 BASE_INSTALLERS_PATH: https://s3.amazonaws.com/downloads.certisur.net/installers volumes: - "./wizard/tenants:/opt/jboss/config/tenants" - "./wizard/logs:/opt/jboss/logs" ports: - 8082:8080 debbie: image: certisursa/debbie:v2.2.9a environment: checkMACAddress: disabled volumes: - "./debbie/config:/app/config" - "./debbie/repository:/app/repository" - "./debbie/logs:/app/log" ports: - 8081:8080
Launch the container from a shell
> docker-compose --verbose -f docker-compose.yml up -d
Open your browser pointing to localhost:8082 (or the port defined by you) to access the URL where you published your Alison Wizard installation. You'll see the following image.
If you can see this image means that you have Alison Wizard running into your docker container. |
Open your browser pointing to localhost:8081 (or the port defined by you) to access the URL where you published your Debbie installation. You'll see the following image.
If you can see this image means that you have Debbie running into your docker container. |
Wizard Configuration
Alison Wizard docker image includes an ACME tenant inside. You must overwrite that definition to include your own company or project tenants.
Environment Variables
Configure the following variables to customize your tenants and platforms.
Key | Description | Value example |
---|---|---|
ENABLED_TENANTS | List of enabled tenants separated by a comma. | acme, looney |
WIZARD_SECRET_KEY_BASE | Internal encryption key. It's a random 128 hexadecimal characters long key. Create your own key and replace it. | 95820b3cea66376d0...95820 |
BASE_INSTALLERS_PATH | URL where Alison Desktop installers for Windows, Mac, and Linux are published. Depending on your configuration, this URL can be internal or external. | https://download.yousite.com/installers. Inside of this directory you have to create a subforder for each product version as it is described below. |
DEBBIE_BASE_URL | URL where Debbie service will be listening. Debbie is used to test and validate certificates. | https://debbie-site:4443 You don't need to expose this site to internet, just need to be accessed by Alison Wizard. |
ENABLED_BROWSERS | List of enabled browsers supported by the wizard. | ie>=8,chrome,firefox,opera, edge,safari |
ENABLED_PLATFORMS | List of enabled platforms supported by the wizard. | windows, mac, Linux |
Volumes
The following volumes must be mounted on the Docker image to overwrite the variables of each defined tenant.
Source (host) | Path (container) | Description |
---|---|---|
/home/opera/docker/wizard/tenants | /opt/jboss/config/tenants | tenant configuration folder |
/home/opera/docker/wizard/logs | /opt/jboss/logs | logs folder |
Running Custom Tenant
After configuring your own tenant, launch a new docker image with the new configuration.
# docker run -d \ -it \ -p 8080:8080 \ --name wizard \ --mount type=bind,source="$(pwd)"/config/tenants, target=/opt/jboss/config/tenants \ -e ENABLED_TENANTS=acme \ -e BASE_INSTALLERS_PATH=https://<wizard_url>/installers \ -e DEBBIE_BASE_URL=https://<debbie_url:port>/ \ -e WIZARD_SECRET_KEY_BASE=a95820b3cea66376d06bf3...9a86f5c4b741e6e187cb7085aaee \ certisursa/wizard:latest
License
Alison Wizard comes preinstalled with a universal license valid for up to 1 year.
To obtain a full license, contact CertiSur team (support@certisur.com) and inform the domain list (from all environments: development, staging, production) where the container will be published.
CertiSur will return a definitive license covering all the domains informed with a 3 years validity.
The license file must be included in each tenant configuration folder.
Plugins
These optional components may be installed on some browsers (Firefox, Chrome, Internet Explorer) to allow a different communication between the browser and Alison Desktop.
Plugins must be enabled by domain, similar to license.
Internet Explorer 11
In the particular case of Internet Explorer, you will download an ActiveX component, that will require administrator privileges to be installed.
Tenant Configuration
Each tenant has its own configuration, and every Alison Wizard docker instance can manage one or several tenants.
The configuration file allows defining all the behavior of the Wizard for each tenant. It is easy to make changes in the operation of the application. It requires to reload the Alison Wizard container image to apply any change made on these files.
The following files define tenant configuration and must be customized or replaces.
File | Description | Default Value |
---|---|---|
alison-config.json | This is the main configuration file. It defines keystores, providers, filters, and plugins. It also defines minimal and suggested Alison-Desktop version. | |
background_world_map.png | Background images. It can be replaced. | |
custom.css | CSS style of main buttons, banner, and color. You can modify this .css file in order to reflect the font type or colors defined by your organization | ACME colors |
clientLogo.jpg | Logo image. | ACME logo |
alison-license-desktop.json | This file includes a license for the enabled domains. | 1-year validity license |
alison-authtoken-desktop.json | Defines the authentication token used by Alison-Desktop to manage the session. |
Create a new Tenant
The best way to create a new tenant is to copy ACME tenant configuration distributed on the last version of Docker Image, modify its name and apply changes on each related file.
Extend enabled tenants
After copying and configuring the new Tenant, the new name must be included in the ENABLED_TENANTS variable and restart the container.
Principal variables that you can modify to custom your tenant:
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