Create a Certificate Signing Request for Apache ERS 3.0+

To generate a CSR, you first need to create a key pair for your server. These two items are a digital certificate key pair and cannot be separated. If you lose your public/private key file or your password and generate a new one, your SSL Certificate will no longer match your private key. You will have to request a new SSL Certificate and may be charged.  
 
We recommend that you contact Covalent for additional information.

Step 1: Generate a Key Pair

Use the utility “openssl” to generate the key and CSR. This utility comes with the OpenSSL package. You usually install it under /usr/local/ssl/bin. If it is installed elsewhere, adjust the directory used in these instructions.

• Change directory to your SSL Key directory: cd /usr/local/ssl/private
• Generate a Private key using the following command: openssl genrsa -des3 1024 > [your provider].key(eg. : verisign)

Note: For Extended Validation certificates the key bit length must be 2048.

 

Step 2: Generate a CSR

1. Change directory to your SSL Certificate directory: cd /usr/local/ssl/crt

2. Generate a CSR using the following command:  
 
openssl req -new -key ../private/ [your provider].key > [your provider].csr (eg. : verisign)

This step will create the X.509 attributes of the certificate:

    Common Name – Must match the URL you plan to secure exactly – is usually your fully-qualified domain name, e.g., devel.ssl247.co.uk or mail.devel.ssl247.co.uk). Remember the www. Is important – include it if you want to secure https://www.yoursite.com & exclude it if you want to secure https://yoursite.com
    Organisation - The legal (officially registered) name of your organization/company include Inc., LLP., Pvt, Plc. Ltd. SARL., etc
    Organisational unit - The name of your department within the organization (this is often "IT," "Web," or is just left blank).
    City/locality - The city or town in which your organization is located.
    State/province - The state in which your organization is located.
    Country - Click here for the official list of ISO country codes for this field.

Please do not enter your email address, challenge password or an optional company name when generating the CSR.

 

3. Open the file in a text editor that does not add extra characters (Notepad or vi are recommended).

4. Copy all of the text.

5. Go to the enrollment and paste the information into the  form when prompted for the CSR.