[FX.php List] [OT] SSL problem with Mac OS X Server SOLVED

[Bob Patin]

Hi all,

I thought I'd share this with the list, in case there are any others  
out there using Mac OS X Server, and who want to use an SSL certificate.

I had tons of trouble trying to get the cert installed and working on  
my server, and finally found a Linux guru who knows Apache (which is  
what OS X Server uses) well enough to help me find the problem.

As it turns out, when you generate a ceritificate signing request  
(CSR), you don't *have* to use a passphrase. What I discovered was  
that, by using a passphrase for my CSR, I was using a cert that  
required this passphrase when Apache started up.

So we started Apache manually in the Terminal, supplied the  
passphrase, and it started up. However, we then discovered that a  
proxy event (which aliases port 80 to another port) didn't occur, and  
all but the SSL site didn't come up.

So I created a new CSR without a passphrase, and it worked flawlessly  
from the start.

So for any of you wanting to use a cert on your OS X Server: don't  
put in a passphrase and it'll work fine for you.

Hope this is helpful for someone; best regards,

Bob Patin
Longterm Solutions
bob at longtermsolutions.com
615-333-6858
http://www.longtermsolutions.com

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