Question

Photo of Keith Pavia

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Using SSL with RockRMS

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What is the best way to install RockRMS so that at least the admin and member sections are secure?  I created a sub domain xyz.ourdomain.com, but ran the install from www.ourdomain.com thinking that it would install then admin portion into the sub-domain.

  • Photo of Keith Pavia

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    Thank you Jeremy that helps.

    The SSL is working.  I just dont think I did it correctly.  I had the SSL cert installed in the subdomain xyz.ourdomain.com and I thought when I installed RMS that it would install the admin pages to that subdomain and the front facing website pages to the main domain.  That did not work.  When it installs, it puts everthing in the domain/folder that you install it from.  Not sure why it asked for the internal site address and the external.  I guess that confused me.  Before I go to far, I want to make sure that I have it installed properly.  Any ideas what I did wron and how to fix it?  Right now it is installed in the sub-domain folder and no files are in the main domain/folder.

    • Jeremy Hoff

      Jeremy Hoff

      Hi Keith,
      If you are using a Wildcard cert for a single domain.... i.e. "examplechurch.com"... and IIS is configured, then it should also handle subdomains such as "RockRMS.examplechurch." and "www.examplechurch.com".


      In other words, IIS will handle the SSL, and RockRMS will handle the routing for your domain names and the Sites. A single RockRMS folder on your filesystem can host virtually unlimited different RockRMS-powered Sites. While it's possible to setup a separate folder on your filesystem, I'm not sure I can think of a good reason to do that if you are using a single Database. (I hope that makes sense?)


      Back to your specific question - it sounds like you might be able to resolve this by configuring IIS with another cert - one for each subdomain - and then allowing RockRMS to handle the domain routing.


      Ping back if I misunderstood.... thanks!

    • Photo of Keith Pavia

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      I sounds like I should have had the SSL certificate installed in the main domain foler and then used the Force SSL on the pages that I want to use SSL.  Is that correct?

      • Jeremy Hoff

        Jeremy Hoff

        True! Though, unless you have a wildcard cert, IIS may only really serve SSL for the one domain it's configured.
        I hope that helps,

      • Photo of Keith Pavia

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        Thank you!

        I have asked Arvixe if they can change the cert to point to the main directory, but I'll probablly have to purchase another one.  It still would be less that geting a wildcard cert.

      • Photo of Keith Pavia

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        Hi Jeremy,

        So i had the SSL cert install in the main domain, but is is still not working.  When I tell the page to force SSL i get a "This page can’t be displayed".  I also used the recommended setting for the admin site, which was admin.ourdomain.com. but that is not working either.  Sorry, this SSL stuff is just not working for me.

      • Photo of Keith Pavia

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        The admin page is not coming up, so I can make any changes.  If I set it up just likt the documentation, should i just need to go to admin.xyz.com?  As I said, when I change the properties to force SSL, I can no longer access the page that I made that change to. 

        • Jeremy Hoff

          Jeremy Hoff

          I receive the same error you see on https://admin.therockaz.net -- it appears that IIS is also not listening on https:// which could lead to the problem.


          Is this a production site or is it one you could wipe? I ask because if you are not using this for real data yet, there isn't much need to deal with the heroics of making it work again. It's possible, but it might be simpler to redeploy RockRMS. ;-)


          Either way, what we want to do first is make sure that the web pages work on both HTTP:// as well as HTTPS:// before "forcing" SSL. You see, RockRMS will happily run on either SSL or not, and the "Force" option merely makes it a requirement for the configured page(s). In other words, lets get SSL working before you "Force" any pages. :-)


          I hope that helps?

          • Keith Pavia

            Keith Pavia

            Thank you! Chatting with Arvixe now. I don't think that SSL is setup properly. That would do it correct? :) I can wipe it no problem.
            Also, when I told RockRMS to use admin.therockaz.com for the internal site, what does that actually do? It does not require that I create a subdomain does it? If not, how does it actually get to admin.therockaz.com?

            • Keith Pavia

              Keith Pavia

              I have removed RockRMS. Now there is only one index.html file there. SSL still not working. Arvixe has escalated it to the SSL team. Thank you for your help. Still wondering how admin.therockaz.net works, if there isn't a sub-domain.

              • Jim Michael

                Jim Michael

                I concur. There is definitely no SSL certificate installed (or at least, functioning) on either www.therockaz.net or therockaz.net (verified via http://www.digicert.com/help/) . This is "simply" a web server issue and the fact that Rock isn't doing SSL is just a side effect :-)

                • Keith Pavia

                  Keith Pavia

                  Thanks guys. So, should I use admin.therockaz.net as the internal address? if I do, will I be able to login as admin at that URL?

                  • Jeremy Hoff

                    Jeremy Hoff

                    Glad to help, Keith.

                    The choice of domains is really up to you, but I agree that "admin.therockaz.net" is a great choice for your internal (staff-facing) site

                    Another option I anticipate seeing is "RockRMS.therockaz.net" since RockRMS is the name of the app. Make sure this URL is configured in DNS as well as in RockRMS - Configuration - CMS - Sites.


                    I hope that helps,

                    • Keith Pavia

                      Keith Pavia

                      OK the DNS is probably the reason it is not working. I'll see if I can figure it out. Thanks again for all of you help. The SSL should working now.

                    • Photo of Keith Pavia

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                      Jeremy,

                      So, do I create a pointer in DNS that sends admin.therockaz.net to the admin home page https://www.therockaz.net/page/12 , so that when I type in admin.therockaz.net it takes me to https://www.therockaz.net/page/12?  The CMS configuration is pointing tot he correct place.  Thanks!

                      • Jeremy Hoff

                        Jeremy Hoff

                        Hi Keith,
                        If you are referring to the Sites config where you set the default page, then yes: RockRMS - Admin Tools - CMS Config - Sites.
                        I hope that helps,

                      • Photo of Jeremy Hoff

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                        Hi Keith,

                        Thanks for asking.

                        RockRMS can be setup to handle multiple "Sites" (RockRMS - Admin Tools - CMS Configuration - Sites) and each Site can have a unique domain name(s).  If your currennt configuration is not what you are after with regard to the Member-facing site, and the Admin-facing site, this is where the correction(s) can be made.

                        When it comes to SSL, so long as your IIS Web Server is setup to use SSL, the only remaining step is to configure your page(s) to use SSL.  For that, you'd click Page Properties (little gear on the bottom edge of your screen) - Advanced Settings - then check "Force SSL."  That will require the page to use SSL.

                        Note, all of Rock can be safely run over SSL, but for any pages that transmit personal information I recommend using SSL.  For any pages that collect financial info (i.e. accepts credit cards) SSL is required.

                        I hope that helps?