Create a Self-Signed Certificate

To create a self-signed certificate, perform the following steps. All fields must be completed to create a valid self-signed certificate. The inception time of a certificate is based on UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). Check with your system administrator that your computer's UTC is set correctly if you want to use the self-signed certificate right away.

Enter the required information for the self-signed certificate.
- Encrypt Private Key
  Using an encrypted private key forces the passphrase dialog to appear at startup time.
- Encryption Bits
  The largest recommended size is 1024 bits. Encryption strength is often described in terms of the size of the keys used to perform the encryption; in general, longer keys provide stronger encryption. Key length is measured in bits. Private key sizes larger than 1024 bits are incompatible with some versions of Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer.
- Certificate Key File
  Use OpenVMS syntax (defaults to SSL$KEY:SERVER.KEY).
- Certificate File
  Use OpenVMS syntax (defaults to SSL$CRT:SERVER.CRT).
- Country Name
- State or Province Name
- City Name
- Organization Name
- Organization Unit Name
- Common Name
  Common name usage is different for client certificates than it is for server certificates. Generally, the common name on a client certificate is the proper name of the individual requesting a certificate. In the case of server certificates, the common name must be the same as your server's DNS host name (or virtual host name, if name-based virtual hosting is used). Browsers compare the common name in the server certificate with the host name of the server they are connecting to. These must match.
- Email Address
- Display the Certificate
View the details of the self-signed certificate (if you chose to display the certificate).
- Version (SSL 3.0 protocol)
- Serial number (Certificates issued by a CA have a serial number that is unique to the certificates issued by that CA.)
- Signature algorithm
- Issuer
- Validity (inception and expiration dates)
- Public key information

HP OpenVMS Systems Documentation

Create a Self-Signed Certificate

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