8.5 Digital Certificates

Use the Digital Certificates tool to add and activate certificates for the PTM Appliance. You can use the digital certificate tool to create your own certificate and then have it signed by a CA, or you can use an existing certificate and key pair if you have one that you want to use.

NOTE:The appliance ships with a self-signed digital certificate. Instead of using this self-signed certificate, Micro Focus recommends that you use a trusted server certificate that is signed by a trusted certificate authority (CA) such as VeriSign or Equifax.

The certificate works for both the appliance (port 9443) and the PlateSpin Transformation Manager Web Interface (ports 8182 and 8183). You do not need to update your certificate when you update the software.

Complete the following sections to change the digital certificate for your appliance:

8.5.1 Using the Digital Certificate Tool

Creating a New Self-Signed Certificate

  1. Log in to the Appliance Management Console as the vaadmin user.

  2. Click Digital Certificates .

  3. In the Key Store drop-down list, ensure that Web Application Certificates is selected.

  4. Click File > New Certificate (Key Pair), then specify the following information:

    1. General

      Alias: Specify a name that you want to use to identify and manage this certificate.

      Validity (days): Specify how long you want the certificate to remain valid.

    2. Algorithm Details

      Key Algorithm: Select either RSA or DSA.

      Key Size: Select the desired key size.

      Signature Algorithm: Select the desired signature algorithm.

    3. Owner Information

      Common Name (CN): This must match the server name in the URL in order for browsers to accept the certificate for SSL communication.

      Organizational Unit (OU): (Optional) Small organization name, such as a department or division. For example, Purchasing.

      Organization (O): (Optional) Large organization name. For example, Micro Focus.

      City or Locality (L): (Optional) City name. For example, Provo.

      State or Province (ST): (Optional) State or province name. For example, Utah.

      Two-letter Country Code (C): (Optional) Two-letter country code. For example, US.

  5. Click OK to create the certificate.

    After the certificate is created, it is self-signed.

  6. Make the certificate official, as described in Getting Your Certificate Officially Signed.

Getting Your Certificate Officially Signed

  1. On the Digital Certificates page, select the certificate that you just created, then click File > Certificate Requests > Generate CSR.

  2. Complete the process of emailing your digital certificate to a certificate authority (CA), such as Verisign.

    The CA takes your Certificate Signing Request (CSR) and generates an official certificate based on the information in the CSR. The CA then mails the new certificate and certificate chain back to you.

  3. After you have received the official certificate and certificate chain from the CA:

    1. Revisit the Digital Certificates page.

    2. Click File > Import > Trusted Certificate. Browse to the trusted certificate chain that you received from the CA, then click OK.

    3. Select the self-signed certificate, then click File > Certification Request > Import CA Reply.

    4. Browse to and upload the official certificate to be used to update the certificate information.

      On the Digital Certificates page, the name in the Issuer column for your certificate changes to the name of the CA that stamped your certificate.

  4. Activate the certificate, as described in Section 8.5.3, Activating the Certificate.

8.5.2 Using an Existing Certificate and Key Pair

When you use an existing certificate and key pair, use a .P12 key pair format.

  1. Log in to the Appliance Management Console as the vaadmin user.

  2. Click Digital Certificates .

  3. In the Key Store drop-down menu, select JVM Certificates.

  4. Click File > Import > Trusted Certificate. Browse to and select your existing certificate, then click OK.

  5. Click File > Import > Trusted Certificate. Browse to and select your existing certificate chain for the certificate that you selected in Step 4, then click OK.

  6. Click File > Import > Key Pair. Browse to and select your .P12 key pair file, specify your password if needed, then click OK.

  7. Continue with Section 8.5.3, Activating the Certificate.

8.5.3 Activating the Certificate

  1. On the Digital Certificates page, in the Key Store drop-down menu, select Web Application Certificates.

  2. Select the certificate that you want to make active, click Set as Active, then click Yes.

  3. Verify that the certificate and the certificate chain were created correctly by selecting the certificate and clicking View Info.

  4. When you successfully activate the certificate, click Close to exit Digital Certificates.