Users Guide

82 Configuring the DRAC 5 Using the Web User Interface
Securing DRAC 5 Communications Using SSL and Digital
Certificates
This subsection provides information about the following data security features that are incorporated in
your DRAC 5:
• Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
• Certificate Signing Request (CSR)
• Accessing the SSL main menu
• Generating a new CSR
• Uploading a server certificate
• Viewing a server certificate
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
The DRAC includes a Web server that is configured to use the industry-standard SSL security protocol
to transfer encrypted data over the Internet. Built upon public-key and private-key encryption
technology, SSL is a widely accepted technique for providing authenticated and encrypted
communication between clients and servers to prevent eavesdropping across a network.
SSL allows an SSL-enabled system to perform the following tasks:
• Authenticate itself to an SSL-enabled client
• Allow the client to authenticate itself to the server
• Allow both systems to establish an encrypted connection
This encryption process provides a high level of data protection. The DRAC employs the 128-bit SSL
encryption standard, the most secure form of encryption generally available for Internet browsers in
North America.
The DRAC Web server includes a Dell self-signed SSL digital certificate (Server ID). To ensure high
security over the Internet, replace the Web server SSL certificate by submitting a request to the DRAC
to generate a new Certificate Signing Request (CSR).
Certificate Signing Request (CSR)
A CSR is a digital request to a Certificate Authority (CA) for a secure server certificate. Secure server
certificates ensure the identity of a remote system and ensure that information exchanged with the
remote system cannot be viewed or changed by others. To ensure the security for your DRAC, it is
strongly recommended that you generate a CSR, submit the CSR to a CA, and upload the certificate
returned from the CA.