Certificate signing request (CSR) is an encrypted text that contains specific information such as, organization name, common name, locality, and country. You send the CSR file to a certificate authority (CA) to apply for a digital identity certificate.

By default, the NSX CSR generation UI and API do not support the SAN field. To create a CSR with SAN, you can use an experimental API, /api/v1/trust-management/csrs-extended. For more information, see the NSX API Guide.

Prerequisites

To fill out the CSR file details, gather the information. You must know the FQDN of the server and the organizational unit, organization, city, state, and country.

Procedure

  1. With admin privileges, log in to NSX Manager.
  2. Select System > Certificates.
  3. Click the CSRs tab.
  4. Click Generate CSR and select Generate CSR or Generate CA CSR from the dropdown menu.
  5. Complete the file details.
    Option Description
    Common Name

    Enter the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of your server.

    For example, test.vmware.com.

    Name Assign a name for your certificate.
    Organization Unit

    Enter the department in your organization that is handling this certificate

    For example, IT department.

    Organization Name

    Enter your organization name with applicable suffixes.

    For example, VMware Inc.

    Locality

    Add the city in which your organization is located.

    For example, Palo Alto.

    State

    Add the state in which your organization is located.

    For example, California.

    Country/Region

    Add your organization location.

    For example, United States (US).

    Algorithm

    Set the encryption algorithm for your certificate.

    RSA encryption - is used for digital signatures and encryption of the message. Therefore, it is slower than DSA when creating an encrypted token but faster to analyze and validate this token. This encryption is slower to decrypt and faster to encrypt.

    Key Size

    Set the key bits size of the encryption algorithm.

    The default value, 2048, is adequate unless you specifically need a different key size. Other supported sizes are 3072 and 4096. Many CAs require a minimum value of 2048. Larger key sizes are more secure but have a greater impact on performance.

    Description Enter specific details to help you identify this certificate at a later date.
  6. Click Save.
    A custom CSR appears as a link.
  7. Select the CSR then click Actions to select one of the following options:
    • Delete
    • Import Certificate for CSR
    • Self Sign Certificate for CSR
    • Download CSR PEM

      If you selected Download CSR PEM, you can save the CSR PEM file for your records and CA submission. Use the contents of the CSR file to submit a certificate request to the CA in accordance with the CA enrollment process. For the other two options, refer to topics Import a Certificate for a CSR and Create a Self-Signed Certificate.

Results

The CA creates a server certificate based on the information in the CSR file, signs it with its private key, and sends you the certificate. The CA also sends you a root CA certificate.