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Requesting and Installing Other Server Certificates
The CA will notify you if it agrees to issue you a certificate. In most cases, the CA
will send your certificate via email. If your organization is using a certificate server,
you may be able to search for the certificate by using the certificate server's forms.
NOTE
Once you receive the certificate, you can install it. In the meantime, you can still use
your server without SSL.
Installing Other Server Certificates
When you receive your certificate back from the CA, it will be encrypted with your
public key so that only you can decrypt it. Only by entering the correct password
for your trust database can you decrypt and install your certificate.
There are three types of certificates:
•
Your own server's certificate to present to clients
•
A CA's own certificate for use in a certificate chain
•
A trusted CA's certificate
A certificate chain is 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.
NOTE
The server will use the key-pair file password you specify to decrypt the certificate
when you install it. You can either save the email somewhere accessible to the
server, or copy the text of the email and be ready to paste the text into the Install
Certificate form, as described here.
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Netscape Enterprise Server Administrator's Guide • August 2002
Not everyone who requests a certificate from a commercial CA is
given one. Many CAs require you to prove your identity before
issuing you a certificate. Also, it can take anywhere from one day to
two months to get approval. You are responsible for promptly
providing all the necessary information to the CA.
If your CA doesn't automatically send you their certificate, you
should request it. Many CAs include their certificate in the email
with your certificate, and your server installs both certificates at the
same time.
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