How The Registration Manger Works - Netscape MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 6.1 - ADMINISTRATOR Administrator's Manual

How Certificate Management System Works

How the Registration Manger Works

This sections details the processes that a Registration Manager goes through, and
the various configuration settings involved in those processes.
Accepting Enrollment Requests
Similar to the Certificate Manger, the Registration Manger contains an end-entity
interface with various forms associated with various types of certificates and
various types of users. This interface is fully customizable allowing you to only
show the forms that are pertinent to your users, change the look and feel of the
forms, or add and delete fields. Certificate requests that come through the
Registration Managers end-entity interface are processed by the Registration
Manager. If it is an agent-approved enrollment, an agent of the Registration
Manger must approve the request. If it is an automated enrollment, the request is
considered approved if the end entity supplies the correct information, and
authenticates against the authentication method set up. See the Netscape Certificate
Management System Customization Guide for details about customizing the
end-entity interface.
Authentication Methods
CMS provides authentication plug-ins that allow you to set up automated
enrollment and set configuration settings for that method(s); it provides
agent-approved enrollment, where an agent must approve the request by default.
The Registration Manager also provides an in-person registration method where
an end user appears in person to request the certificate, and the agent enters and
approves the request—note that the Certificate Manager does not support in
person registration by agents. Each end-entity form is associated with a particular
authentication method, either one of the automated methods or the
agent-approved method. The Registration Manager processes the request
according to the method associated with the form. See Chapter 9, "Authentication"
for complete details.
The Registration Manager is in complete control of the authentication of users. No
matter how the Certificate Manager is set up for authentication, the Certificate
Manager will accept a request sent by the Registration Manager and not apply any
authentication of its own.
46 Netscape Certificate Management System Administrator's Guide • February 2003