SSL Configuration

If you are using Active Directory and want to:

• Add AD users
• Change AD passwords
• Secure the connection to Active Directory

Then you need to configure additional settings and install an SSL certificate on the AD server.

Note: This topic does not relate to securing connections with your AD Server.

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is the standard security technology for establishing an encrypted link between a web server and a browser. This link ensures that all data passed between the web server and browsers remains private and integral. 

To create an SSL connection a web server requires an SSL Certificate. When you activate SSL on your web server you are asked a number of questions about the identity of your website and your company. Your web server then creates two cryptographic keys - a Private Key and a Public Key.

Your customers' browsers display a key indicator to let them know they are currently protected by an SSL encrypted session - the lock icon in the lower right-hand corner. They can click the lock icon to view the SSL Certificate and details about it. 

To learn more about SSL, read knowledge base articles on the SSL web site.

To enhance the security of the root certificate, two intermediate certificates are created from which SSL certificates are signed and issued.

The result is a certificate chain that includes the trusted root certificate, the intermediate certificate, and the SSL certificate issued to you. 

The use of intermediate certificates for issuing SSL certificates to end entities provides an added level of security. You must install the intermediate certificate on your web server along with your SSL certificate to allow the certificate to be effective.