Step 1: Creating private keys and certificates

To improve security, create your own private key and a certificate instead of using the self-signed ones that are available in License Metric Tool by default. You can use OpenSSL to create a private key and a certificate signing request (CSR) that can be transformed into a certificate after it is signed by a certificate authority (CA).

1. Open the command line.
2. Create a new private key in the PKCS#1 format.

   openssl genrsa -des3 -out key_name.key key_strength

   For example:

   openssl genrsa -des3 -out private_key.key 2048

   Where:

   -des3

   Enables password for the private key. This is an optional parameter. You can also enable password for an existing private key by using the following command:

   openssl rsa -des3 -in path_to_private_key.key -out key_name.key

   key_name

   File name for your new private key.

   key_strength

   Key strength, measured in bits. The maximum value that you can use for License Metric Tool is:

   • For application update 9.2.10 and higher: 16384 bits
   • For application update 9.2.9 and lower: 2048 bits.

3. Create a certificate signing request (CSR). The request is associated with your private key and is later transformed into a certificate.

   openssl req -new -key path_to_private_key.key -out csr_name.csr

   For example:

   openssl req -new -key private_key.key -out CSR.csr

   Where:

   path_to_private_key

   Path to your private key.

   csr_name

   File name for your certificate signing request (CSR).

   After you run the command, you are asked to provide information that helps your users to identify your certificate and ensure that it can be trusted. The following excerpt from the command line is filled in with sample information:

   Country Name (2 letter code) [XX]: US
   State or Province Name (full name) []: New York
   Locality Name (eg, city) [Default City]: New York
   Organization Name (eg, company) [Default Company Ltd]: IBM
   Organizational Unit Name (eg, section) []: Software
   Common Name (eg, your name or your server's hostname) []: inventory.ibm.com
   Email Address []: inventory@ibm.com