Apache 2.0 - Certificate installation

Immediately after being issued, your SSL certificate will be sent to you by email. It is also possible to download the certificate from the Control Panel. The file containing the certificate will have the same name as the domain name it is meant for (for example: www_sslcertificaten_nl.crt).

Preparation

Copy the certificates to the host, in the same directory as where the private key is kept. The manual for generating the CSR via OpenSSL uses /etc/ssl/cert/ as example. The file containing the private key was named in this example www_sslcertificaten_nl.key and the corresponding certificate www_sslcertificaten_nl.crt. The installation requires to declare the path and name of those files in the Apache host configuration. Additional the root and intermediate certificates need to be declared.

Installation

Together with the installation of the domain certificate, it's required to install the root and intermediate certificates, so that browsers and other clients will trust the complete chain. These root and intermediates are deliveded with the certificate in the recieved ZIP file. You can use the bundle file from the Linux folder in the expanded ZIP file.

1. Login to the webserver, and open the host configuration with your favorite texteditor .[root@server /]# nano /etc/httpd/conf.d/httpd.conf
2. Navigate to the SSLEngine-part en add or modify the following lines:SSLCertificateFile /etc/ssl/cert/www_sslcertificaten_nl.crtSSLCertificateKeyFile /etc/ssl/cert/www_sslcertificaten_nl.keySSLCertificateChainFile /etc/ssl/cert/www_sslcertificaten_nl-bundle.crt Note: Depending on the used Linux distribution or Apache version, paths can be different from above. Filenames are based on the common name of your certificate.
3. Save your modifictions and restart the webserver:

[root@server /]# apachectl stop
[root@server /]# apachectl start

All necessary steps to install your web server certificate have now been completed. Please make sure to adequately secure your certificate files, and to store a backup of your private key and web server certificate in a safe location. You should also install the root and intermediate certificates. Check whether the certificate is correctly installed with the SSLCheck and ensure an optimal configuration with these tips and settings.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you encounter problems or error messages.