IIS 7, SSL, and Two Factor Authentication – Creating SSL Client and Server Certificates

This blog follows on from my first blog IIS 7, SSL, and Two Factor Authentication – Configuring Server Side SSL Authentication which explained how the SSL Authentication layer could be setup and enabled on Windows Server 2008. This blog will explain the certificate creation process which is required on both the server and clients to enable each party to be granted access through to each other. In truth the contents of this blog is largely taken from Ondrej’s Blog which I previously mentioned; but I felt it would be good to bring those guidelines and augment them.

IIS 7, SSL, and Two Factor Authentication – Configuring Server Side SSL Authentication

Recently Aiimi asked to implement a second layer of security for a client’s websites which would use SSL certificate authentication. Since Aiimi didn’t have anyone which a specific expertise in this area I set off into the internet in search of examples and guidelines. Surprisingly, there doesn’t really seem to be a comprehensive guide on how IIS 7 can be configured as well as how self-signed certificates can be created (certificates obtained from CA authorities can also be used but for this task it wasn’t necessary). Whilst there are articles and guides for certain steps of the process which are certainly of good use, I decided that an end to end guide would be beneficial to those who are tasked with a similar problem. This guide will come in the form of 3 separate blogs which will take you through each phase of the whole process.

First tech blog – SSL Certificate Authentication

To kick things off I have prepared a series of tech blogs which document my experiences in implementing client certificate authentication (SSL). This was a challenge which Aiimi was asked to explore by a client who wished to have an extra layer of security for their Livelink website.

When browsing around Google for some guidelines I found various bits and pieces scattered across a number of different websites and forums. But a complete end to end solution was nowhere to be found (Many people claimed that there is no “clear way” to solve this issue, which is true in a way); therefore I thought it would be a nice first blog for me to provide a complete documentation of what I did in order to get things working.

There are 3 blogs in total and I will aim to upload one each week (gotta keep up the suspense!).

Welcome to my Blog – A bit about myself and Aiimi

So i’ve recently decided to begin blogging about the interesting challenges I encounter in work and talk about what I did (or am doing) to overcome those and create a solution.

Before I dive into blogging I guess a brief introduction of myself and the company I work for would be handy as a first post.

I am currently a Business Intelligence consultant based in London working for a company called Aiimi. Aiimi, based in London, has the largest UK team of certified OpenText & MicroStrategy resources. Whilst the main focus is on ECM & BI they also expand out to help clients build fully integrated solutions with the likes of SAP and Microsoft.

Whilst hired as a BI consultant, my knowledge extends somewhat beyond Data Integration, Reporting and Dashboards, and Database Analysis. Coming from a Computer Science background I am also capable of joining a code development team and have worked on various other projects which included Content Management and Portal Development. I’m sure that this list will only continue to grow as I spend more time working in Aiimi.

Over time I will aim to blog about these technologies, my experiences in using them (and others), and also hopefully share some of the culture which I get to enjoy as a member of Aiimi 🙂