How to Obtain a Server Certificate from a Certification Authority

 

You can obtain server certificates from an outside certification authority (CA), or you can issue your own server certificates by using Microsoft Certificate Services.

Before You Begin

Obtaining a server certificate from a certification authority is one step in the process of configuring SSL. For an overview to the procedures you must follow to configure SSL, see "How to Use SSL to Secure the Communications Between the Client Messaging Applications and the Exchange Front-End Server" in the Exchange Server 2003 Client Access Guide.

For questions you should consider when selecting a certificate authority, see "Obtaining Server Certificates from a Certification Authority" in "Securing Your Exchange Messaging Environment" in the Exchange Server 2003 Client Access Guide.

Note

Some certification authorities require that you prove your identity before they will process your request or issue a certificate.

Procedure

To obtain a server certificate from a certification authority

  1. Use the Web Server Certificate Wizard to create a certificate request.

  2. In the Web Server Certificate Wizard, on the Delayed or Immediate Request page, click Prepare the request now, but send it later.

  3. Use the Web Server Certificate Wizard to send the request to the certification authority. The CA will process the request and then send you the certificate.

  4. Finish using the Web Server Certificate Wizard.