Passwordstate is marketed as an on-premise web based solution for Enterprise Password Management. However, “on-premise” doesn’t really mean it has to be based out of a physical bricks and mortar location. On premise really means from a “location” where you’re in control of network access to the product, can configure the physical or virtual resources that service the product, and are responsible for granting permissions to known individuals and groups to be able to access the data stored within Passwordstate.
Based on this you can, if you choose to, host Passwordstate within a Cloud Service where that Cloud Service provides an extension to your own network, account directory and credentials. Click Studios has tested and supports hosting of Passwordstate within both Azure and AWS.
The installation for Passwordstate is pretty much the same regardless of where you install it. The majority of the changes relate to the configuration of the cloud platform. This Blog will show you the key setup areas required to host Passwordstate on these platforms.
Hosting Passwordstate on Microsoft Azure
The specifics of your Passwordstate server will be dependent on your workload and the number of Users and Credentials stored within Passwordstate. The System Requirements can be located here https://www.clickstudios.com.au/passwordstate-system-requirements.aspx and apply to both on-premise and virtual implementations. As an indication our own Azure based instance has the following characteristics.
You have a number of options when it comes to SQL Server for your Azure hosted Passwordstate instance. If you’ve simply provisioned an Azure Windows Server, and want to host your web and database server on the same machine, you can follow the standard installation instructions, located on the Documentation page on our website here https://www.clickstudios.com.au/downloads/version9/Installation_Instructions.pdf. Alternatively, you may want to take advantage of the other services available within Azure such as the Azure SQL. Azure SQL is Microsoft’s fully managed cloud relational database service that shares the same code base as their traditional SQL Server offerings.
One key point with setting up Passwordstate in Azure is that our installer is unable to create the blank database, used during setup of Passwordstate, if you have elected to use Azure SQL. You are also unable to use the SQL Management Studio Tools as per our installation instructions. Instead, you’ll need to login to Azure and create the blank database in Azure SQL by navigating to SQL Databases:
Now create a new database by clicking on Create and then Create SQL database,
This will take you to the Create SQL Database. Set the Database name to passwordstate and choose an existing Azure SQL Server to host this database. If you do not have an existing SQL Server in Azure you’ll need to create one and assign a Server Admin. Take note of the Server Admin details as you’ll need these credentials to connect with SQL Management Studio Tools in one of the following steps.
Next, you’ll need to create a local SQL account called Passwordstate_user. To do this right Click Master Database and select New Query. Then copy and paste the following into the window and click Execute:
CREATE LOGIN passwordstate_user WITH password='<choose a password>’
GO
Now, you’ll need to assign db_owner rights for the passwordstate_user account to the Passwordstate database you’ve previously created. To do this right click on the Passwordstate database, select New Query and run the following;
CREATE USER passwordstate_user FOR LOGIN passwordstate_user WITH DEFAULT_SCHEMA=[dbo]
GO
EXEC sp_addrolemember ‘db_owner’, ‘passwordstate_user’;
GO
Now when you install Passwordstate, for the Database Setting make sure to select the second tab connect to blank database and choose Microsoft Azure, entering your Azure SQL Database Server Name, SQL Server Instance Name, Database Name, and the passwordstate_user account and password you created. Passwordstate will then proceed to populate the created database and the install will then finish as normal.
Hosting Passwordstate on AWS
When it comes to the database requirements for Passwordstate hosted in AWS you can select the database engine to be SQL Server Express, SE (Standard Edition) or EE (Enterprise Edition) depending on your requirements. You’ll need to create a Database Instance in AWS when logged in to the AWS console, and select Services and click on RDS as per the image below;
This allows you to create the RDS based on your choice of either SQL Server Express, SE or EE. Click on Get Started Now, and then select the Database Engine that best suits your requirements. In the example below I’ve selected the SQLExpress 2019 version;
Next, create a DB instance identifier name of anything you like. In the example we’ve called it passwordstate. Then create a Master username that you will use to administer this instance. By default, the username is admin. Take note of the password you are setting for this account:
Next on the Connectivity screen ensure you select ‘Yes’ for Public Access – This will allow you to connect to your RDS database instance from anywhere,
You should now be able to create your database. Once it’s created, you can now connect to it using SQL Management Studio Tools. This official Amazon guide shows how to find your connection details, and establish a connection: https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AmazonRDS/latest/UserGuide/USER_ConnectToMicrosoftSQLServerInstance.html
Once you are connected, you will be able to use the SMSS tools to create the empty database, and a SQL account used to connection between the Passwordstate website and the AWS RDS database. To do this right click on Databases and select New Database,
Call the database “passwordstate” and click OK,
Next, expand Security, right click on Logins and select New Login,
Select the account type as SQL Server authentication, and set the Login name to be passwordstate_user. Now choose a strong password and click OK,
Now select the User Mapping menu, and assign the db_owner rights to the passwordstate database. Click OK to save this,
Now when you install Passwordstate, for the Database Setting make sure to select the second tab connect to blank database and choose Amazon RDS, entering your Amazon instance in the Database Server Name field, Database Name, and the passwordstate_user account and password you created.
Passwordstate will then proceed to populate the created database and the install will then finish as normal.
Migrating Existing Passwordstate Instances to the Cloud
The above details can also be used when migrating from an on-premise instance to the cloud. Just remember to follow the documentation, located under Passwordstate General Administration here https://www.clickstudios.com.au/documentation/, the documents you want are Moving Passwordstate To A New Database Server and Moving Passwordstate To A New Web Server and theinstructions need to be performed in that order. Finally, please remember to migrate them before decommissioning your existing instance.
Have feedback, then we’d love to hear it via support@clickstudios.com.au.