Request and install a trusted certificate

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Applies To: Windows Small Business Server 2011 Standard

The process of installing a trusted certificate requires that you purchase a trusted certificate from a certificate authority. The Add a Trusted Certificate Wizard helps you generate a request for a trusted certificate from a certificate authority by using the information that you provided during installation and additional information that you provided when you ran the Internet Address Management Wizard. Some certificate authorities make the trusted certificate available immediately, while others validate the information with the user offline before providing the trusted certificate. For those providers, you can rerun the wizard to install the trusted certificate after you receive it.

Important

Verify that the Certification Authority snap-in and the Certificates snap-in are not open in the Microsoft Management Console (MMC). If you run the Add a Trusted Certificate Wizard while the snap-ins are open, the wizard may not finish successfully.

To request for a trusted certificate

  1. Open the Windows SBS Console.

  2. On the navigation bar, click Network, and then click Connectivity.

  3. Click Add a trusted certificate in the task pane.

Note

You must set up your Internet address before you run this wizard. If you have not run the Internet Address Management Wizard, you receive an error message. Click OK, return to the Home page, and then click Set up your Internet address in the Getting Started Tasks. When your Internet address is set up successfully, restart this wizard.

  1. Review the information on the Welcome page, and then click Next.

  2. On the Get the certificate page, click I want to buy a certificate from a certificate provider, and then click Next.

  3. Verify the information that is used to generate the request for the certificate, and change any of the information that is not correct. If all of the information is correct, click Next.

Note

If any of the information that is used to purchase a certificate is incorrect, the only way to change the information is to purchase another certificate.

  1. Windows SBS 2011 Standard generates the encoded information that the certificate authority requires. On the Generate a certificate request page, click Copy, and then paste the information into the space that is provided on the certificate authority's Web site, or save the encoded information to a file.

Note

The Web site that uses the certificate is not available until you remove or complete the request for the certificate.

  1. Return to the wizard, and then click Next.

  2. If you do not receive the certificate information from the certificate authority immediately, do the following:

    1. Verify that My certificate provider needs more time to process the request is selected, and then click Next.

    2. On Importing the certificate request is postponed page, click Finish.

  3. If you receive the certificate information from the certificate authority immediately, do the following:

    1. Click I have a certificate from my certificate provider, and then click Next.

    2. On the Import the trusted certificate file page, paste the information that you received from the provider or browse to the location where you saved the trusted certificate file, and then click Next.

    3. On The certificate file is installed page, click Finish.

To install a trusted certificate

  1. When you are ready to install the trusted certificate, open the Windows SBS Console.

  2. On the navigation bar, click Network, and then click Connectivity.

  3. Click Add a trusted certificate in the task pane, and then click Next.

  4. Click I have a certificate from my certificate provider, and then click Next.

  5. On the Import the trusted certificate file page, paste the information you received from the provider or browse to the location where you saved the trusted certificate file, and then click Next.

  6. On The certificate file is installed page, click Finish.