Managing Certificates 341Nortel WLAN—Management Software 2300 Series Reference GuideManaging CertificatesA digital certificate is a form of electronic identification for computers. The Nortel WLAN 2300 System supports thefollowing types of X.509 digital certificates:• Administrative certificate for the monitoring service or a WSS• 802.1X-EAP certificate for WSS• Secure WSS to WSS communications certificate, used by WSSs in a Mobility Domain to securely exchangemanagement information• Web-based AAA certificate for a WSS• Certificate authority certificate to validate the administrator’s certificate• Certificate authority certificate to validate user and the EAP server certificatesWhen WLAN Management Software client connects to WMS Services or a WSS, the administrative certificate is usedto authenticate the services or switch and establish a secure connection.(For more information about certificates on the WSS, see the Nortel WLAN Security Switch 2300 Series ConfigurationGuide.)Processing Certificates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342Managing Certificates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342Distributing Certificates to WSSs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343Note. If a WSS does not already have certificates, WSS Software automaticallygenerates them the first time you boot using WSS Software Version 4.0 or later. You do notneed to install certificates unless you want to replace the ones automatically generated byWSS Software. (For more information, see the “Certificates Automatically Generated byWSS Software” section in the “Managing Keys and Certificates” chapter of the NortelWLAN Security Switch 2300 Series Configuration Guide.)This does not apply to Secure WSS to WSS communications (domain) certificates. ASecure WSS to WSS communications certificate is generated only when you enableSecure WSS to WSS communications.Note. Before installing a new certificate, verify that the WSS is set to the correct date,time, and time zone. Otherwise, certificates might not be installed correctly.
