Install a SSL Certificate for a Domain in Microsoft IIS

Requirements for the ssl installation:

  • Windows 2000 Server, Advanced Server, or Professional, with Internet Information Services (IIS) version 5.0 and Microsoft Certificate Server version 2.0 installed and configured.
  • Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition, Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition, or Windows Server 2003 Web Edition-based computer with Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 and Certificate Services installed and configured.

If the computer that is hosting Certificate Server is not the same computer that has IIS, you need a valid network or Internet connection to the server that is hosting Certificate Server.

Install the certificate and set up an SSL Web site

To install the certificate, follow these steps:

  1. Open the Internet Services Manager and expand the server name so that you can view the Web sites.
  2. Right-click the Web site for which you created the certificate request and click Properties.
  3. Click the Directory Security tab. Under Secure Communications, click Server Certificate. This starts the Certificate Installation Wizard. Click Next to continue.
  4. Select Process the pending request and install the certificate and click Next.
  5. Type the location of the certificate that you downloaded/saved in your computer then click Next. The Wizard displays the Certificate Summary. Verify that the information is correct, then click Next to continue.
  6. Click Finish to complete the process.

Configure and test the certificate

To configure and test the certificate, follow these steps:

  1. On the Directory Security tab, under Secure Communications, note that there are now three available options. To set the Web site to require secure connections, click Edit. The Secure Communications dialog box appears.
  2. Select Require Secure Channel (SSL) and click OK.
  3. Click Apply and then OK to close the property sheet.
  4. Browse to the site and verify that it works. To do this, follow these steps:
    1. Access the site through HTTP by typing http://localhost/Postinfo.html in the browser. You receive an error message that resembles the following:
      HTTP 403.4 - Forbidden: SSL required.
    2. Try to browse to the same Web page using a secured connection (HTTPS) by typing https://localhost/postinfo.html in the browser. You may receive a security alert that states that the certificate is not from a trusted root CA. Click Yes to continue to the Web page. If the page appears, you have successfully installed your certificate.


Troubleshooting

  • The use of SSL slows performance between HTTP servers and browsers. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    150031 Use of SSL creates performance overhead for browsers

  • When you use Microsoft Visual InterDev version 6.0 to author Web sites with SSL, there are several issues and limitations to consider. 
    For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

    238662 Using Visual InterDev and Secure Sockets Layer

  • This article discusses server certificates only. A server certificate enables users to authenticate your server, check the validity of Web content, and establish a secure connection. If you also intend to authenticate users who browse to your Web site, you may consider using client certificates. A typical client certificate contains several items of information: the identity of the user, the identity of the certification authority, a public key that is used for establishing secure communications, and validation information, such as an expiration date and serial number.
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For more information on installing SSL, please check with CA's website:
  • Microsoft IIS, Windows Server
  • 812 Users Found This Useful
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