Apply for a digital identity certificate (Certificate Signing Request)

Terms used:

  • private key - a secret key known only to the owner, used with an algorithm to encrypt/decrypt data

  • key pair - private key and its associated certificate chain

  • distinguished name - the identifying information in a certificate. A certificate contains DN information for both the owner / requester of the certificate (called the Subject distinguished name) and the CA that issued the certificate (called the Issuer distinguished name)

  • X.509 certificate - a digital certificate that uses the widely accepted international X.509 public key infrastructure (PKI) standard to verify that a public key belongs to the user

Before creating a Certficate Signing Request (CSR), the applicant first generates a key pair, keeping the private key secret. The CSR contains information that identifies the applicant (such as a distinguished name in the case of an X.509 certificate) which must be signed using the applicant’s private key. The CSR also contains the applicant’s chosen public key.

How to create a CSR using KeyStore Explorer

To create a CSR you will create a key pair and then generate a certificate request. If you do not need to update certificate information, you can skip creating the key pair and proceed to generating the certificate request.

  • Create a new key pair

    • From the Tools menu, select Generate Key Pair.

    • On the Generate Key Pair dialog box, enter the algorithm information and certificate details. Click OK.

    • Specify the relevant alias (servlet-engine) and default password (changeit).

  • Generate a certificate request

    • Select the key pair you just created.

    • From the right-click menu, select Generate CSR.

    • Browse to the file location where you want to generate the CSR and enter the file name. Click OK.

How to create a CSR using Java Keytool

Create Key Pair (replace the dname parameter with your own) in the sessionserver/etc folder:

..\..\java\bin\keytool.exe -genkeypair -dname "CN=hacloud-1.microfocus.com, O=Micro Focus, C=US" -alias servlet-engine -keyalg RSA -keysize 2048 -keystore keystore.bcfks -validity 1095 -storetype bcfks -storepass changeit -keypass changeit -providername BCFIPS -providerpath ../lib/bc-fips-*.jar -providerclass org.bouncycastle.jcajce.provider.BouncyCastleFipsProvider

Generate Certificate Request:

..\..\java/bin\keytool -certreq -alias servlet-engine -keystore keystore.bcfks -file cert_request.csr -ext ExtendedkeyUsage=serverAuth -storetype bcfks -storepass changeit -providername BCFIPS -providerpath ../lib/bc-fips-*.jar -providerclass org.bouncycastle.jcajce.provider.BouncyCastleFipsProvider

After you receive the certificate from the CA, you will import the certificate into Host Access for the Cloud.