25.3. Communication flow for certmonger requesting a service certificate

These diagrams show the stages of what happens when certmonger requests a service certificate from Identity Management (IdM) certificate authority (CA) server. The sequence consists of these diagrams:

Unencrypted communication shows the initial situation: without an HTTPS certificate, the communication between the web server and the browser is unencrypted.

图 25.1. Unencrypted communication

Certmonger requesting a service certificate shows the system administrator using certmonger to manually request an HTTPS certificate for the Apache web server. Note that when requesting a web server certificate, certmonger does not communicate directly with the CA. It proxies through IdM.

图 25.2. Certmonger requesting a service certificate

IdM CA issuing the service certificate shows an IdM CA issuing an HTTPS certificate for the web server.

图 25.3. IdM CA issuing the service certificate

Certmonger applying the service certificate shows certmonger placing the HTTPS certificate in appropriate locations on the IdM client and, if instructed to do so, restarting the httpd service. The Apache server subsequently uses the HTTPS certificate to encrypt the traffic between itself and the browser.

图 25.4. Certmonger applying the service certificate

Certmonger requesting a new certificate when the old one is nearing expiration shows certmonger automatically requesting a renewal of the service certificate from the IdM CA before the expiration of the certificate. The IdM CA issues a new certificate.

图 25.5. Certmonger requesting a new certificate when the old one is nearing expiration