Installation guide

Chapter 14. Apache Secure Server Configuration 145
• Do not use either of the extra attributes (A challenge password and An optional com-
pany name). To continue without entering these fields, just press [Enter] to accept the
blank default for both inputs.
When you have finished entering your information, a file named server.csr will be created.
This file is your certificate request, ready to send to your CA.
After you have decided on a CA, follow the instructions they provide on their website. Their
instructions will tell you how to send your certificate request, any other documentation that
they require, and your payment to them.
After you have fulfilled the CA’s requirements, they will send a certificate to you
(usually by email). Save (or cut and paste) the certificate that they send you as
/etc/httpd/conf/ssl.crt/server.crt.
14.8. Creating a Self-Signed Certificate
You can create your own self-signed certificate. Please note that a self-signed certificate will
not provide the security guarantees provided by a CA-signed certificate. See Section 14.5 for
more details about certificates.
If you would like to make your own self-signed certificate, you will first need to create a
random key using the instructions provided in Section 14.6. Once you have a key, use the
following command:
make testcert
You will see the following output and you will be prompted for your password (unless you
generated a key without a password):
umask 77 ; \
/usr/bin/openssl req -new -key /etc/httpd/conf/ssl.key/server.key
-x509 -days 365 -out /etc/httpd/conf/ssl.crt/server.crt
Using configuration from /usr/share/ssl/openssl.cnf
Enter PEM pass phrase:
After you enter your password (or without a prompt if you created a key without a pass-
word), you will be asked for more information. The computer’s output and a set of inputs
looks like the following (you will need to provide the correct information for your organiza-
tion and host):
You are about to be asked to enter information that will be incorporated
into your certificate request.
What you are about to enter is what is called a Distinguished Name or a
DN.
There are quite a few fields but you can leave some blank
For some fields there will be a default value,
If you enter ’.’, the field will be left blank.
-----
Country Name (2 letter code) [AU]:US
State or Province Name (full name) [Some-State]:North Carolina
Locality Name (eg, city) []:Durham
Organization Name (eg, company) [Internet Widgits]:My Company, Inc.
Organizational Unit Name (eg, section) []:Documentation
Common Name (your name or server’s hostname) []:myhost.example.com
Email Address []:[e-mail]