Creating a Self-Signed SSL Server Certificate

Overview

A self-signed certificate is a certificate for which the issuer is the same as the subject (the entity whose public key is being authenticated by the certificate). To create a self-signed certificate, you must first complete a certificate signing request (CSR) and then you can self-sign it. Once self-signed, the certificate is saved to a temporary file in the nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM). You must then restart SSL for the certificate to take effect. For information on how to restart SSL, see "Restarting SSL/HTTPS" later in this chapter.

To create your X.500 distinguished name, which is unique across the internet, you need the following information:

• Two-digit country code
• State or province (full name)
• City
• Organization or company name
• Division or branch name
• Common name (host name of the server)
• E-mail address