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Deployment

Managing SSL/TLS Certificates in Microservices

Manage certificate distribution, renewal, and monitoring across a microservices architecture.

CertOne1 min read

Certificate management is more complex in microservices than in a monolithic application. This guide covers approaches to managing it across services.

1. Microservices TLS challenges​

1. Many certificates​

  • Each service needs a certificate
  • Service-to-service communication also requires certificates
  • Managing the resulting inventory is complex

2. Renewal challenges​

  • Updates must reach multiple services
  • Services depend on one another
  • Renewal must avoid downtime

2. Management strategies​

1. Centralized management​

Manage certificates centrally with CertOne.

2. Automated distribution​

Configure automatic deployment to the relevant services.

3. Service mesh​

Use a service mesh such as Istio to manage TLS between services.

3. Best practices​

1. Certificate strategy​

  • Use wildcard certificates where appropriate
  • Centralize certificate management
  • Automate renewal

2. Renewal strategy​

  • Use rolling updates
  • Plan for zero-downtime deployment
  • Provide a rollback mechanism

Conclusion​

Centralized management and automation simplify certificate operations across microservices. Choose tools and rollout strategies that fit your architecture.