• Openssl Generate Ca
• Openssl Generate Private Key

The following instructions will guide you through the CSR generation process on Nginx (OpenSSL). To learn more about CSRs and the importance of your private key, reference our Overview of Certificate Signing Request article. If you already generated the CSR and received your trusted SSL certificate, reference our SSL Installation Instructions and disregard the steps below.

While Encrypting a File with a Password from the Command Line using OpenSSL is very useful in its own right, the real power of the OpenSSL library is its ability to support the use of public key cryptograph for encrypting or validating data in an unattended manner (where the password is not required to encrypt) is done with public keys. OpenSSL – How to convert SSL Certificates to various formats – PEM CRT CER PFX P12 & more How to use the OpenSSL tool to convert a SSL certificate and private key on various formats (PEM, CRT, CER, PFX, P12, P7B, P7C extensions & more) on Windows and Linux platforms.

1. Log in to your server’s terminal.

You will want to log in via Secure Shell (SSH).

2. Enter CSR and Private Key command

Generate a private key and CSR by running the following command:

Here is the plain text version to copy and paste into your terminal:

Note:Replace “server ” with the domain name you intend to secure.

3. Enter your CSR details

Enter the following CSR details when prompted:

• Common Name: The FQDN (fully-qualified domain name) you want to secure with the certificate such as www.google.com, secure.website.org, *.domain.net, etc.
• Organization: The full legal name of your organization including the corporate identifier.
• Organization Unit (OU): Your department such as ‘Information Technology’ or ‘Website Security.’
• City or Locality: The locality or city where your organization is legally incorporated. Do not abbreviate.
• State or Province: The state or province where your organization is legally incorporated. Do not abbreviate.
• Country: The official two-letter country code (i.e. US, CH) where your organization is legally incorporated.

Note: You are not required to enter a password or passphrase. This optional field is for applying additional security to your key pair.

4. Generate the order

Locate and open the newly created CSR in a text editor such as Notepad and copy all the text including:

Note 1: Your CSR should be saved in the same user directory that you SSH into unless otherwise specified by you.

Note 2: We recommend saving or backing up your newly generate “.key ” file as this will be required later during the installation process.

Return to the Generation Form on our website and paste the entire CSR into the blank text box and continue with completing the generation process.

Upon generating your CSR, your order will enter the validation process with the issuing Certificate Authority (CA) and require the certificate requester to complete some form of validation depending on the certificate purchased. For information regarding the different levels of the validation process and how to satisfy the industry requirements, reference our validation articles.

After you complete the validation process and receive the trusted SSL Certificate from the issuing Certificate Authority (CA), proceed with the next step using our SSL Installation Instructions for Nginx using OpenSSL.

Generate a certificate signing request

Before you can install a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate, you must first generate a certificate signing request (CSR). Advanced systemcare 11.5 key generator. You can do this by using one of the following methods:

OpenSSL

The following sections describe how to use OpenSSL to generate a CSR for a single host name. If you want to generate a CSR for multiple host names, we recommend using the Cloud Control Panel or the MyRackspace Portal.

Install OpenSSL

Check whether OpenSSL is installed by using the following command:

• CentOS® and Red Hat® Enterprise Linux®

  The following output provides an example of what the command returns:

• Debian® and the Ubuntu® operating system

  The following output provides an example of what the command returns:

If the preceding packages are not returned, install OpenSSL by running the following command:

• CentOS and Red Hat

• Debian and the Ubuntu operating system

Generate the RSA key

Run the following commands to create a directory in which to store your RSA key, substituting a directory name of your choice:

Run the following command to generate a private key:

Create a CSR

Run the following command to create a CSR with the RSA private key (output is in Privacy-Enhanced Mail (PEM) format):

When prompted, enter the necessary information for creating a CSR by using the conventions shown in the following table.

Note: You cannot use the following characters in the Organization Name or Organizational Unit fields: < > ~ ! @ # $ % ^ * / ( ) ? . , &

Warning: Leave the challenge password blank (press Enter).

Verify your CSR

Run the following command to verify your CSR:

After you have verified your CSR, you can submit it to a CA to purchase an SSL certificate.

Windows IIS Manager

Use the following steps to generate a CSR by using Windows IIS Manager:

Note: The following steps are for IIS 8 or IIS 8.5 on Windows Server 2012.

1. Open IIS Manager.
2. In the left-hand Connections pane, click the server for which you want to generate a CSR.
3. In the center server Home pane under the IIS section, double-click Server Certificates.
4. In the right-hand Actions pane, click Create Certificate Request.

5. In the Request Certificate wizard, on the Distinguished Name Properties page, enter the following information and then click Next.

   Field	Explanation	Example
   Common Name	The fully qualified domain name to which the certificate applies. The domain names example.com and www.example.com are distinct from each other, so be sure to submit your request for the right domain. If you are purchasing a wildcard certificate, use *.example.com.	example.com
   Organization Name	The exact legal name of your organization. The CA might seek to confirm that your organization is real and legally registered, so don’t abbreviate words that aren’t abbreviated in the organization’s legal name.	Example Inc.
   Organizational Unit	The branch of your organization that is making the request.	Marketing
   City/locality	The city where your organization is legally located. Do not abbreviate the city name.	San Antonio
   State/province	The state or province where your organization is legally located. Do not abbreviate the state or province name.	Texas
   Country/region	The two-letter ISO abbreviation for your country.	US

6. On the Cryptographic Server Provider Properties page, enter the following information and then click Next.

   • Cryptographic service provider: Unless you have a specific cryptographic provider, use the default selection.
   • Bit length: 2048 is the recommended bit length.
7. On the File Name page, enter the location where you want to save the certificate request file and then click Finish.

Openssl Generate Ca

After you have generated the CSR, you can submit it to a CA to purchase an SSL certificate.

Cloud Control Panel

Rackspace provides the CSR Generator for generating a CSR. The CSR Generator shows you the CSRs that you currently have and lets you create new CSRs with a simple form. After you have entered your details, the generator combines them with your private key so that you can submit the combined encoded information to a CA.

When you are done with the generator, you can return to the Cloud Control Panel by clicking any of the links in the top navigation or by going to login.rackspace.com and selecting Rackspace Cloud from the drop-down product menu in the top navigation bar.

Access the CSR Generator

Access the CSR Generator directly or through the Control Panel by using the following steps:

1. Log in to the Cloud Control Panel and select Rackspace Cloud from the drop-down product menu in the top navigation bar.
2. In the top navigation bar, click Servers > Cloud Servers.
3. Click the name of the server for which you want to generate a CSR.
4. In the right-hand Managing Your Server section under Help me with, click Generate a CSR.

The generator lists your existing CSRs, if you have any, organized by domain name.

Generate a CSR

1. Click Create CSR.

2. Enter the following information, which will be associated with the CSR:

   Field	Explanation	Example
   Domain Name	The fully qualified domain name to which the certificate applies. The domain names example.com and www.example.com are distinct from each other, so be sure to submit your request for the right domain. If you want to secure both domains, you can use the Alt Names field. If you are purchasing a wildcard certificate, use *.example.com.	example.com
   Alt Names	(Optional) Additional domains that you want to add to the request. Each CA treats these differently, and the CA might charge for additional names. You can submit a comma-separated list.	www.example.com, secure.example.com
   Email Address	(Optional) A contact email address for the certificate.	support@example.com
   Organization Name	The exact legal name of your organization. The CA might seek to confirm that your organization is real and legally registered, so don’t abbreviate words that aren’t abbreviated in the organization’s legal name.	Example Inc.
   Organizational Unit	(Optional) The branch of your organization that is making the request.	Marketing
   City	The city where your organization is legally located. Do not abbreviate the city name.	San Antonio
   State or Province	The state or province where your organization is legally located. Do not abbreviate the state or province name.	Texas
   Country	Choose your country from the drop-down menu. The two-letter ISO abbreviation for your country is included in the CSR.	United States
   Private Key Bit Length	Key sizes smaller than 2048 are considered insecure and might not be accepted by a CA.	1024,2048,4096
   Hashing Algorithm	Both algorithms are currently trusted in mainstream browsers and offer industry recommended security. SHA-512 requires additional CPU processing.	SHA-256, SHA-512

   Note: You cannot use the following characters in the Organization Name or Organizational Unit fields: < > ~ ! @ # $ % ^ * / ( ) ? . , &

3. After you have entered all the required information, click Create CSR.

It can take between 5 and 60 seconds for the CSR to be generated. You might need to refresh the page that displays your CSRs before the new CSR is listed.

View CSR details

When CSR has been generated, you can click its UUID (unique identifier) in the CSR list to view its details screen.

This screen displays the information that you provided, the text of the CSR, and its associated private key.

Submit the CSR to the CA

The text in the Certificate Request field is the CSR. It contains encoded details of the CSR and your public key.

To request your SSL certificate, copy the Certificate Request text and submit it to your CA. Include all the text, including the BEGIN and END lines at the beginning and end of the text block.

Install the private key

Copy the private key to the server that will host the certificate. See your application documentation to determine where to install the private key and certificate on your server.

Openssl Generate Private Key

MyRackspace Portal

If you are a Managed or Dedicated customer, you can request a CSR through the MyRackspace Portal by using the following steps:

1. Log in to the MyRackspace Portal and select Dedicated Hosting from the drop-down product menu in the top navigation bar.
2. In the top navigation bar, click Tickets > Create Ticket.
3. On the Tickets / Create New Ticket page, select Generate Certificate Signing Request (CSR) from the Subject drop-down list.

4. Enter the following information in the Ticket Details section:

   Field	Explanation	Example
   Device(s)	The server or servers for which you want to generate a CSR. Use the drop-down menu to select your servers.
   Common Name	The fully qualified domain name to which the certificate applies. The domain names example.com and www.example.com are distinct from each other, so be sure to submit your request for the right domain. If you want to secure both domains, you can use the Alt Names field. If you are purchasing a wildcard certificate, use *.example.com.	example.com
   Alt. Names	(Optional) Additional domains that you want to add to the request. Each CA treats these differently, and the CA might charge for additional names. You can submit a comma-separated list.	www.example.com, secure.example.com
   Email Address	(Optional) A contact email address for the certificate.	support@example.com
   Organization	The exact legal name of your organization. The CA might seek to confirm that your organization is real and legally registered, so don’t abbreviate words that aren’t abbreviated in the organization’s legal name.	Example Inc.
   Organizational Unit	(Optional) The branch of your organization that is making the request.	Marketing
   Locality (City)	The city where your organization is legally located. Do not abbreviate the city name.	San Antonio
   State or Province Name	The state or province where your organization is legally located. Do not abbreviate the state or province name.	Texas
   Country	Choose your country from the drop-down menu. The two-letter ISO abbreviation for your country is included in the CSR.	United States

   Note: The bit length is automatically set to 2048.

5. Click Create Ticket.

Next steps

Reference

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