2.5.1 Actors

The actors that participate in certificate services are:

End entity: An end entity is a keyholder, either a person or a computer, to whose key or name a particular certificate refers.

Enrollment agent: An entity that submits requests on behalf of another end entity. An enrollment agent is typically authorized by the CA to enroll for certificates that end entities themselves might not be able to. The policy enforcement for those certified end entities is thus assumed to be done by the enrollment agent.

CA administrator: A person who is responsible for management of the CA system, such as system configuration, and managing pending requests for certificates.