Skip to content

Commit

Permalink
Sync docs from Discourse
Browse files Browse the repository at this point in the history
  • Loading branch information
github-actions[bot] committed Feb 28, 2025
1 parent e92a015 commit a6509ee
Show file tree
Hide file tree
Showing 5 changed files with 174 additions and 3 deletions.
61 changes: 61 additions & 0 deletions docs/explanation/e-cryptography.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -0,0 +1,61 @@
# Cryptography

This document describes the cryptography used by Charmed PostgreSQL K8s.

## Resource checksums

Charmed PostgreSQL K8s and Charmed PgBouncer K8s operators use pinned versions of the respective images ([Charmed PostgreSQL rock](https://github.com/orgs/canonical/packages/container/package/charmed-postgresql) and [PgBouncer rock](https://github.com/canonical/charmed-pgbouncer-rock/pkgs/container/charmed-pgbouncer)) to provide reproducible and secure environments.

The rocks are OCI images derived from the respective snaps. Snaps package their workload along with the necessary dependencies and utilities required for the operators’ lifecycle. For more details, see the snaps content in the `snapcraft.yaml` file for [PostgreSQL](https://github.com/canonical/charmed-postgresql-snap/blob/14/edge/snap/snapcraft.yaml) and [PgBouncer](https://github.com/canonical/charmed-pgbouncer-snap/blob/1/edge/snap/snapcraft.yaml).

Every artifact bundled into a snap is verified against its MD5, SHA256, or SHA512 checksum after download. The installation of certified snap into the rock is ensured by snap primitives that verify their squashfs filesystems images GPG signature. For more information on the snap verification process, refer to the [snapcraft.io documentation](https://snapcraft.io/docs/assertions).

## Sources verification

PostgreSQL and its extra components are built by Canonical from upstream source codes on [Launchpad](https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/postgresql-common). PostgreSQL and PgBouncer are built as deb packages, other components - as PPAs.

Charmed PostgreSQL K8s and Charmed PgBouncer K8s charms, snaps, and rocks are published and released programmatically using release pipelines implemented via GitHub Actions in their respective repositories.

All repositories in GitHub are set up with branch protection rules, requiring:

* new commits to be merged to main branches via pull request with at least 2 approvals from repository maintainers
* new commits to be signed (e.g. using GPG keys)
* developers to sign the [Canonical Contributor License Agreement (CLA)](https://ubuntu.com/legal/contributors)

## Encryption

Charmed PostgreSQL K8s can be used to deploy a secure PostgreSQL cluster on K8s that provides encryption-in-transit capabilities out of the box for:

* Cluster internal communications
* PgBouncer connections
* External clients connections

To set up a secure connection Charmed PostgreSQL K8s and Charmed PgBouncer K8s need to be integrated with TLS Certificate Provider charms, e.g. self-signed-certificates operator. Certificate Signing Requests (CSRs) are generated for every unit using the tls_certificates_interface library that uses the cryptography Python library to create X.509 compatible certificates. The CSR is signed by the TLS Certificate Provider, returned to the units, and stored in Juju secret. The relation also provides the CA certificate, which is loaded into Juju secret.

Encryption at rest is currently not supported, although it can be provided by the substrate (cloud or on-premises).

## Authentication

In Charmed PostgreSQL, authentication layers can be enabled for:

1. PgBouncer authentication to PostgreSQL
2. PostgreSQL cluster authentication
3. Clients authentication to PostgreSQL

### PgBouncer authentication to PostgreSQL

Authentication of PgBouncer to PostgreSQL is based on the password-based `scram-sha-256` authentication method. See the [PostgreSQL official documentation](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/14/auth-password.html) for more details.

Credentials are exchanged via [Juju secrets](https://canonical-juju.readthedocs-hosted.com/en/latest/user/howto/manage-secrets/).

### PostgreSQL cluster authentication

Authentication among members of a PostgreSQL cluster is based on the password-based `scram-sha-256` authentication method.

An internal user is used for this authentication with its hashed password stored in a system metadata database. These credentials are also stored as a plain text file on the disk of each unit for the Patroni HA service.

### Clients authentication to PostgreSQL

Authentication of clients to PostgreSQL is based on the password-based `scram-sha-256` authentication method. See the [PostgreSQL official documentation](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/14/auth-password.html) for more details.

Credentials are exchanged via [Juju secrets](https://canonical-juju.readthedocs-hosted.com/en/latest/user/howto/manage-secrets/).
96 changes: 96 additions & 0 deletions docs/explanation/e-security.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -0,0 +1,96 @@
# Security hardening guide

This document provides an overview of security features and guidance for hardening the security of [Charmed PostgreSQL K8s](https://charmhub.io/postgresql-k8s) deployments, including setting up and managing a secure environment.

## Environment

The environment where Charmed PostgreSQL K8s operates can be divided into two components:

1. Kubernetes
2. Juju

### Kubernetes

Charmed PostgreSQL K8s can be deployed on top of several Kubernetes distributions. The following table provides references for the security documentation for the main supported cloud platforms.

|Cloud|Security guides|
| --- | --- |
|Canonical Kubernetes|[Security overview](https://ubuntu.com/kubernetes/docs/security), [How to secure a cluster](https://ubuntu.com/kubernetes/docs/how-to-security)|
|microK8s|[CIS compliance](https://microk8s.io/docs/cis-compliance), [Cluster hardening guide](https://microk8s.io/docs/how-to-cis-harden)|
|AWS EKS|[Best Practices for Security, Identity and Compliance](https://aws.amazon.com/architecture/security-identity-compliance), [AWS security credentials](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/IAM/latest/UserGuide/security-creds.html#access-keys-and-secret-access-keys), [Security in EKS](https://docs.aws.amazon.com/eks/latest/userguide/security.html)|
|Azure AKS|[Azure security best practices and patterns](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/best-practices-and-patterns), [Managed identities for Azure resource](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/entra/identity/managed-identities-azure-resources/), [Security in AKS](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/concepts-security)|
|GCP GKE|[Google security overview](https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/concepts/security-overview), [Harden your cluster’s security](https://cloud.google.com/kubernetes-engine/docs/how-to/hardening-your-cluster)|

### Juju

Juju is the component responsible for orchestrating the entire lifecycle, from deployment to Day 2 operations. For more information on Juju security hardening, see the [Juju security page](https://canonical-juju.readthedocs-hosted.com/en/latest/user/explanation/juju-security/) and the [How to harden your deployment](https://juju.is/docs/juju/harden-your-deployment) guide.

#### Cloud credentials

When configuring cloud credentials to be used with Juju, ensure that users have the correct permissions to operate at the required level on the Kubernetes cluster. Juju superusers responsible for bootstrapping and managing controllers require elevated permissions to manage several kinds of resources. For this reason, the K8s user for bootstrapping and managing the deployments should have full permissions, such as:

* create, delete, patch, and list:
* namespaces
* services
* deployments
* stateful sets
* pods
* PVCs

In general, it is common practice to run Juju using the admin role of K8s, to have full permissions on the Kubernetes cluster.

#### Juju users

It is very important that Juju users are set up with minimal permissions depending on the scope of their operations. Please refer to the [User access levels](https://juju.is/docs/juju/user-permissions) documentation for more information on the access levels and corresponding abilities.

Juju user credentials must be stored securely and rotated regularly to limit the chances of unauthorized access due to credentials leakage.

## Applications

In the following sections, we provide guidance on how to harden your deployment using:

1. Base images
2. Charmed operator security upgrades
3. Encryption
4. Authentication
5. Monitoring and auditing

### Base images

Charmed PostgreSQL K8s and Charmed PgBouncer K8s run on top of rockcraft-based images shipping the PostgreSQL and PgBouncer distribution binaries built by Canonical. These images (rocks) are available in a GitHub registry for [PostgreSQL](https://github.com/canonical/charmed-postgresql-rock/pkgs/container/charmed-postgresql) and [PgBouncer](https://github.com/orgs/canonical/packages/container/package/charmed-pgbouncer) respectively. Both images are based on Ubuntu 22.04.

### Charmed operator security upgrades

[Charmed PostgreSQL K8s](https://charmhub.io/postgresql-k8s) operator and [Charmed PgBouncer K8s](https://charmhub.io/pgbouncer-k8s) operator install pinned versions of their respective rocks to provide reproducible and secure environments.

New versions (revisions) of the charmed operators can be released to update the operator's code, workloads, or both. It is important to refresh the charms regularly to make sure the workloads are as secure as possible.

For more information on upgrading Charmed PostgreSQL K8s, see the [How to upgrade PostgreSQL K8s](https://canonical.com/data/docs/postgresql/k8s/h-upgrade) and [How to upgrade PgBouncer K8s](https://charmhub.io/pgbouncer-k8s/docs/h-upgrade) guides, as well as the respective Release notes for [PostgreSQL](https://canonical.com/data/docs/postgresql/k8s/r-releases) and [PgBouncer](https://charmhub.io/pgbouncer-k8s/docs/r-releases).

### Encryption

To utilise encryption at transit for all internal and external cluster connections, integrate Charmed PostgreSQL K8s and Charmed PgBouncer K8s with a TLS certificate provider. Please refer to the [Charming Security page](https://charmhub.io/topics/security-with-x-509-certificates) for more information on how to select the right certificate provider for your use case.

Encryption in transit for backups is provided by the storage service (Charmed PostgreSQL K8s is a client for an S3-compatible storage).

For more information on encryption, see the [Cryptography](/t/charmed-postgresql-k8s-explanations-encryption/16851) explanation page and [How to enable encryption](https://canonical.com/data/docs/postgresql/k8s/h-enable-tls) guide.

### Authentication

Charmed PostgreSQL K8s supports the password-based `scram-sha-256` authentication method for authentication between:

* External connections to clients
* Internal connections between members of cluster
* PgBouncer connections

For more implementation details, see the [PostgreSQL documentation](https://www.postgresql.org/docs/14/auth-password.html).

### Monitoring and auditing

Charmed PostgreSQL K8s provides native integration with the [Canonical Observability Stack (COS)](https://charmhub.io/topics/canonical-observability-stack). To reduce the blast radius of infrastructure disruptions, the general recommendation is to deploy COS and the observed application into separate environments, isolated from one another. Refer to the [COS production deployments best practices](https://charmhub.io/topics/canonical-observability-stack/reference/best-practices) for more information or see the How to guides for PostgreSQL [monitoring](https://canonical.com/data/docs/postgresql/k8s/h-enable-monitoring), [alert rules](https://canonical.com/data/docs/postgresql/k8s/h-enable-alert-rules), and [tracing](https://canonical.com/data/docs/postgresql/k8s/h-enable-tracing) for practical instructions.

PostgreSQL logs are stored in `/var/log/postgresql` within the postgresql container of each unit. It’s recommended to integrate the charm with [COS](https://canonical.com/data/docs/postgresql/k8s/h-enable-monitoring), from where the logs can be easily persisted and queried using [Loki](https://charmhub.io/loki-k8s)/[Grafana](https://charmhub.io/grafana).

## Additional Resources

For details on the cryptography used by Charmed PostgreSQL K8s, see the [Cryptography](/t/charmed-postgresql-k8s-explanations-encryption/16851) explanation page.
2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion docs/how-to/h-deploy.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ juju deploy postgresql-k8s --trust
```
> See also: [`juju deploy` command](https://canonical-juju.readthedocs-hosted.com/en/latest/user/reference/juju-cli/list-of-juju-cli-commands/deploy/)
To deploy with `terraform juju`, follow the guide [How to deploy using Terraform](/t/).
To deploy with `terraform juju`, follow the guide [How to deploy using Terraform].
> See also: [Terraform Provider for Juju documentation](https://canonical-terraform-provider-juju.readthedocs-hosted.com/en/latest/)
If you are not sure where to start or would like a more guided walkthrough for setting up your environment, see the [Charmed PostgreSQL K8s tutorial][Tutorial].
Expand Down
2 changes: 2 additions & 0 deletions docs/overview.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -95,6 +95,8 @@ PostgreSQL is a trademark or registered trademark of PostgreSQL Global Developme
| 2 | r-contacts | [Contacts](/t/11852) |
| 1 | explanation | [Explanation](/t/16769) |
| 2 | e-architecture | [Architecture](/t/11856) |
| 2 | e-security | [Security](/t/16850) |
| 2 | e-cryptography | [Cryptography](/t/16851) |
| 2 | e-interfaces-endpoints | [Interfaces/endpoints](/t/10252) |
| 2 | e-connection-pooling| [Connection pooling](/t/15799) |
| 2 | e-statuses | [Statuses](/t/11855) |
Expand Down
16 changes: 14 additions & 2 deletions docs/reference/r-releases.md
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ For a given release, this table shows:

| Revision | PostgreSQL version | Juju version | [TLS encryption](/t/9685)* | [COS monitoring](/t/10600) | [Minor version upgrades](/t/12092) | [Cross-regional async replication](/t/15413) | [Point-in-time recovery](/t/9597) | [PITR Timelines](/t/9597) |
|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|:---:|
| [494], [495] | 14.15 | `3.6.1+` | ![check] | ![check] | ![check] | ![check] | ![check] | ![check] |
| [462], [463] | 14.13 | `3.6.1+` | ![check] | ![check] | ![check] | ![check] | ![check] | ![check] |
| [444], [445] | 14.12 | `3.4.3+` | ![check] | ![check] | ![check] | ![check] | ![check] | |
| [381], [382] | 14.12 | `3.4.3+` | ![check] | ![check] | ![check] | ![check] | ![check] | |
Expand All @@ -37,14 +38,22 @@ Several [revisions](https://juju.is/docs/sdk/revision) are released simultaneous
> If you deploy a specific revision, **you must make sure it matches your base and architecture** via the tables below or with [`juju info`](https://juju.is/docs/juju/juju-info).
### Release 462-463

### Release 494, 495

| Revision | amd64 | arm64 | Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
|:--------:|:-----:|:-----:|:-----:|
|[494] | | ![check] | ![check] |
|[495] | ![check] | | ![check] |

[details=Older releases]
### Release 462, 463

| Revision | amd64 | arm64 | Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
|:--------:|:-----:|:-----:|:-----:|
|[462] | ![check] | | ![check] |
|[463] | | ![check] | ![check] |

[details=Older releases]
### Release 444-445

| Revision | amd64 | arm64 | Ubuntu 22.04 LTS
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -100,6 +109,9 @@ For a list of all plugins supported for each revision, see the reference page [P
> **Note** Our release notes are an ongoing work in progress. If there is any additional information about releases that you would like to see or suggestions for other improvements, don't hesitate to contact us on [Matrix ](https://matrix.to/#/#charmhub-data-platform:ubuntu.com) or [leave a comment](https://discourse.charmhub.io/t/charmed-postgresql-k8s-reference-release-notes/11872).
<!-- LINKS -->
[494]: https://github.com/canonical/postgresql-k8s-operator/releases/tag/rev494
[495]: https://github.com/canonical/postgresql-k8s-operator/releases/tag/rev494

[462]: https://github.com/canonical/postgresql-k8s-operator/releases/tag/rev462
[463]: https://github.com/canonical/postgresql-k8s-operator/releases/tag/rev462

Expand Down

0 comments on commit a6509ee

Please sign in to comment.