Red Hat CERTIFICATE SYSTEM 7.1 - ADMINISTRATOR Administrator's Manual page 815

CA hierarchy A hierarchy of CAs in which a root CA delegates the authority to issue
certificates to subordinate CAs. Subordinate CAs can also expand the hierarchy by
delegating issuing status to other CAs. See also certificate authority (CA), subordinate CA,
root CA.
CA server key The SSL server key of the server providing a CA service.
CA signing key The private key that corresponds to the public key in the CA certificate.
A CA uses its signing key to sign certificates and CRLs.
certificate Digital data, formatted according to the X.509 standard, that specifies the
name of an individual, company, or other entity (the subject name of the certificate) and
certifies that a public key, which is also included in the certificate, belongs to that entity. A
certificate is issued and digitally signed by a certificate authority (CA). A certificate's
validity can be verified by checking the CA's digital signature using the techniques of
public-key cryptography. To be trusted within a public-key infrastructure (PKI), a
certificate must be issued and signed by a CA that is trusted by other entities enrolled in the
PKI.
certificate authority (CA) A trusted entity that issues a certificate after verifying the
identity of the person or entity the certificate is intended to identify. A CA also renews and
revokes certificates and generates CRLs. The entity named in the issuer field of a certificate
is always a CA. Certificate authorities can be independent third parties or a person or
organization using certificate-issuing server software (such as Red Hat Certificate System).
Certificate System makes it possible to divide the role of a CA among one or more
Registration Managers, which handle most or all interactions with certificate owners, and a
Certificate Manager, which issues certificates.
certificate-based authentication Authentication based on certificates and public-key
cryptography. See also password-based authentication.
certificate chain A hierarchical series of certificates signed by successive certificate
authorities. A CA certificate identifies a certificate authority (CA) and is used to sign
certificates issued by that authority. A CA certificate can in turn be signed by the CA
certificate of a parent CA, and so on up to a root CA. Certificate System allows any end
entity to retrieve all the certificates in a certificate chain.
Glossary 815