Jakarta-Tomcat CSR Generation Instructions

Jakarta-Tomcat
(CSR Generation Procedures)

Follow these instructions to generate a CSR for your Web site.

If you are not using JDK 1.4 or higher, you must download and install "Java Secure Socket Extensions" JSSE.

1. Generate a private key with the following command:

$JAVA_HOME/bin/keytool -genkey -alias tomcat -keyalg RSA -keystore /path/to/domainname.kdb

You will be prompted for a password. Tomcat uses a default password of "changeit". If you use a different password, you will need to specify a custom password in the server.xml configuration file.

Should you choose to enter and use a Private Key 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.

The next field that you will be prompted for is "What is your first and last name?" At this prompt, you must specify the common name (FQDN) of your web site. (Example: www.yourdomain.com)

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

You will then be prompted for your organizational unit (Example: IT Department, organization (Example: your company name), etc.

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.

2. Generate the Certificate Signing Request (CSR)

$JAVA_HOME/bin/keytool -certreq -alias tomcat -keystore /path/to/keystore.kdb -file filename.csr

You will not be prompted for the common name, organization, etc. The keytool will use the values that you specified when generating the private key in the previous step.

3. Copy the Certificate Signing Request and paste it into the CSR box when placing your order. (Go through steps for purchasing a certificate and paste your certificate request in block when prompted)

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.