Chapter 5. Using Smart Cards with the Enterprise Security Client

When a smart card is enrolled, it means that user-specific keys and certificates are generated and placed on the card. In Red Hat Enterprise Linux, the interface that works between the user and the system which issues certificates is the Enterprise Security Client. The Enterprise Security Client recognizes when a smart card is inserted (or removed) and signals the appropriate subsystem in Red Hat Certificate System. That subsystem then generates the certificate materials and sends them to the Enterprise Security Client, which writes them to the token. That is the enrollment process.

The following sections contain basic instructions on using the Enterprise Security Client for token enrollment, formatting, and password reset operations.