The directory contains two Makefiles for generating new root, intermediate certificates and workload certificates:
Makefile.k8s.mk: Creates certificates based on a root-ca from a k8s cluster. The current context in the default
kubeconfig is used for accessing the cluster.Makefile.selfsigned.mk: Creates certificates based on a generated self-signed root.The table below describes the targets supported by both Makefiles.
| Make Target | Makefile | Description |
|---|---|---|
root-ca |
Makefile.selfsigned.mk |
Generates a self-signed root CA key and certificate. |
fetch-root-ca |
Makefile.k8s.mk |
Fetches the Istio CA from the Kubernetes cluster, using the current context in the default kubeconfig. |
$NAME-cacerts |
Both | Generates intermediate certificates signed by the root CA for a cluster or VM with $NAME (e.g., us-east, cluster01, etc.). They are stored under $NAME directory. To differentiate between clusters, we include a Location (L) designation in the certificates Subject field, with the cluster’s name. |
$NAMESPACE-certs |
Both | Generates intermediate certificates and sign certificates for a virtual machine connected to the namespace $NAMESPACE using serviceAccount $SERVICE_ACCOUNT using the root cert and store them under $NAMESPACE directory. |
clean |
Both | Removes any generated root certificates, keys, and intermediate files. |
For example:
make -f Makefile.selfsigned.mk root-ca
Note that the Makefile generates long-lived intermediate certificates. While this might be acceptable for demonstration purposes, a more realistic and secure deployment would use short-lived and automatically renewed certificates for the intermediate CAs.