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ssl for Apache

The steps below were done using Apache 2.0.63.

  1. setup Apache2 as usual (make sure to get the version with SSL support)
  2. in httpd.conf, comment out Port 80, and use Listen lines instead
    #Port 80
    Listen 80
    Listen 443
  3. make certs and keys (repeat for other name based virtual hosts)
    1. example on Windows 7, using a cygwin terminal, creating a wildcard certificate
      • (this is making the request) the wildcard part is the asterisk when asked for the CN; enter something like 1234 for the password
        openssl req -config /usr/ssl/openssl.cnf -new -out myname.local.csr
        
        Generating a 1024 bit RSA private key
        .......++++++
        ..............++++++
        writing new private key to 'privkey.pem'
        Enter PEM pass phrase:
        Verifying - Enter PEM pass phrase:
        -----
        You are about to be asked to enter information that will be incorporated
        into your certificate request.
        What you are about to enter is what is called a Distinguished Name or a DN.
        There are quite a few fields but you can leave some blank
        For some fields there will be a default value,
        If you enter '.', the field will be left blank.
        -----
        Country Name (2 letter code) [AU]:US
        State or Province Name (full name) [Some-State]:AZ
        Locality Name (eg, city) []:
        Organization Name (eg, company) [Internet Widgits Pty Ltd]:MYCOMPANY
        Organizational Unit Name (eg, section) []:IS
        Common Name (eg, YOUR name) []:*.myname.local
        Email Address []:myname@mycompany.com
        
        Please enter the following 'extra' attributes
        to be sent with your certificate request
        A challenge password []:
        An optional company name []:
      • (this is making your private key) enter password as you created it above
        openssl rsa -in privkey.pem -out myname.local.key
        
        Enter pass phrase for privkey.pem:
        writing RSA key
      • (this is creating the self signed certificate)
        openssl x509 -in myname.local.csr -out myname.local.cert -req -signkey myname.local.key -days 10000
        
        Signature ok
        subject=/C=US/ST=AZ/O=MYCOMPANY/OU=IS/CN=*.myname.local/emailAddress=myname@mycompany.com
        Getting Private key
      • copy files to your apache server
        cp myname.local.cert /cygdrive/c/Program\ Files\ \(x86\)/Apache\ Software\ Foundation/Apache2.2/conf/ssl/
        cp myname.local.key /cygdrive/c/Program\ Files\ \(x86\)/Apache\ Software\ Foundation/Apache2.2/conf/ssl/
    2. if the above example works for you, don't bother trying the steps below from a windows command prompt
    3. the Apache2 SSL archive comes with an openssl binary in Apache2/bin, and the configuration file 'openssl.cnf' is in Apache2/conf
    4. open a command terminal and go to Apache2/bin
    5. substitute your domain in place of my-server
      openssl req -config ../conf/openssl.cnf -new -out my-server.csr
      openssl rsa -in privkey.pem -out my-server.key
      openssl x509 -in my-server.csr -out my-server.cert -req -signkey my-server.key -days 10000
    6. copy the .cert and .key file from the previous step to a new directory of Apache2/conf/ssl
  4. in httpd.conf, add ssl support by uncommenting this line:
    LoadModule ssl_module modules/mod_ssl.so
  5. in httpd.conf, set up named based virtual hosts:
    NameVirtualHost *:80
    NameVirtualHost *:443
    
    <VirtualHost *:80>
      DocumentRoot "/path/to/my-server"
      ServerName my-server
    </VirtualHost>
  6. tweak ssl.conf to have the following (probably best to remove the _default_ virtual host entry)
    # see http://www.modssl.org/docs/2.8/ssl_reference.html for more info
    SSLMutex sem
    SSLRandomSeed startup builtin
    SSLSessionCache none
    
    SSLLog logs/SSL.log
    SSLLogLevel info
    # You can later change "info" to "warn" if everything is OK
    
    <VirtualHost *:443>
      DocumentRoot "/path/to/my-server"
      ServerName my-server
      SSLEngine On
      SSLCertificateFile conf/ssl/my-server.cert
      SSLCertificateKeyFile conf/ssl/my-server.key
    </VirtualHost>
  7. Don't forget to call apache with -D SSL if the IfDefine directive is active in the config file! On Unix, it would look like this:
    apachectl -D SSL -k start
  • docs/apache_web_server/ssl.1285957530.txt.gz
  • Last modified: 2010/10/01 12:25
  • by billh