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CSR Generation for Tomcat

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 Tomcat vendor for additional information. 

Step 1: Prepare the Keystore

1. If you are running a 1.3 JVM, download JSSE 1.0.2 (or later) from http://java.sun.com/products/jsse/
2. Make it either an installed extension on the system or set an environment variable JSSE_HOME pointing to the directory where JSSE is installed.
3. Create a certificate keystore by executing the following command:  
   ‘Unix: $JAVA_HOME/bin/keytool -genkey -alias tomcat -keyalg RSA’
4. Specify a password. The default value will be ‘changeit’.
5. If you need more information, go to the Tomcat Web site.

Step 2: Generate a CSR

1. Create a local certificate using the command: keytool -genkey -alias <your_alias_name> -keyalg RSA -keystore <your_keystore_filename> . You may have to enter the domain of your Web site (ie, www.mysite.org) in the field ‘forename and surname’ in order to create a working certificate. Create the CSR using the command:  
   keytool -certreq -keyalg RSA -alias <your_alias_name> -file certreq.csr  
   -keystore <your_keystore_filename>
2. To copy and paste the file certreq.csr into the enrolment form, open the file in a text editor that does not add extra characters (Notepad or VI are recommended).
3. 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.