Generating a private key and self-signed certificate can be accomplished in a few simple steps using OpenSSL. We provide here detailed instructions on how to create a private key and self-signed certificate valid for 365 days.
Follow this article if you need to generate a private key and a self-signed certificate, such as to secure GSX Gizmo access using HTTPS.
GSX Gizmo over HTTPS | OpenSSL 1.1.0g
Instructions
Generating a self-signed certificate with OpenSSL:
Win32 OpenSSL v1.1.0+ for Windows can be found here.
- Open Windows File Explorer.
- Navigate to the OpenSSL bin directory.
- c:\OpenSSL\bin\ in our example.
- Right-click the openssl.exe file and select Run as administrator.
- Enter the following command to begin generating a certificate and private key:
- req -x509 -sha256 -nodes -days 365 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout privateKey.key -out certificate.crt
- You will then be prompted to enter applicable Distinguished Name (DN) information, totaling seven fields:
- Once completed, you will find the certificate.crt and privateKey.key files created under the \OpenSSL\bin\ directory.
Congratulations, you now have a private key and self-signed certificate!