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How certificates work

Certificates identify website owners for secure connections between clients and servers.

Management certificates

The ThinkSystem SAN Manager interface is installed with the Web Services Proxy on a host system. When you open a browser and try connecting to SAN Manager , the browser attempts to verify that the host is a trusted source by checking for a digital certificate.

To obtain signed, digital certificates from a Certificate Authority (CA) for the host management system, you must:

  1. From the

    SAN Manager interface, create a certificate signing request (CSR) for the host system.
  2. Send the .CSR file(s) to a CA, and then wait for them to send you the certificate files.

  3. From the

    SAN Manager interface, import the signed certificates.

Storage array certificates

When you open a browser and try connecting to ThinkSystem System Manager through the controller management port, the browser attempts to verify that the storage array's controller is a trusted source. To obtain signed, digital certificates from a CA for the storage arrays, use System Manager . When you have the certificates, you can load them in SAN Manager as well, so SAN Manager can show that these storage arrays have trusted certificates.

The SAN Manager interface displays storage array certificates in the Trusted tab of Certificate Management .