How to Import a Server Certificate for Use in Internet Information Services 5.0

When you use Internet Information Services (IIS) version 5.0, you may want to restore a server certificate, for example, if you are migrating one Web site to another server in a Web farm. This task is very easy to do using the Web Site Certificate Wizard and the Certificate Manager Import Wizard provided to you by Windows 2000 and IIS 5.0.

In order to complete this operation, you must have a backup of the server certificate (and private key) contained in a PFX file. For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: You must also have access to the Certificates snap-in and have it set to view computer certificates from the local computer (though this can be done remotely).

In order to view the Certificates store on the local computer, perform the following steps:

1. Click Start, and then click Run.
2. Type "MMC.EXE" (without the quotation marks) and click OK.
3. Click Console in the new MMC you created, and then click Add/Remove Snap-in.
4. In the new window, click Add.
5. Highlight the Certificates snap-in, and then click Add.
6. Choose the Computer option and click Next.
7. Select Local Computer on the next screen, and then click OK.
8. Click Close , and then click OK.
9. You have now added the Certificates snap-in, which will allow you to work with any certificates in your computer's certificate store. You may want to save this MMC for later use.

Now that you have access to the Certificates snap-in, you can import the server certificate into you computer's certificate store by following these steps:

1. Open the Certificates (Local Computer) snap-in and navigate to Personal, and then Certificates.
   
   Note: Certificates may not be listed. If it is not, that is because there are no certificates installed.
2. Right-click Certificates (or Personal if that option does not exist.)
3. Choose All Tasks, and then click Import.
4. When the wizard starts, click Next. Browse to the PFX file you created containing your server certificate and private key. Click Next.
5. Enter the password you gave the PFX file when you created it. Be sure the Mark the key as exportable option is selected if you want to be able to export the key pair again from this computer. As an added security measure, you may want to leave this option unchecked to ensure that no one can make a backup of your private key.
6. Click Next, and then choose the Certificate Store you want to save the certificate to. You should select Personal because it is a Web server certificate. If you included the certificates in the certification hierarchy, it will also be added to this store.
7. Click Next. You should see a summary of screen showing what the wizard is about to do. If this information is correct, click Finish.
8. You will now see the server certificate for your Web server in the list of Personal Certificates. It will be denoted by the common name of the server (found in the subject section of the certificate).

Now that you have the certificate backup imported into the certificate store, you can enable Internet Information Services 5.0 to use that certificate (and the corresponding private key). To do this, perform the following steps:

1. Open the Internet Services Manager (under Administrative Tools) and navigate to the Web site you want to enable secure communications (SSL/TLS) on.
2. Right-click on the site and click Properties.
3. You should now see the properties screen for the Web site. Click the Directory Security tab.
4. Under the Secure Communications section, click Server Certificate.
5. This will start the Web Site Certificate Wizard. Click Next.
6. Choose the Assign an existing certificate option and click Next.
7. You will now see a screen showing that contents of your computer's personal certificate store. Highlight your Web server certificate (denoted by the common name), and then click Next.
8. You will now see a summary screen showing you all the details about the certificate you are installing. Be sure that this information is correct or you may have problems using SSL or TLS in HTTP communications.
9. Click Next, and then click OK to exit the wizard.

You should now have an SSL/TLS-enabled Web server. Be sure to protect your PFX files from any unwanted personnel.

For additional information on backing up certificate files, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: