Backup a Certificate

Backup a Certificate

When you backup an SSL certificate, the system copies the private key into an encrypted file. The private key was created on the server when the Certificate Signing Request (CSR) was generated. Select the correct software vendor and version below for backup instructions.

Apache

1. Locate the private key and certificate files. The following directives in the httpd.conf point to the location of the key and certificate files:

SSLCertificateFile .../path/to/mycertfile.crt

SSLCACertificateFile …/path/to/intermediate.crt

SSLCertificateKeyFile .../path/to/mykeyfile.key

2. Copy the .key file, both .crt files (one is the server certificate and the other is the intermediate CA certificate), and the httpd.conf file onto a diskette or CD.

.key – private key

.crt – server certificate

.crt – intermediate CA certificate

httpd.conf - Web server configuration file

VeriSign highly recommends that you save the file to a diskette or CD and store it in a safe place.

Tomcat

1. Navigate to the SSL Directory where the SSL Keystore is kept. By default this can be a hidden directory. For example: /root/.keystore
2. Make a copy of the keystore file in this directory. This contains your Private and Public keys.

VeriSign highly recommends that you save the file to a diskette or CD and store it in a safe place.