Customer
Ensuring Smooth Operations With 24/7 Open Source Support
For this global leader in IT infrastructure services, downtime simply wasn’t an option. OpenLogic helped to eliminate downtime by providing around the clock, expert support for their entire open source stack.
OpenLogic Helped the Customer With
24x7 Support
- In one late-night support call, the customer solved a sophisticated setup issue.
Security Expertise
- OpenLogic helped ensure new secure client access using mod_ssl for Apache.
Time-to-Market
- The customer launched as planned before opening for business the next morning.
Security Problems
Layered Network Security Policy Denied Access to Critical Database
11:30 p.m.: The OpenLogic support team received a call from a customer experiencing problems with the deployment of a sophisticated new security process. The security process was intended to provide the company’s client with secure access to online information, including highly sensitive and private data. The security process was built within a multi-layered network topology with virtualization architecture and required proper implementation of mod_ssl for Apache, an open source package, to pass traffic through three network layers.
12:00 a.m.: Shortly after the customer’s first call, the issue had been escalated within the OpenLogic support team. The OpenLogic support team leverages resources from both individuals and companies within the OpenLogic Expert Community. In this case, a partner organization was contacted to help resolve the problem.
Problems Discovered in a Configuration File
12:15 a.m.: 15 minutes of troubleshooting between the customer and OSS support experts resulted in identification of the problem. The customer’s configuration file was not initializing the SSL engine and did not contain the proper authentication parameters. Additional investigation revealed that the required authentication keys were located on a key store server that was on an unavailable network layer. The problem was complicated by the fact that the infrastructure service’s client was using a customized version of Apache that had been modified and certified by IBM.
OpenLogic experts confirmed that it was not possible to access the required authentication parameters using the existing implementation because an internal database within a virtual host could not communicate back out to the main network where the authentication keys and algorithms were stored.
How OpenLogic Solved It
OpenLogic Support Provides Solution
4:30 a.m.: Within a few hours, the OpenLogic support team working with engineers at the customer site, came up with a possible workaround for the problem that would provide secure access to the sensitive database. However, the workaround conflicted with other established security policies. Work continued on the issue for the next several hours, with the OSS experts offering a variety of alternative solutions.
8:15 a.m.: The infrastructure services company had agreed to implement a new, re-engineered process recommended by the OSS experts. The team remained in contact with the customer’s engineering team while the proposed changes were implemented and tested. The new approach simplified the authentication process and eliminated the need to authenticate between layered networks.
Customer Avoids Downtime, Gains Expert Solution
Thanks to round-the-clock support provided by OpenLogic,, a new security process was engineered and implemented that enabled operations between the customer and their client to proceed smoothly and on schedule. The customer’s client experienced no downtime, and the OpenLogic customer’s reputation as a leading IT infrastructure services company remained unblemished.
Get 24x7 Open Source Support
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