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NSS Shared DB Howto: Difference between revisions
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On Linux/Unix/OSX based systems you should be able to simply replace old NSS libraries with newer ones. | On Linux/Unix/OSX based systems you should be able to simply replace old NSS libraries with newer ones. | ||
On Microsoft Windows operating systems this might not work. For example, Thunderbird 2 and Firefox 3 link against different versions of the C runtime libraries and use different memory allocation libraries. Trying to use Thunderbird 2 with the NSS libraries that come as part of Firefox 3 is not advised and will result in random crashes. | On Microsoft Windows operating systems this might not work. For example, Thunderbird 2 and Firefox 3 link against different versions of the C runtime libraries and use different memory allocation libraries. Trying to use Thunderbird 2 with the NSS libraries that come as part of Firefox 3 is not advised and will likely result in random crashes. | ||
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setenv NSS_DEFAULT_DB_TYPE "sql" | setenv NSS_DEFAULT_DB_TYPE "sql" | ||
* Logout and log back into your OS session | |||
* Open a terminal | |||
cd ~/.thunderbird/yourprofile | cd ~/.thunderbird/yourprofile | ||
ls *.db | ls *.db | ||
This directory should contain key3.db and cert8.db files, but no key4.db and no cert9.db files | |||
This directory should contain key3.db and cert8.db files, but no key4.db and no cert9.db files. | |||
mkdir backup-db | mkdir backup-db | ||
cp *.db backup-db | cp *.db backup-db | ||
The following series of commands will convert your existing database to a newer format. | |||
* Start thunderbird | |||
* Access security features, e.g. open cert manager. If you have a master password set, make sure you are prompted, it's required for the conversion. | |||
* Wait while your certificate database gets converted (the UI might stall for a couple of moments) | |||
* Quit thunderbird | |||
ls *.db | ls *.db | ||
Now you should have files key4.db and cert9.db | |||
cd ~/.mozilla/firefox/yourprofile | cd ~/.mozilla/firefox/yourprofile | ||
ls *.db | ls *.db | ||
This directory should contain key3.db and cert8.db files, but no key4.db and no cert9.db files | |||
This directory should contain key3.db and cert8.db files, but no key4.db and no cert9.db files. | |||
mkdir backup-db | mkdir backup-db | ||
cp *.db backup-db | cp *.db backup-db | ||
The following series of commands will convert your existing database to a newer format. | |||
* Start firefox | |||
* Access security features, e.g. open cert manager. If you have a master password set, make sure you are prompted, it's required for the conversion. | |||
* Wait while your certificate database gets converted (the UI might stall for a couple of moments) | |||
* Quit firefox | |||
ls *.db | ls *.db | ||
Now you should have files key4.db and cert9.db | |||
Now let's create a shared location in a separate directory. We'll move the files from the Firefox profile over to the shared location. We'll create symbolic links in order to enable NSS to find the files. | |||
mkdir ~/nssdb | mkdir ~/nssdb | ||
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ln -s ~/nssdb/key4.db . | ln -s ~/nssdb/key4.db . | ||
ln -s ~/nssdb/cert9.db . | ln -s ~/nssdb/cert9.db . | ||
Now we'll issue the certutil command that merges your Thunderbird certificate database into the shared database. | |||
cd ~/.thunderbird/yourprofile | cd ~/.thunderbird/yourprofile | ||
certutil --merge -d ~/nssdb --source-dir . | certutil --merge -d ~/nssdb --source-dir . | ||
enter passwords as required | You must enter passwords as required. Wait until the merge completes. | ||
rm key4.db cert9.db | rm key4.db cert9.db | ||
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ln -s ~/nssdb/cert9.db . | ln -s ~/nssdb/cert9.db . | ||
That's it. Start Firefox and Thunderbird as you wish, enjoy the shared db feature. But remember, you must always have the environment variable set, or the applications will use your old non-merged db. | |||
You may repeat the merge and symlink steps for additional profiles. | |||
Please note that the shared database access is slower than the old one. It can be very slow when your files are stored on a remote file system, such as NFS. You should find a solution to have your files on your local system. | |||