Database Access with Cassandra and ScyllaDB
Teleport can provide secure access to Cassandra or ScyllaDB via the Teleport Database Service. This allows for fine-grained access control through Teleport's RBAC.
In this guide, you will:
- Configure an Cassandra or ScyllaDB with mutual TLS authentication.
- Join the Cassandra or ScyllaDB database to your Teleport cluster.
- Connect to the Cassandra or ScyllaDB database via the Teleport Database Service.
- Self-Hosted
- Teleport Enterprise Cloud
Prerequisites
Database access for Cassandra & ScyllaDB is available starting from Teleport
v11.0
.
-
A running Teleport cluster version 14.3.33 or above. If you want to get started with Teleport, sign up for a free trial or set up a demo environment.
-
The
tctl
admin tool andtsh
client tool.Visit Installation for instructions on downloading
tctl
andtsh
.
- Self-hosted Cassandra or ScyllaDB instance.
- The
cqlsh
Cassandra client installed and added to your system'sPATH
environment variable. - To check that you can connect to your Teleport cluster, sign in with
tsh login
, then verify that you can runtctl
commands using your current credentials.tctl
is supported on macOS and Linux machines. For example:If you can connect to the cluster and run the$ tsh login --proxy=teleport.example.com --user=email@example.com
$ tctl status
# Cluster teleport.example.com
# Version 14.3.33
# CA pin sha256:abdc1245efgh5678abdc1245efgh5678abdc1245efgh5678abdc1245efgh5678tctl status
command, you can use your current credentials to run subsequenttctl
commands from your workstation. If you host your own Teleport cluster, you can also runtctl
commands on the computer that hosts the Teleport Auth Service for full permissions.
Step 1/5. Set up the Teleport Database Service
The Database Service requires a valid join token to join your Teleport cluster.
Run the following tctl
command and save the token output in /tmp/token
on the server that will run the Database Service:
$ tctl tokens add --type=db --format=text
abcd123-insecure-do-not-use-this
Install and configure Teleport where you will run the Teleport Database Service:
- Linux Server
- Kubernetes Cluster
Select an edition, then follow the instructions for that edition to install Teleport.
- Teleport Community Edition
- Teleport Enterprise
- Teleport Enterprise Cloud
The following command updates the repository for the package manager on the local operating system and installs the provided Teleport version:
$ curl https://cdn.teleport.dev/install-v14.3.33.sh | bash -s 14.3.33
- Debian 9+/Ubuntu 16.04+ (apt)
- Amazon Linux 2/RHEL 7 (yum)
- Amazon Linux 2/RHEL 7 (zypper)
- Amazon Linux 2023/RHEL 8+ (dnf)
- SLES 12 SP5+ and 15 SP5+ (zypper)
- Tarball
# Download Teleport's PGP public key
$ sudo curl https://apt.releases.teleport.dev/gpg \
-o /usr/share/keyrings/teleport-archive-keyring.asc
# Source variables about OS version
$ source /etc/os-release
# Add the Teleport APT repository for v14. You'll need to update this
# file for each major release of Teleport.
$ echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/teleport-archive-keyring.asc] \
https://apt.releases.teleport.dev/${ID?} ${VERSION_CODENAME?} stable/v14" \
| sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/teleport.list > /dev/null
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install teleport-ent
For FedRAMP/FIPS-compliant installations, install the teleport-ent-fips
package instead:
$ sudo apt-get install teleport-ent-fips
# Source variables about OS version
$ source /etc/os-release
# Add the Teleport YUM repository for v14. You'll need to update this
# file for each major release of Teleport.
# First, get the major version from $VERSION_ID so this fetches the correct
# package version.
$ VERSION_ID=$(echo $VERSION_ID | grep -Eo "^[0-9]+")
$ sudo yum install -y yum-utils
$ sudo yum-config-manager --add-repo "$(rpm --eval "https://yum.releases.teleport.dev/$ID/$VERSION_ID/Teleport/%{_arch}/stable/v14/teleport.repo")"
$ sudo yum install teleport-ent
#
# Tip: Add /usr/local/bin to path used by sudo (so 'sudo tctl users add' will work as per the docs)
# echo "Defaults secure_path = /sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin" > /etc/sudoers.d/secure_path
For FedRAMP/FIPS-compliant installations, install the teleport-ent-fips
package instead:
$ sudo yum install teleport-ent-fips
# Source variables about OS version
$ source /etc/os-release
# Add the Teleport Zypper repository for v14. You'll need to update this
# file for each major release of Teleport.
# First, get the OS major version from $VERSION_ID so this fetches the correct
# package version.
$ VERSION_ID=$(echo $VERSION_ID | grep -Eo "^[0-9]+")
# Use zypper to add the teleport RPM repo
$ sudo zypper addrepo --refresh --repo $(rpm --eval "https://zypper.releases.teleport.dev/$ID/$VERSION_ID/Teleport/%{_arch}/stable/cloud/teleport-zypper.repo")
$ sudo yum install teleport-ent
#
# Tip: Add /usr/local/bin to path used by sudo (so 'sudo tctl users add' will work as per the docs)
# echo "Defaults secure_path = /sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin" > /etc/sudoers.d/secure_path
For FedRAMP/FIPS-compliant installations, install the teleport-ent-fips
package instead:
$ sudo yum install teleport-ent-fips
# Source variables about OS version
$ source /etc/os-release
# Add the Teleport YUM repository for v14. You'll need to update this
# file for each major release of Teleport.
# First, get the major version from $VERSION_ID so this fetches the correct
# package version.
$ VERSION_ID=$(echo $VERSION_ID | grep -Eo "^[0-9]+")
# Use the dnf config manager plugin to add the teleport RPM repo
$ sudo dnf config-manager --add-repo "$(rpm --eval "https://yum.releases.teleport.dev/$ID/$VERSION_ID/Teleport/%{_arch}/stable/v14/teleport.repo")"
# Install teleport
$ sudo dnf install teleport-ent
# Tip: Add /usr/local/bin to path used by sudo (so 'sudo tctl users add' will work as per the docs)
# echo "Defaults secure_path = /sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin" > /etc/sudoers.d/secure_path
For FedRAMP/FIPS-compliant installations, install the teleport-ent-fips
package instead:
$ sudo dnf install teleport-ent-fips
# Source variables about OS version
$ source /etc/os-release
# Add the Teleport Zypper repository.
# First, get the OS major version from $VERSION_ID so this fetches the correct
# package version.
$ VERSION_ID=$(echo $VERSION_ID | grep -Eo "^[0-9]+")
# Use Zypper to add the teleport RPM repo
$ sudo zypper addrepo --refresh --repo $(rpm --eval "https://zypper.releases.teleport.dev/$ID/$VERSION_ID/Teleport/%{_arch}/stable/v14/teleport-zypper.repo")
# Install teleport
$ sudo zypper install teleport-ent
For FedRAMP/FIPS-compliant installations, install the teleport-ent-fips
package instead:
$ sudo zypper install teleport-ent-fips
In the example commands below, update $SYSTEM_ARCH
with the appropriate
value (amd64
, arm64
, or arm
). All example commands using this variable
will update after one is filled out.
$ curl https://cdn.teleport.dev/teleport-ent-v14.3.33-linux-$SYSTEM_ARCH-bin.tar.gz.sha256
# <checksum> <filename>
$ curl -O https://cdn.teleport.dev/teleport-ent-v14.3.33-linux-$SYSTEM_ARCH-bin.tar.gz
$ shasum -a 256 teleport-ent-v14.3.33-linux-$SYSTEM_ARCH-bin.tar.gz
# Verify that the checksums match
$ tar -xvf teleport-ent-v14.3.33-linux-$SYSTEM_ARCH-bin.tar.gz
$ cd teleport-ent
$ sudo ./install
For FedRAMP/FIPS-compliant installations of Teleport Enterprise, package URLs will be slightly different:
$ curl https://cdn.teleport.dev/teleport-ent-v14.3.33-linux-$SYSTEM_ARCH-fips-bin.tar.gz.sha256
# <checksum> <filename>
$ curl -O https://cdn.teleport.dev/teleport-ent-v14.3.33-linux-$SYSTEM_ARCH-fips-bin.tar.gz
$ shasum -a 256 teleport-ent-v14.3.33-linux-$SYSTEM_ARCH-fips-bin.tar.gz
# Verify that the checksums match
$ tar -xvf teleport-ent-v14.3.33-linux-$SYSTEM_ARCH-fips-bin.tar.gz
$ cd teleport-ent
$ sudo ./install
OS repository channels
The following channels are available for APT, YUM, and Zypper repos. They may be used in place of
stable/v14
anywhere in the Teleport documentation.
Channel name | Description |
---|---|
stable/<major> | Receives releases for the specified major release line, i.e. v14 |
stable/cloud | Rolling channel that receives releases compatible with current Cloud version |
stable/rolling | Rolling channel that receives all published Teleport releases |
- Debian 9+/Ubuntu 16.04+ (apt)
- Amazon Linux 2/RHEL 7/CentOS 7 (yum)
- Amazon Linux 2023/RHEL 8+ (dnf)
- SLES 12 SP5+ and 15 SP5+ (zypper)
Add the Teleport repository to your repository list:
# Download Teleport's PGP public key
$ sudo curl https://apt.releases.teleport.dev/gpg \
-o /usr/share/keyrings/teleport-archive-keyring.asc
# Source variables about OS version
$ source /etc/os-release
# Add the Teleport APT repository for cloud.
$ echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/teleport-archive-keyring.asc] \
https://apt.releases.teleport.dev/${ID?} ${VERSION_CODENAME?} stable/cloud" \
| sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/teleport.list > /dev/null
# Provide your Teleport domain to query the latest compatible Teleport version
$ export TELEPORT_DOMAIN=example.teleport.com
$ export TELEPORT_VERSION="$(curl https://$TELEPORT_DOMAIN/v1/webapi/automaticupgrades/channel/default/version | sed 's/v//')"
# Update the repo and install Teleport and the Teleport updater
$ sudo apt-get update
$ sudo apt-get install "teleport-ent=$TELEPORT_VERSION" teleport-ent-updater
# Source variables about OS version
$ source /etc/os-release
# Add the Teleport YUM repository for cloud.
# First, get the OS major version from $VERSION_ID so this fetches the correct
# package version.
$ VERSION_ID=$(echo $VERSION_ID | grep -Eo "^[0-9]+")
$ sudo yum install -y yum-utils
$ sudo yum-config-manager --add-repo "$(rpm --eval "https://yum.releases.teleport.dev/$ID/$VERSION_ID/Teleport/%{_arch}/stable/cloud/teleport-yum.repo")"
# Provide your Teleport domain to query the latest compatible Teleport version
$ export TELEPORT_DOMAIN=example.teleport.com
$ export TELEPORT_VERSION="$(curl https://$TELEPORT_DOMAIN/v1/webapi/automaticupgrades/channel/default/version | sed 's/v//')"
# Install Teleport and the Teleport updater
$ sudo yum install "teleport-ent-$TELEPORT_VERSION" teleport-ent-updater
# Tip: Add /usr/local/bin to path used by sudo (so 'sudo tctl users add' will work as per the docs)
# echo "Defaults secure_path = /sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin" > /etc/sudoers.d/secure_path
# Source variables about OS version
$ source /etc/os-release
# Add the Teleport YUM repository for cloud.
# First, get the OS major version from $VERSION_ID so this fetches the correct
# package version.
$ VERSION_ID=$(echo $VERSION_ID | grep -Eo "^[0-9]+")
# Use the dnf config manager plugin to add the teleport RPM repo
$ sudo dnf config-manager --add-repo "$(rpm --eval "https://yum.releases.teleport.dev/$ID/$VERSION_ID/Teleport/%{_arch}/stable/cloud/teleport-yum.repo")"
# Provide your Teleport domain to query the latest compatible Teleport version
$ export TELEPORT_DOMAIN=example.teleport.com
$ export TELEPORT_VERSION="$(curl https://$TELEPORT_DOMAIN/v1/webapi/automaticupgrades/channel/default/version | sed 's/v//')"
# Install Teleport and the Teleport updater
$ sudo dnf install "teleport-ent-$TELEPORT_VERSION" teleport-ent-updater
# Tip: Add /usr/local/bin to path used by sudo (so 'sudo tctl users add' will work as per the docs)
# echo "Defaults secure_path = /sbin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin" > /etc/sudoers.d/secure_path
# Source variables about OS version
$ source /etc/os-release
# Add the Teleport Zypper repository for cloud.
# First, get the OS major version from $VERSION_ID so this fetches the correct
# package version.
$ VERSION_ID=$(echo $VERSION_ID | grep -Eo "^[0-9]+")
# Use Zypper to add the teleport RPM repo
$ sudo zypper addrepo --refresh --repo $(rpm --eval "https://zypper.releases.teleport.dev/$ID/$VERSION_ID/Teleport/%{_arch}/stable/cloud/teleport-zypper.repo")
# Provide your Teleport domain to query the latest compatible Teleport version
$ export TELEPORT_DOMAIN=example.teleport.com
$ export TELEPORT_VERSION="$(curl https://$TELEPORT_DOMAIN/v1/webapi/automaticupgrades/channel/default/version | sed 's/v//')"
# Install Teleport and the Teleport updater
$ sudo zypper install "teleport-ent-$TELEPORT_VERSION" teleport-ent-updater
OS repository channels
The following channels are available for APT, YUM, and Zypper repos. They may be used in place of
stable/v14
anywhere in the Teleport documentation.
Channel name | Description |
---|---|
stable/<major> | Receives releases for the specified major release line, i.e. v14 |
stable/cloud | Rolling channel that receives releases compatible with current Cloud version |
stable/rolling | Rolling channel that receives all published Teleport releases |
Is my Teleport instance compatible with Teleport Enterprise Cloud?
Before installing a teleport
binary with a version besides v16,
read our compatibility rules to ensure that the binary is compatible with
Teleport Enterprise Cloud.
Teleport uses Semantic Versioning. Version numbers
include a major version, minor version, and patch version, separated by dots.
When running multiple teleport
binaries within a cluster, the following rules
apply:
- Patch and minor versions are always compatible, for example, any 8.0.1 component will work with any 8.0.3 component and any 8.1.0 component will work with any 8.3.0 component.
- Servers support clients that are one major version behind, but do not support
clients that are on a newer major version. For example, an 8.x.x Proxy Service
instance is compatible with 7.x.x agents and 7.x.x
tsh
, but we don't guarantee that a 9.x.x agent will work with an 8.x.x Proxy Service instance. This also means you must not attempt to upgrade from 6.x.x straight to 8.x.x. You must upgrade to 7.x.x first. - Proxy Service instances and agents do not support Auth Service instances that
are on an older major version, and will fail to connect to older Auth Service
instances by default. You can override version checks by passing
--skip-version-check
when starting agents and Proxy Service instances.
On the host where you will run the Teleport Database Service, start Teleport with the appropriate configuration.
Note that a single Teleport process can run multiple different services, for
example multiple Database Service agents as well as the SSH Service or Application
Service. The step below will overwrite an existing configuration file, so if
you're running multiple services add --output=stdout
to print the config in
your terminal, and manually adjust /etc/teleport.yaml
.
Generate a configuration file at /etc/teleport.yaml
for the Database Service:
- Teleport Enterprise/Enterprise Cloud
- Teleport Community Edition
$ sudo teleport db configure create \
-o file \
--token=/tmp/token \
--proxy=teleport.example.com:443 \
--name=cassandra \
--protocol=cassandra \
--uri=cassandra.example.com:9042 \
--labels=env=dev
$ sudo teleport db configure create \
-o file \
--token=/tmp/token \
--proxy=mytenant.teleport.sh:443 \
--name=cassandra \
--protocol=cassandra \
--uri=cassandra.example.com:9042 \
--labels=env=dev
Configure the Teleport Database Service to start automatically when the host boots up by creating a systemd service for it. The instructions depend on how you installed the Teleport Database Service.
- Package Manager
- TAR Archive
On the host where you will run the Teleport Database Service, enable and start Teleport:
$ sudo systemctl enable teleport
$ sudo systemctl start teleport
On the host where you will run the Teleport Database Service, create a systemd service configuration for Teleport, enable the Teleport service, and start Teleport:
$ sudo teleport install systemd -o /etc/systemd/system/teleport.service
$ sudo systemctl enable teleport
$ sudo systemctl start teleport
You can check the status of the Teleport Database Service with systemctl status teleport
and view its logs with journalctl -fu teleport
.
Teleport provides Helm charts for installing the Teleport Database Service in Kubernetes Clusters.
Set up the Teleport Helm repository.
Allow Helm to install charts that are hosted in the Teleport Helm repository:
$ helm repo add teleport https://charts.releases.teleport.dev
Update the cache of charts from the remote repository so you can upgrade to all available releases:
$ helm repo update
- Self-Hosted
- Cloud-Hosted
Install the Teleport Kube Agent into your Kubernetes Cluster with the Teleport Database Service configuration.
$ JOIN_TOKEN=$(cat /tmp/token)
$ helm install teleport-kube-agent teleport/teleport-kube-agent \
--create-namespace \
--namespace teleport-agent \
--set roles=db \
--set proxyAddr=teleport.example.com:443 \
--set authToken=${JOIN_TOKEN?} \
--set "databases[0].name=cassandra" \
--set "databases[0].uri=cassandra.example.com:9042" \
--set "databases[0].protocol=cassandra" \
--set "databases[0].static_labels.env=dev" \
--version 14.3.33
Install the Teleport Kube Agent into your Kubernetes Cluster with the Teleport Database Service configuration.
$ JOIN_TOKEN=$(cat /tmp/token)
$ helm install teleport-kube-agent teleport/teleport-kube-agent \
--create-namespace \
--namespace teleport-agent \
--set roles=db \
--set proxyAddr=mytenant.teleport.sh:443 \
--set authToken=${JOIN_TOKEN?} \
--set "databases[0].name=cassandra" \
--set "databases[0].uri=cassandra.example.com:9042" \
--set "databases[0].protocol=cassandra" \
--set "databases[0].static_labels.env=dev" \
--version 16.4.7
Make sure that the Teleport agent pod is running. You should see one
teleport-kube-agent
pod with a single ready container:
$ kubectl -n teleport-agent get pods
NAME READY STATUS RESTARTS AGE
teleport-kube-agent-0 1/1 Running 0 32s
A single Teleport process can run multiple services, for example multiple Database Service instances as well as other services such the SSH Service or Application Service.
Step 2/5. Create a Teleport user
To modify an existing user to provide access to the Database Service, see Database Access Access Controls
- Teleport Community Edition
- Teleport Enterprise/Enterprise Cloud
Create a local Teleport user with the built-in access
role:
$ tctl users add \
--roles=access \
--db-users="*" \
--db-names="*" \
alice
Create a local Teleport user with the built-in access
and requester
roles:
$ tctl users add \
--roles=access,requester \
--db-users="*" \
--db-names="*" \
alice
Flag | Description |
---|---|
--roles | List of roles to assign to the user. The builtin access role allows them to connect to any database server registered with Teleport. |
--db-users | List of database usernames the user will be allowed to use when connecting to the databases. A wildcard allows any user. |
--db-names | List of logical databases (aka schemas) the user will be allowed to connect to within a database server. A wildcard allows any database. |
Database names are only enforced for PostgreSQL and MongoDB databases.
For more detailed information about database access controls and how to restrict access see RBAC documentation.
Step 3/5. Set up mutual TLS
Teleport uses mutual TLS authentication with self-hosted databases. These databases must be configured with Teleport's certificate authority to be able to verify client certificates. They also need a certificate/key pair that Teleport can verify.
If you are using Teleport Cloud, your Teleport user must be allowed to
impersonate the system role Db
in order to be able to generate the database
certificate.
Include the following allow
rule in in your Teleport Cloud user's role:
allow:
impersonate:
users: ["Db"]
roles: ["Db"]
Follow the instructions below to generate TLS credentials for your database.
- Cassandra
- Scylla
When connecting to Cassandra, sign the certificate for the hostname over which Teleport will be connecting to it.
$ tctl auth sign --format=cassandra --host=cassandra.example.com --out=server --ttl=2190h
We recommend using a shorter TTL, but keep mind that you'll need to update the database server certificate before it expires to not lose the ability to connect. Pick the TTL value that best fits your use-case.
The command will create two files:
server.keystore
with generated private key and user certificate in JKS format.server.truststore
with Teleport's certificate authority in JKS format.
When connecting to Scylla, sign the certificate for the hostname over which Teleport will be connecting to it.
$ tctl auth sign --format=scylla --host=scylla.example.com --out=server --ttl=2190h
We recommend using a shorter TTL, but keep mind that you'll need to update the database server certificate before it expires to not lose the ability to connect. Pick the TTL value that best fits your use-case.
The command will create three files:
server.cas
with Teleport's certificate authorityserver.key
with a generated private keyserver.crt
with a generated user certificate
Step 4/5. Configure Cassandra/Scylla
Follow the instructions for your database to enable TLS communication with your Teleport cluster:
- Cassandra
- Scylla
To configure Cassandra to accept TLS connections, add the following to your
Cassandra configuration file, cassandra.yaml
:
client_encryption_options:
enabled: true
optional: false
keystore: /path/to/server.keystore
keystore_password: "password"
require_client_auth: true
truststore: /path/to/server.truststore
truststore_password: "password"
protocol: TLS
algorithm: SunX509
store_type: JKS
cipher_suites: [TLS_RSA_WITH_AES_256_CBC_SHA]
In the configuration above, replace "password"
with the value generated in the previous step by the tctl auth sign
command.
To configure Scylla to accept TLS connections, add the following to your Scylla configuration file, scylla.yaml
:
client_encryption_options:
enabled: true
certificate: /path/to/server.crt
keyfile: /path/to/server.key
truststore: /path/to/server.cas
require_client_auth: True
Step 5/5. Connect
Once the Database Service has joined the cluster, log in to see the available databases:
- Self-Hosted
- Teleport Enterprise Cloud
$ tsh login --proxy=teleport.example.com --user=alice
$ tsh db ls
# Name Description Allowed Users Labels Connect
# --------- ----------------- ------------- ------- -------
# cassandra Cassandra Example [*] env=dev
$ tsh login --proxy=mytenant.teleport.sh --user=alice
$ tsh db ls
# Name Description Allowed Users Labels Connect
# --------- ----------------- ------------- ------- -------
# cassandra Cassandra Example [*] env=dev
To connect to a particular database instance :
$ tsh db connect --db-user=cassandra cassandra
# Password:
# Connected to Test Cluster at localhost:49594
# [cqlsh 6.0.0 | Cassandra 4.0.5 | CQL spec 3.4.5 | Native protocol v5]
# Use HELP for help.
# cassandra@cqlsh>
To log out of the database and remove credentials:
# Remove credentials for a particular database instance.
$ tsh db logout example
# Remove credentials for all database instances.
$ tsh db logout
Next steps
- Learn how to restrict access to certain users and databases.
- Learn more about dynamic database registration.
- View the High Availability (HA) guide.
- See the YAML configuration reference for updating dynamic resource matchers or static database definitions.
- Take a look at the full CLI reference.