Requirements #

Server side #

Packages #

We provide packages of Acra components via our repository for commonly used Linux distros. Check the complete list of supported platforms on the package installing page.

Docker #

Currently, all the images we provide are built to run on a Linux-based machines. Of course, there are ways to run them under intermediate Linux virtual machines over macOS or Windows, but we strongly discourage this approach in production.

Build from sources #

The requirements are not so strict:

• Golang compiler (we support and test the only latest stable version) should be able to build binaries for your OS/CPU (though Windows is not supported)
• Themis crypto libraries should be installed on target system

TLS #

All Acra components require TLS version 1.2+ and deny connections with lower version. Additionally, Acra accepts only cipher suits that uses ECDHE for handshakes and modern strong symmetric key encryption algorithms with authentication, as AES+GCM, ChaCha20+Poly1305.

You can find all supported cipher suits in Acra Community Edition repository.

Databases #

Check the list of SQL and NoSQL databases/datastores where Acra works.

Client side #

Architecture #

In case you want to use AcraServer, our transparent SQL proxy:

• Your application talks to PostgreSQL or MySQL database via your preferred ORM. During the setup of Acra, you will redirect your application to talk to Acra instead.
• Use of TLS to access Acra and the database (our strong recommendation). You might need to configure a TLS certificate for Acra.
• If you’re installing Acra on your server manually from the GitHub repository, you need to have Themis' dependencies and libssl-dev package installed. Also, make sure that libcrypto.so is available in $PATH.

If you want to use AcraTranslator, encryption-as-a-service:

• Your application is written in any language that can talk to AcraTranslator via gRPC or HTTP protocol
• Your application uses AcraConnector to connect to AcraTranslator. Or it connects directly, TLS is mandatory in this case.

If you want to use client-side SDKs (AcraWriter, AcraReader or AcraTranslator SDK, usually used in combination with AcraServer or AcraTranslator):

• Your application is written in any language supported by the SDK. This currently includes: Ruby, Python, Go, C++, Node.js, PHP, Swift/Objective-C (iOS), or Java (desktop, Android).
• SDK is installed for your application.

Note: Read the documentation before starting out with Acra! There are some fundamental concepts that we highly advise you to understand before you proceed. Pay special attention to the Architecture and Data flow.

Also, remember that:

• AcraServer and Acra’s dependencies need to stay on a separate server / virtual machine.
• AcraConnector can run in a container or under separate user on the same machine as the main application.

Languages #

Check the list of languages for which SDK are available.