Generate a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) -
BEA Weblogic 8.1

To generate a CSR, you will need to create a key pair for your server. These two items are a digital certificate key pair and cannot be separated. If you lose your public/private key file or your password and generate a new one, your SSL Certificate will no longer match. You will have to request a new SSL Certificate.

BEA Weblogic 8.1 utilizes the java keytool command line utility to create the CSR and install the SSL certificate. We recommend that you contact the BEA directly for additional information. 

Step 1: Generate a Keystore and Private Key

Note: The recommended key bit size is 2048-bit. All certificates that will expire after December 31, 2013 must have a 2048 bit key size

1. Create a certificate keystore and private key by executing the following keytool command: 
   
   Note: The keytool utility is located in your JDK’s “\bin” directory
   
   C:\bea\jdk\bin\keytool -genkey -alias <your_alias_name> -keyalg RSA -keystore <your_keystore_filename> -keysize 2048
   
   
2. Specify a password. The default value will be "changeit".

For more information, view the interactive BEA Setup & Installation instructions

Step 2: Generate a CSR

1. The CSR is then created using the following command:The system will ask from you to fill in the following fields:
   
   C:\bea\jdk\bin\keytool -certreq -keyalg RSA -alias <your_alias_name> -file certreq.csr -keystore <your_keystore_filename>
   
   This command will prompt for the following X.509 attributes of the certificate:
   
   - First and last name (Common Name (CN)): Enter the domain of your website (i.e. www.myside.org) in the "first- and lastname" field.. It looks like "www.company.com" or "company.com".
   - Country Name (C): Use the two-letter code without punctuation for country, for example: US or CA.
   - State or Province (S): Spell out the state completely; do not abbreviate the state or province name, for example: California.
   - Locality or City (L): The Locality field is the city or town name, for example: Berkeley.
   - Organization (O): If your company or department has an &, @, or any other symbol using the shift key in its name, you must spell out the symbol or omit it to enroll, for example: XY & Z Corporation would be XYZ Corportation or XY and Z Corportation.
   - Organizational Unit (OU): This field is the name of the department or organization unit making the request.
   
   Note: SSL certificates can only be used on Web servers using the Common Name specified during enrollment. For example, a certificate for the domain "domain.com" will receive a warning if accessing a site named "www.domain.com" or "secure.domain.com", because "www.domain.com" and "secure.domain.com" are different from "domain.com"
   
   
2. To copy and paste the file certreq.csr into the enrollment form, open the file in a text editor that does not add extra characters (Notepad or Vi are recommended).

Terms Defined

Common Name

The Common Name is the Host + Domain Name. It looks like "www.company.com" or "company.com".

SSL certificates can only be used on Web servers using the Common Name specified during enrollment. For example, a certificate for the domain "domain.com" will receive a warning if accessing a site named "www.domain.com" or "secure.domain.com", because "www.domain.com" and "secure.domain.com" are different from "domain.com".

Organization Information

• If your company or department has an &, @, or any other symbol using the shift key in its name, you must spell out the symbol or omit it to enroll.
• The “Org Unit” field is the name of the department or organization unit making the request.
• The Locality field is the city or town name, for example: Berkeley.
• Do not abbreviate the state or province name, for example: California.
• Use the two-letter code without punctuation for country, for example: US or CA.