Mapping client certificates allows you to automatically authenticate users who log on with client certificates, without requiring the use of other supported authentication methods such as Basic, Digest, or Integrated Windows authentication.

This section includes the following information:

• Mapping Client Certificates One-to-One: Describes how to map individual client certificates to Windows user accounts.
  
  
• Mapping Client Certificates Many-to-One: Describes how to use wildcard-matching rules to map more than one client certificate to a Windows user account.
  
  
• Mapping Client Certificates with Directory Service Mapping: Describes using native Windows Active Directory features to authenticate users with client certificates.
  
  

Note
The client certificate mapping programs for both IIS 6.0 and Windows Active Directory Services accept certificates formatted as either binary or Base-64 encoded files.