F5 Big IP Controller 4x CSR Generation Instructions

F5 Big IP Controller 4x
(CSR Generation Procedures)

You can generate a key, a temporary certificate, and a certificate request form with the Configuration utility or from the command line.

We recommend using the Configuration utility for this process. The certification process is generally handled through a web page. Parts of the process require you to cut and paste information from a browser window in the Configuration utility to another browser window on the website.

You must have a separate certificate for each domain name on each BIG-IP Controller or redundant pair of BIG-IP Controllers, regardless of how many non-SSL web servers are load balanced by the BIG-IP Controller.
If you are already running an SSL server, you can use your existing keys to generate temporary certificates and request files. However, you must obtain new certificates if the ones you have are not for the following web server types: Apache + OpenSSL Stronghold.

Generating a key and obtaining a certificate using the Configuration utility:

To obtain a certificate, you must have a private key. If you do not have a key, you can use the Configuration utility on the BIG-IP Controller to generate a key and a temporary certificate. You can also use the Configuration utility to create a request file that you can submit. You must complete the following tasks in the Configuration utility to create a key and generate a certificate request.

1. Generate a certificate request.

2. Submit the certificate request to EBIZID and generate a temporary certificate.

3. Install the SSL certificate from the EBIZID.

4. Finally, install the intermediate certificate authority certificate.

To create a new certificate request using the Configuration utility:

1. In the navigation pane, click Proxies. The Proxies screen opens.

2. On Proxies screen, click the Create SSL Certificate Request tab, the New SSL Certificate Request screen opens.

3. In the Key Information section, select a key length and key file name, you can choose either 512 or 1024 bytes. (EBIZID recommends 1024)

4. Type in the name of the key file. This should be the fully qualified domain name of the server for which you want to request a certificate. You must add the .key file extension to the name.

In the Certificate Information section, type the information specific to your company.

Country - Type the two letter ISO code for your country. Click here for a list of codes.
State or Province - Type the full name of your state or province
Locality - Type the city or town name
Organization - Type the name of your organization
Organizational Unit - Type the division name or organizational unit
Domain Name - Type the name of the domain upon which the server is installed
Email Address - Type the email address of a person to be contacted about this
Challenge Password - Type the password you want to use as the challenge password
Retype Password - Retype the password you entered for the challenge password.

If you are ordering a Wildcard Certificate, the Common Name field must be in the format of: * . yourdomain . com

Click the Generate Certificate Request button.
After a short pause, the SSL Certificate Request screen opens. Use the SSL Certificate Request screen to start the process of obtaining a certificate from EBIZID, and then to generate and install a temporary certificate.

Generate and install a temporary certificate
Click the Generate Self-Signed Certificate button to create a self-signed certificate for the server. We recommend that you use the temporary certificate for testing only. You should make your site live only after you receive a properly-signed certificate from a certificate authority. When you click this button, a temporary certificate is created and installed on the BIG-IP Controller. This temporary certificate allows you to set up an SSL gateway for the SSL Accelerator while you wait for a certificate authority to return a permanent certificate.

Generating a key and obtaining a certificate from the command line
To obtain a valid certificate, you must have a private key. If you do not have a key, you can use the genconf and genkey utilities on the BIG-IP Controller to generate a key and a temporary certificate. The genkey and gencert utilities automatically generate a request file that you can submit to a certificate authority. If you have a key, you can use the gencert utility to generate a temporary certificate and request file.

These utilities are described in the following list:

genconf - This utility creates a key configuration file that contains specific information about your organization. The genkey utility uses this information to generate a certificate.

genkey - After you run the genconf utility, run this utility to generate a temporary 30 day certificate for testing the SSL Accelerator on the BIG-IP Controller. This utility also creates a request file that you can submit to a certificate authority to obtain a certificate.

gencert - If you already have a key, run this utility to generate a temporary certificate and request file for the SSL Accelerator.

To generate a key configuration file using the genconf utility
If you do not have a key, you can generate a key and certificate with the genconf and genkey utilities. First, run the genconf utility from the root (/) with the following commands:

cd /
/usr/local/bin/genconf

The utility prompts you for information about the organization for which you are requesting certification.
This information includes:
The fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the server
The two-letter ISO code for your country
The full name of your state or province
The city or town name
The name of your organization
The division name or organizational unit

If you are ordering a Wildcard Certificate, the Common Name field must be in the format of: * . yourdomain . com

To generate a key using the genkey utility
After you run the genconf utility, you can generate a key with the genkey utility.

cd / /user/local/bin/genkey

After the utility starts, it prompts you to verify the information created by the genconf utility. After you run this utility, a certificate request form is created in the following directory:

/config/bigconfig/fqdn.req

In addition to creating a request form that you can submit to a certificate authority this utility also generates a temporary certificate. The temporary certificate is located in:

/config/bigconfig/ssl.crt/fqdn.crt

The "fqdn" is the fully qualified domain name of the server. Note that you must copy the key and certificate to the other controller in a redundant system, but for an SSL proxy you should have a valid certificate from EBIZID.

To generate a certificate with an existing key using the gencert utility
To generate a temporary certificate and request file to submit to the certificate authority with the gencert utility, you must first copy an existing key for a server into the following directory on the BIG-IP Controller:

/config/bigconfig/ssl.key/

After you copy the key into this directory, type the following command at the command line:

cd / /user/local/bin/gencert

After the utility starts, it will prompt you for various information. After you run this utility, a certificate request form is created in the following directory:

/config/bigconfig/ssl.crt/fqdn.req

The "fqdn" is the fully qualified domain name of the server.

What your CSR will look like when your finished.

When sending your CSR to EBIZID, you MUST copy and paste the entire CSR Request, including the beginning and ending lines as shown below.
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
-----END CERTIFICATE REQUEST-----
Failure to do so will result in you having to resend your CSR in the correct format to EBIZID which will cause a prolonged delay in processing your order.

Should you choose to enter and use a Challenge password, you will need to make sure that you save that password in a secure place. If you ever need to reinstall your certificate for any reason, you will be required to enter that password. If you forget the password and it is past 30 days from your purchase date, then you will be required to purchase a new certificate. An ounce of prevention will prevent this from happening.

Backup the private key, as there is no means to recover it should it be lost. The private key is used as input in the command to generate a Certificate Signing Request (CSR). EBIZID will reissue certificates no more than 30 days from the time of purchase. If you do not backup your key and your server fails or other problems occur after the 30 days, you will then be required to purchase a new certificate. An ounce of prevention is all that is required to prevent this from happening.