AT-S63 Management Software Features Guide
Section IX: Management Security
423
Overview
This chapter describes the second part of the encryption feature of the
AT-S63 Management Software—PKI certificates. The first part is
explained in Chapter 35, “Encryption Keys” on page 411. Encryption keys
and certificates allow you to encrypt the communications between your
management station and a switch during a web browser management
session, and so protect your switch from intruders who might be using a
sniffer to monitor the network for management packets.
Types of Certificates
As explained in the previous chapter, an encryption key encrypts the
information in the frames exchanged between a switch and a web browser
during a web browser management session. An encryption key consists of
two parts: a private key and a public key. The private key remains on the
switch and is used by the device to encrypt its messages.
The public key is incorporated into a certificate and is used by your
management station when you perform a web browser management
session. Your web browser downloads the certificate with the public key
from the switch when you begin a management session.
The quickest and easiest way to create a certificate is to have the switch
create it. This type of certificate is called a
self-signed certificate
. If you
have a small to medium sized network, this will probably be the best
approach. To review all the steps to configuring the web server for a self-
signed certificate, refer to “Configuring the Web Server for HTTPS” on
page 409.
Another option is to create the key but have someone else issue the
certificate. That person, group, or organization is called a
certification
authority
(CA).
There are two kinds of CAs: public and private. A public CA issues
certificates typically intended for use by the general public for other
companies and organizations. A public CA requires proof of the identify of
the company or organization before issuing a certificate. VeriSign is an
example of a public CA.
Because a certificate for the AT-9400 Switch is not intended for general
use and will only be used by you and other network managers in managing
the switch, it probably will not be necessary for you to have a public CA
issue the certificate for the switch.
Some large companies have private CAs. This is a person or group within
the company that is responsible for issuing certificates for the company’s
Summary of Contents for AT-S63
Page 14: ...Figures 14 ...
Page 18: ...Tables 18 ...
Page 28: ...28 Section I Basic Operations ...
Page 58: ...Chapter 1 Overview 58 ...
Page 76: ...Chapter 2 AT 9400Ts Stacks 76 Section I Basic Operations ...
Page 96: ...Chapter 5 MAC Address Table 96 Section I Basic Operations ...
Page 114: ...Chapter 8 Port Mirror 114 Section I Basic Operations ...
Page 116: ...116 Section II Advanced Operations ...
Page 146: ...Chapter 12 Access Control Lists 146 Section II Advanced Operations ...
Page 176: ...Chapter 14 Quality of Service 176 Section II Advanced Operations ...
Page 196: ...196 Section III Snooping Protocols ...
Page 204: ...Chapter 18 Multicast Listener Discovery Snooping 204 Section III Snooping Protocols ...
Page 216: ...Chapter 20 Ethernet Protection Switching Ring Snooping 216 Section III Snooping Protocols ...
Page 218: ...218 Section IV SNMPv3 ...
Page 234: ...234 Section V Spanning Tree Protocols ...
Page 268: ...268 Section VI Virtual LANs ...
Page 306: ...Chapter 27 Protected Ports VLANs 306 Section VI Virtual LANs ...
Page 320: ...320 Section VII Internet Protocol Routing ...
Page 360: ...Chapter 30 BOOTP Relay Agent 360 Section VII Routing ...
Page 370: ...Chapter 31 Virtual Router Redundancy Protocol 370 Section VII Routing ...
Page 372: ...372 Section VIII Port Security ...
Page 402: ...Chapter 33 802 1x Port based Network Access Control 402 Section VIII Port Security ...
Page 404: ...404 Section IX Management Security ...
Page 436: ...Chapter 36 PKI Certificates and SSL 436 Section IX Management Security ...
Page 454: ...Chapter 38 TACACS and RADIUS Protocols 454 Section IX Management Security ...
Page 462: ...Chapter 39 Management Access Control List 462 Section IX Management Security ...
Page 532: ...Appendix D MIB Objects 532 ...