Installing And Configuring Certificate Services On Windows Server 2008 Part IV

Wednesday, March 19th, 2008
by Diana Huggins

After Certificate Services is installed, you can manage it using the Certificate Authority snap-in. The console allows you to perform a number of different tasks including:

Stop and start the service
Backup and restore a CA
Renew a CA certificate
Configure the policy and exit modules
Manage certificates that have been issued and revoked
Manage certificate requests
Configure event auditing
Set security permissions
Create and view CRLs
Set the publication interval for the Certificate Revocation List

To open the Certificate Authority snap-in on the local computer:

If this is the first time you are using the Certification Authority snap-in on this computer, click Start, click Run, type mmc, and then press Enter.
On the File menu, click Add/Remove Snap-in.
Add the Certification Authority snap-in to the list on the right.
Select the computer hosting the CA that you want to administer, and then click OK.

You can save the console by clicking File | Save As. Type in an appropriate file name for the console so you can easily identify it and then click Save.

The Certificate Authority snap-in can also be used to administer a CA on another computer. Within the snap-in, click Retarget Certification Authority from the Action menu. Click Another Computer and type the name of the computer.

When you open the Certificate Authority console, you will see your CA. Expand the CA by clicking the plus sign beside it and the following containers will appear:

Revoked Certificates - Provides information about the certificates that have been revoked by the CA.
Issued Certificates - Provides information about the certificates that have been issued by the CA.
Pending Requests - Provides information about certificate requests for the CA that are still awaiting approval.
Failed Requests - Provides information about all failed certificate requests including why each request failed.
Certificate Templates - Lists the type of certificates that the CA can issue. This container is only available on Enterprise CAs.

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