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Managed PKI for SSL Support

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CSR Generation for Apache mod_ssl

To generate a CSR, you need to create a key pair for your server. These two items comprise a digital certificate key pair and cannot be separated. If you lose your public/private key file or your password and generate a new one, your SSL Certificate will no longer match. You will have to request a new SSL Certificate from your Managed PKI for SSL Administrator.

VeriSign recommends that you contact the Apache mod_ssl vendor for additional information. 

Step 1: Generate a Key Pair

The utility ‘openssl’ is used to generate the key and CSR. This utility comes with the OpenSSL package and is usually installed under /usr/local/ssl/bin. If you have installed them elsewhere, adjust these instructions appropriately.

• Change directory to your SSL Key directory: cd /usr/local/ssl/private
• Generate a private key using the following command:   
  openssl genrsa -des3 1024 > verisign.key 

Step 2: Generate a Certificate Signing Request

1. Change directory to your SSL Certificate directory: cd /usr/local/ssl/crt
2. Generate a CSR using the following command:  
   openssl req -new -key ../private/ verisign.key > verisign.csr  
3. You may also generate a self-signed certificate by using the following command:  
   openssl req -x509 -key ../private/verisign.key -in verisign.csr > verisign.crt 
4. You have just created a key pair and a CSR.
5. To copy and paste the information into the enrolment form, open the file in a text editor that does not add extra characters (Notepad or VI are recommended).
6. Go to your MPKI for SSL enrolment pages. (Your administrator will provide you with this URL.)

Terms Defined

Common Name

The Common Name is the Host + Domain Name. It looks like "www.company.co.uk" or "company.co.uk".

VeriSign certificates can only be used on Web servers using the Common Name specified during enrolment. For example, a certificate for the domain "domain.co.uk" will receive a warning if accessing a site named "www.domain.co.uk" or "secure.domain.co.uk", because "www.domain.co.uk" and "secure.domain.co.uk" are different from "domain.co.uk".

Organisation Information

• If your company or department has an &, @, or any other symbol using the shift key in its name, you must spell out the symbol or omit it to enrol.
• The “Org Unit” field is the name of the department or organisation unit making the request.
• The Locality field is the city or town name, for example: Guildford.
• Do not abbreviate the county name, for example: Surrey.
• Use the two-letter code without punctuation for country, for example: GB.

Contact Information

Your Managed PKI for SSL Administrator will be responsible for issuing the certificate to you after your enrolment has been completed. Please contact them for assistance.