For troubleshooting purposes, you can open a custom certificate file in a text editor and inspect its contents.
PEM Format Certificate Files
A typical PEM format certificate file resembles the following sample.
-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE----- MIIF1DCCBLygAwIBAgIKFYXYUwAAAAAAGTANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQ0FADBhMRMwEQYK CZImiZPyLGQBGRYDY29tMRUwEwYKCZImiZPyLGQBGRYFdm13Y3MxGDAWBgoJkiaJ <snip> vKStQJNr7z2+pTy92M6FgJz3y+daL+9ddbaMNp9fVXjHBoDLGGaLOvyD+KJ8+xba aGJfGf9ELXM= -----END CERTIFICATE----- -----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY----- MIIEowIBAAKCAQEA4l5ffX694riI1RmdRLJwL6sOWa+Wf70HRoLtx21kZzbXbUQN mQhTRiidJ3Ro2gRbj/btSsI+OMUzotz5VRT/yeyoTC5l2uJEapld45RroUDHQwWJ <snip> DAN9hQus3832xMkAuVP/jt76dHDYyviyIYbmxzMalX7LZy1MCQVg4hCH0vLsHtLh M1rOAsz62Eht/iB61AsVCCiN3gLrX7MKsYdxZcRVruGXSIh33ynA -----END RSA PRIVATE KEY----- -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE----- MIIDnTCCAoWgAwIBAgIQY+j29InmdYNCs2cK1H4kPzANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQ0FADBh MRMwEQYKCZImiZPyLGQBGRYDY29tMRUwEwYKCZImiZPyLGQBGRYFdm13Y3MxGDAW <snip> ukzUuqX7wEhc+QgJWgl41mWZBZ09gfsA9XuXBL0k17IpVHpEgwwrjQz8X68m4I99 dD5Pflf/nLRJvR9jwXl62yk= -----END CERTIFICATE-----
Private Keys
Private keys can appear in different formats but are enclosed with clear BEGIN and END markers.
Valid PEM sections begin with one of the following markers.
-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY----- -----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----
Encrypted private keys begin with the following marker.
-----BEGIN ENCRYPTED PRIVATE KEY-----
Bag Attributes
Microsoft certificate tools sometimes add Bag Attributes sections to certificate files. VMware Aria Operations safely ignores content outside of BEGIN and END markers, including Bag Attributes sections.
Bag Attributes Microsoft Local Key set: <No Values> localKeyID: 01 00 00 00 Microsoft CSP Name: Microsoft RSA SChannel Cryptographic Provider friendlyName: le-WebServer-8dea65d4-c331-40f4-aa0b-205c3c323f62 Key Attributes X509v3 Key Usage: 10 -----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY----- MIICdwIBADANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQEFAASCAmEwggJdAgEAAoGBAKHqyfc+qcQK4yxJ om3PuB8dYZm34Qlt81GAAnBPYe3B4Q/0ba6PV8GtWG2svIpcl/eflwGHgTU3zJxR gkKh7I3K5tGESn81ipyKTkPbYebh+aBMqPKrNNUEKlr0M9sa3WSc0o3350tCc1ew 5ZkNYZ4BRUVYWm0HogeGhOthRn2fAgMBAAECgYABhPmGN3FSZKPDG6HJlARvTlBH KAGVnBGHd0MOmMAbghFBnBKXa8LwD1dgGBng1oOakEXTftkIjdB+uwkU5P4aRrO7 vGujUtRyRCU/4fjLBDuxQL/KpQfruAQaof9uWUwh5W9fEeW3g26fzVL8AFZnbXS0 7Z0AL1H3LNcLd5rpOQJBANnI7vFu06bFxVF+kq6ZOJFMx7x3K4VGxgg+PfFEBEPS UJ2LuDH5/Rc63BaxFzM/q3B3Jhehvgw61mMyxU7QSSUCQQC+VDuW3XEWJjSiU6KD gEGpCyJ5SBePbLSukljpGidKkDNlkLgbWVytCVkTAmuoAz33kMWfqIiNcqQbUgVV UnpzAkB7d0CPO0deSsy8kMdTmKXLKf4qSF0x55epYK/5MZhBYuA1ENrR6mmjW8ke TDNc6IGm9sVvrFBz2n9kKYpWThrJAkEAk5R69DtW0cbkLy5MqEzOHQauP36gDi1L WMXPvUfzSYTQ5aM2rrY2/1FtSSkqUwfYh9sw8eDbqVpIV4rc6dDfcwJBALiiDPT0 tz86wySJNeOiUkQm36iXVF8AckPKT9TrbC3Ho7nC8OzL7gEllETa4Zc86Z3wpcGF BHhEDMHaihyuVgI= -----END PRIVATE KEY----- Bag Attributes localKeyID: 01 00 00 00 1.3.6.1.4.1.311.17.3.92: 00 04 00 00 1.3.6.1.4.1.311.17.3.20: 7F 95 38 07 CB 0C 99 DD 41 23 26 15 8B E8 D8 4B 0A C8 7D 93 friendlyName: cos-oc-vcops 1.3.6.1.4.1.311.17.3.71: 43 00 4F 00 53 00 2D 00 4F 00 43 00 2D 00 56 00 43 00 4D 00 35 00 37 00 31 00 2E 00 76 00 6D 00 77 00 61 00 72 00 65 00 2E 00 63 00 6F 00 6D 00 00 00 1.3.6.1.4.1.311.17.3.87: 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 20 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 6C 00 64 00 61 00 70 00 3A 00 00 00 7B 00 41 00 45 00 35 00 44 00 44 00 33 00 44 00 30 00 2D 00 36 00 45 00 37 00 30 00 2D 00 34 00 42 00 44 00 42 00 2D 00 39 00 43 00 34 00 31 00 2D 00 31 00 43 00 34 00 41 00 38 00 44 00 43 00 42 00 30 00 38 00 42 00 46 00 7D 00 00 00 70 00 61 00 2D 00 61 00 64 00 63 00 33 00 2E 00 76 00 6D 00 77 00 61 00 72 00 65 00 2E 00 63 00 6F 00 6D 00 5C 00 56 00 4D 00 77 00 61 00 72 00 65 00 20 00 43 00 41 00 00 00 31 00 32 00 33 00 33 00 30 00 00 00 subject=/CN=cos-oc-vcops.eng.vmware.com issuer=/DC=com/DC=vmware/CN=VMware CA -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE----- MIIFWTCCBEGgAwIBAgIKSJGT5gACAAAwKjANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQUFADBBMRMwEQYK CZImiZPyLGQBGRYDY29tMRYwFAYKCZImiZPyLGQBGRYGdm13YXJlMRIwEAYDVQQD EwlWTXdhcmUgQ0EwHhcNMTQwMjA1MTg1OTM2WhcNMTYwMjA1MTg1OTM2WjAmMSQw