5.5

Table Of Contents
vSphere Replication can trust remote server certificates either by verifying the validity of the certificate
and its thumbprint or by verifying the thumbprint only. The default is to verify by thumbprint only. You can
activate the verification of the certificate validity in the virtual appliance management interface (VAMI) of
the vSphere Replication appliance by selecting the option Accept only SSL certificates signed by a
trusted Certificate Authority when you upload a certificate.
Thumbprint Verification vSphere Replication checks for a thumbprint match. vSphere Replication
trusts remote server certificates if it can verify the the thumbprints through
secure vSphere platform channels or, in some rare cases, after the user
confirms them. vSphere Replication only takes certificate thumbprints into
account when verifying the certificates and does not check certificate
validity.
Verification of
Thumbprint and
Certificate Validity
vSphere Replication checks the thumbprint and checks that all server
certificates are valid. If you select the Accept only SSL certificates
signed by a trusted Certificate Authority option, vSphere Replication
refuses to communicate with a server with an invalid certificate. When
verifying certificate validity, vSphere Replication checks expiration dates,
subject names and the certificate issuing authorities.
In both modes, vSphere Replication retrieves thumbprints from vCenter Server. vSphere Replication
refuses to communicate with a server if the automatically determined thumbprint differs from the actual
thumbprint that it detects while communicating with the respective server.
You can mix trust modes between vSphere Replication appliances at different sites. A pair of
vSphere Replication appliances can work successfully even if you configure them to use different trust
modes.
Requirements When Using a Public Key Certificate with vSphere
Replication
If you enforce verification of certificate validity by selecting Accept only SSL certificates signed by a
trusted Certificate Authority in the virtual appliance management interface (VAMI) of the
vSphere Replication appliance, some fields of the certificate request must meet certain requirements.
vSphere Replication can only import and use certificates and private keys from a file in the PKCS#12
format. Sometimes these files have a .pfx extension.
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The certificate must be issued for the same server name as the value in the VRM Host setting in the
VAMI. Setting the certificate subject name accordingly is sufficient, if you put a host name in the VRM
Host setting. If any of the certificate Subject Alternative Name fields of the certificate matches the
VRM Host setting, this will work as well.
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vSphere Replication checks the issue and expiration dates of the certificate against the current date,
to ensure that the certificate has not expired.
VMware vSphere Replication Administration
VMware, Inc. 46