Managing Certificates - Nortel 2350 Reference Manual

Managing Certificates

Processing Certificates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Managing Certificates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342
Distributing Certificates to WSSs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343
A digital certificate is a form of electronic identification for computers. The Nortel WLAN 2300 System supports the
following types of X.509 digital certificates:
• Administrative certificate for the monitoring service or a WSS
• 802.1X-EAP certificate for WSS
• Secure WSS to WSS communications certificate, used by WSSs in a Mobility Domain to securely exchange
management information
• Web-based AAA certificate for a WSS
• Certificate authority certificate to validate the administrator's certificate
• Certificate authority certificate to validate user and the EAP server certificates
When WLAN Management Software client connects to WMS Services or a WSS, the administrative certificate is used
to authenticate the services or switch and establish a secure connection.
Note.
If a WSS does not already have certificates, WSS Software automatically
generates them the first time you boot using WSS Software Version 4.0 or later. You do not
need to install certificates unless you want to replace the ones automatically generated by
WSS Software. (For more information, see the "Certificates Automatically Generated by
WSS Software" section in the "Managing Keys and Certificates" chapter of the
WLAN Security Switch 2300 Series Configuration
This does not apply to Secure WSS to WSS communications (domain) certificates. A
Secure WSS to WSS communications certificate is generated only when you enable
Secure WSS to WSS communications.
Note.
Before installing a new certificate, verify that the WSS is set to the correct date,
time, and time zone. Otherwise, certificates might not be installed correctly.
(For more information about certificates on the WSS, see the
Guide.)
Nortel WLAN—Management Software 2300 Series Reference Guide
Guide.)
Nortel WLAN Security Switch 2300 Series Configuration
Managing Certificates 341
Nortel