How to Install SSL Certificate on Nginx Server in Linux for Bold BI?

Introduction

An SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a security protocol that provides secure communication between a server and a client over the Internet. It encrypts data sent between the server and the client, preventing third parties from intercepting and reading the data.

Prerequisites

1. A server certificate issued by a CA for your domain
2. Intermediate certificates
3. Private key

Install SSL certificate on Nginx server for Bold BI application

1. Obtain the SSL Certificate from a Certificate Authority (CA) such as Let’s Encrypt, Comodo, or Symantec. The SSL certificate typically consists of a public key (certificate) and a private key.

2. Once you download and extract the SSL certificate zip file, you will see it consists of a server certificate, root certificate, and intermediate certificate. Follow the command to merge the certificates into one file depending on whether you have separate intermediate files or if these files are inside a single .ca-bundle file.

   • If all three certificates are listed separately, use the command:

     cat your_domain.crt intermediate.crt root.crt >> domain.crt
     

   • If the intermediate certificates are in one bundle, use the command:

     cat your_domain.crt your_domain.ca-bundle >> domain.crt
     

3. Copy the SSL certificate files to your Linux server.

   • SSL certificate (e.g., domain.crt)
   • Private key (e.g., domain.key)

   Copy these files to a directory of your choice on your server.

4. Open the Nginx configuration file in a text editor. The default location for the configuration file for the Bold BI application is:

   Ubuntu - /etc/nginx/sites-available/boldbi-nginx-config
   Centos - /etc/nginx/nginx.conf/boldbi-nginx-config.conf

5. Uncomment the following marked lines in the Nginx config file.

   

6. Comment the following marked line in the Nginx config file.

   

7. Replace the example.com with your domain name.

   

8. Specify the file path of the SSL certificate: ssl_certificate /etc/ssl/domain.crt.

9. Specify the file path of the SSL certificate key: ssl_certificate_key /etc/ssl/domain.key.

10. Save and run the sudo nginx -t to verify the syntax of the configuration file.

11. If the configuration file test is successful, force the Nginx to pick up the changes by running the sudo nginx -s reload.

12. If the Bold BI application has already been configured for the startup, then the DNS must be updated with the HTTPS protocol on the UMS administration page.

    • Navigate to [DNS ]/ums/administration in the browser.
      Example: https://boldbi.com/ums/administration

    • Update the DNS with https in Site URL and enable the check box.

      

    • Save the changes after updating the HTTPS protocol.

    • Then restart all services using the following command to reflect changes.

      sudo systemctl restart bold-*