Who Should Read This Guide
What You Should Already Know
Conventions Used in This Guide
Where to Go for Related Information
This guide explains how to configure, customize, and maintain Certificate Management System, and use it for issuing and managing certificates to various end entities, such as clients (users), servers, VPN clients, and Cisco routers.
This guide is intended for Certificate Management System administrators.
This guide assumes that you
The purpose of and major steps in the SSL handshake
Public keys, private keys, and symmetric keys
Significance of key lengths
Digital signatures
Digital certificates, including various types of digital certificates
Their role of digital certificates in a public-key infrastructure (PKI)
Certificate hierarchies
If you are new to these concepts, we recommend you read the security- related documents available online at this URL:
http://developer.netscape.com/docs/manuals/ index.html?content=security.html
You may also refer to the security-related appendixes (D and E) of the accompanying manual, Managing Servers with Netscape Console.
Have read the Netscape Certificate Management System Installation and Deployment Guide.
The following conventions are used in this guide:
This typeface is used for any text that appears on the computer screen or text that you should type. It's also used for filenames, functions, and examples. Example: Server Root is the directory where the CMS binaries are kept. Italic
This typeface is used for any text that appears on the computer screen or text that you should type. It's also used for filenames, functions, and examples.
Example: Server Root is the directory where the CMS binaries are kept.
Italic type is used for emphasis, book titles, and glossary terms. Example: This control depends on the access permissions the superadministrator has set up for you. Text within "quotation marks"
Italic type is used for emphasis, book titles, and glossary terms.
Example: This control depends on the access permissions the superadministrator has set up for you.
Cross-references to other topics within this guide. Example: For more information, see "Issuing a Certificate to a New User" on page 154. Boldface
Cross-references to other topics within this guide.
Example: For more information, see "Issuing a Certificate to a New User" on page 154.
Boldface type is used for various UI components such as captions and field names, and the terminology explained in the glossary. Example: Rotation frequency. From the drop-down list, select the interval at which the server should rotate the active error log file. The available choices are Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Monthly, and Yearly. The default selection is Monthly. Monospaced [ ]
Boldface type is used for various UI components such as captions and field names, and the terminology explained in the glossary.
Example:
Rotation frequency. From the drop-down list, select the interval at which the server should rotate the active error log file. The available choices are Hourly, Daily, Weekly, Monthly, and Yearly. The default selection is Monthly.
Square brackets enclose commands that are optional.
PrettyPrintCert <input_file> [<output_file>]
Angle brackets enclose variables. When following examples, replace the angle brackets and their text with text that applies to your situation. For example, when path names appear in angle brackets, substitute the path names used on your computer. Example: Using Netscape Communicator 4.04 or later, enter the URL for the administration server: http://<server_name>.<your_domain>.<domain>:<port_number> /
Angle brackets enclose variables. When following examples, replace the angle brackets and their text with text that applies to your situation. For example, when path names appear in angle brackets, substitute the path names used on your computer.
Example: Using Netscape Communicator 4.04 or later, enter the URL for the administration server:
http://<server_name>.<your_domain>.<domain>:<port_number>
A slash is used to separate directories in a path. If you use the Windows NT operating system, you should replace / with \ in paths. Example: Except for the Security Module Database Tool, you can find all the other command-line utilities at this location: <server_root>/bin/cert/tools/... Sidebar text
A slash is used to separate directories in a path. If you use the Windows NT operating system, you should replace / with \ in paths.
Example: Except for the Security Module Database Tool, you can find all the other command-line utilities at this location:
<server_root>/bin/cert/tools/...
Sidebar text marks important information. Make sure you read the information before continuing with a task. Examples:
Sidebar text marks important information. Make sure you read the information before continuing with a task.
Examples:
Caution A caution note documents a potential risk of losing data, damaging software or hardware, or otherwise disrupting system performance.
Unix Marks text that applies only to the Unix versions of Certificate Management System.
Windows NT Marks text that applies only to the Windows NT version of Certificate Management System.
This section summarizes the documentation that ships with Netscape Certificate Management System, using these conventions:
<instance_id> is the ID for this instance of Netscape Certificate Management System (specified during installation).
The PDF version of this guide is located at <server_root>/manual/en/cert/pdf/cs40_dep.pdf.
The PDF version of this guide is located at <server_root>/manual/en/cert/pdf/cs40_adm.pdf.
The PDF version of this guide is located at <server_root>/manual/en/cert/pdf/cs40_agt.pdf.
