FAQ. PKI Services

What is Managed PKI for SSL?

Managed PKI for SSL is a service to purchase, issue, and manage multiple SSL Certificates. It is recommended for any organization with more than 5 certificates. Your administrator buys multiple standard or true 128-bit SSL Certificates and issues them instantly as needed to servers or domains using our Web-based management interface.

Can I purchase multiple certificates without buying Managed PKI for SSL?

You can purchase as many SSL Certificates as you need without Managed PKI for SSL, but managing enrollment, issuance, and renewals of multiple certificates one-by-one is tedious and time-consuming. The Managed PKI for SSL single point of control gives you one interface with audit logs to manage certificates for your whole organization. When you purchase certificates in multiples, you may save 20% to 40% or more (depending on the number and type of certificates purchase). Each certificate’s validity period begins when it is issued by the Managed PKI for SSL administrator. See 10 Tips for Managing Multiple Servers for more information.

What are the responsibilities of the administrator for Managed PKI for SSL?

The administrator for Managed PKI for SSL becomes the SSL Certificate Authority (CA) for your domain. Using the Web-based MPKI for SSL Control Center, the administrator can issue, renew, and revoke certificates. The administrator also manages access privileges and can customize enrollment pages. VeriSign manages the back-end services in our state-of-the-art facilities.

What if someone from my organization orders a certificate directly from VeriSign rather than from our Managed PKI for SSL administrator?

During enrollment, VeriSign compares the domain name listed in the Certificate Signing Request (CSR) to the domains associated with all Managed PKI for SSL accounts. If someone from your organization applies to VeriSign directly for a certificate, we notify the user that your organization already has a Managed PKI for SSL account and present the user with the option of continuing with either the "retail" enrollment path or the Managed PKI for SSL enrollment path associated with that domain name. “Domain blocking,” an optional feature for Managed PKI for SSL customers, will disable the retail enrollment path.

Do I need software or hardware to manage SSL Certificates with Managed PKI for SSL?

A Web browser with access to the Internet is the only thing your organization needs to use Managed PKI for SSL or Managed PKI for Intranet SSL. VeriSign provides the rest. Managed PKI for SSL service components are accessed using SSL encryption and 2-factor authentication.