Improves certificates HOWTO

* adds links to various related documents.
* fixes a few typos.
* rewords a few sentences.

Reviewed-by: Richard Levitte <levitte@openssl.org>
Reviewed-by: Rich Salz <rsalz@openssl.org>
(cherry picked from commit 67472bd82bed9d5e481b0d75926aab93618902be)

diff --git a/doc/HOWTO/certificates.txt b/doc/HOWTO/certificates.txt
index a8a34c7abc5184596234405813654608559210bc..65f8fc8296cdf6f9b18a4a769a6f4467b79b0bb4 100644 (file)
--- a/doc/HOWTO/certificates.txt
+++ b/doc/HOWTO/certificates.txt
@@ -3,22 +3,22 @@
 
 1. Introduction
 
 
 1. Introduction
 

-How you handle certificates depend a great deal on what your role is.
+How you handle certificates depends a great deal on what your role is.

 Your role can be one or several of:
 
 Your role can be one or several of:
 

-  - User of some client software
-  - User of some server software
+  - User of some client application
+  - User of some server application

   - Certificate authority
 
 This file is for users who wish to get a certificate of their own.
   - Certificate authority
 
 This file is for users who wish to get a certificate of their own.

-Certificate authorities should read ca.txt.
+Certificate authorities should read https://www.openssl.org/docs/apps/ca.html.

 
 In all the cases shown below, the standard configuration file, as
 compiled into openssl, will be used.  You may find it in /etc/,
 
 In all the cases shown below, the standard configuration file, as
 compiled into openssl, will be used.  You may find it in /etc/,

-/usr/local/ssl/ or somewhere else.  The name is openssl.cnf, and
-is better described in another HOWTO <config.txt?>.  If you want to
-use a different configuration file, use the argument '-config {file}'
-with the command shown below.
+/usr/local/ssl/ or somewhere else.  By default the file is named
+openssl.cnf and is described at https://www.openssl.org/docs/apps/config.html.
+You can specify a different configuration file using the
+'-config {file}' argument with the commands shown below.

 
 
 2. Relationship with keys
 
 
 2. Relationship with keys


@@ -29,24 +29,26 @@ somewhere.  With OpenSSL, public keys are easily derived from private
 keys, so before you create a certificate or a certificate request, you
 need to create a private key.
 
 keys, so before you create a certificate or a certificate request, you
 need to create a private key.
 

-Private keys are generated with 'openssl genrsa' if you want a RSA
-private key, or 'openssl gendsa' if you want a DSA private key.
-Further information on how to create private keys can be found in
-another HOWTO <keys.txt?>.  The rest of this text assumes you have
-a private key in the file privkey.pem.
+Private keys are generated with 'openssl genrsa -out privkey.pem' if
+you want a RSA private key, or if you want a DSA private key:
+'openssl dsaparam -out dsaparam.pem 2048; openssl gendsa -out privkey.pem dsaparam.pem'.
+
+The private keys created by these commands are not passphrase protected;
+it might or might not be the desirable thing.  Further information on how to
+create private keys can be found at https://www.openssl.org/docs/HOWTO/keys.txt.
+The rest of this text assumes you have a private key in the file privkey.pem.

 
 
 3. Creating a certificate request
 
 
 
 3. Creating a certificate request
 

-To create a certificate, you need to start with a certificate
-request (or, as some certificate authorities like to put
-it, "certificate signing request", since that's exactly what they do,
-they sign it and give you the result back, thus making it authentic
-according to their policies).  A certificate request can then be sent
-to a certificate authority to get it signed into a certificate, or if
-you have your own certificate authority, you may sign it yourself, or
-if you need a self-signed certificate (because you just want a test
-certificate or because you are setting up your own CA).
+To create a certificate, you need to start with a certificate request
+(or, as some certificate authorities like to put it, "certificate
+signing request", since that's exactly what they do, they sign it and
+give you the result back, thus making it authentic according to their
+policies).  A certificate request is sent to a certificate authority
+to get it signed into a certificate. You can also sign the certificate
+yourself if you have your own certificate authority or create a
+self-signed certificate (typically for testing purpose).

 
 The certificate request is created like this:
 
 
 The certificate request is created like this:
 


@@ -55,12 +57,14 @@ The certificate request is created like this:
 Now, cert.csr can be sent to the certificate authority, if they can
 handle files in PEM format.  If not, use the extra argument '-outform'
 followed by the keyword for the format to use (see another HOWTO
 Now, cert.csr can be sent to the certificate authority, if they can
 handle files in PEM format.  If not, use the extra argument '-outform'
 followed by the keyword for the format to use (see another HOWTO

-<formats.txt?>).  In some cases, that isn't sufficient and you will
-have to be more creative.
+<formats.txt?>).  In some cases, -outform does not let you output the
+certificate request in the right format and you will have to use one
+of the various other commands that are exposed by openssl (or get
+creative and use a combination of tools).

 
 

-When the certificate authority has then done the checks the need to
-do (and probably gotten payment from you), they will hand over your
-new certificate to you.
+The certificate authority performs various checks (according to their
+policies) and usually waits for payment from you. Once that is
+complete, they send you your new certificate.

 
 Section 5 will tell you more on how to handle the certificate you
 received.
 
 Section 5 will tell you more on how to handle the certificate you
 received.


@@ -68,11 +72,12 @@ received.
 
 4. Creating a self-signed test certificate
 
 
 4. Creating a self-signed test certificate
 

-If you don't want to deal with another certificate authority, or just
-want to create a test certificate for yourself.  This is similar to
-creating a certificate request, but creates a certificate instead of
-a certificate request.  This is NOT the recommended way to create a
-CA certificate, see ca.txt.
+You can create a self-signed certificate if you don't want to deal
+with a certificate authority, or if you just want to create a test
+certificate for yourself.  This is similar to creating a certificate
+request, but creates a certificate instead of a certificate request.
+This is NOT the recommended way to create a CA certificate, see
+https://www.openssl.org/docs/apps/ca.html.

 
   openssl req -new -x509 -key privkey.pem -out cacert.pem -days 1095
 
 
   openssl req -new -x509 -key privkey.pem -out cacert.pem -days 1095
 


@@ -93,13 +98,13 @@ certificate and your key to various formats, most often also putting
 them together into one file.  The ways to do this is described in
 another HOWTO <formats.txt?>, I will just mention the simplest case.
 In the case of a raw DER thing in PEM format, and assuming that's all
 them together into one file.  The ways to do this is described in
 another HOWTO <formats.txt?>, I will just mention the simplest case.
 In the case of a raw DER thing in PEM format, and assuming that's all

-right for yor applications, simply concatenating the certificate and
+right for your applications, simply concatenating the certificate and

 the key into a new file and using that one should be enough.  With
 some applications, you don't even have to do that.
 
 
 the key into a new file and using that one should be enough.  With
 some applications, you don't even have to do that.
 
 

-By now, you have your cetificate and your private key and can start
-using the software that depend on it.
+By now, you have your certificate and your private key and can start
+using applications that depend on it.

 
 -- 
 Richard Levitte
 
 -- 
 Richard Levitte