How to Generate the CSR on Alpha Five

This tutorial explains how to generate a CSR (Certificate Signing Request) on Alpha Anywhere, formerly known as Alpha Five. Alpha Anywhere includes a built-in CSR generator in its Application Server, so you can create the CSR and private key directly from the admin interface without external tools.

If you prefer to skip manual CSR generation, you can use our CSR Generator to create the CSR automatically.

Generate a CSR on Alpha Anywhere

Step 1: Open the SSL settings

In the Alpha Anywhere Application Server, open the Application Server Settings window and select the SSL tab.

Step 2: Start the CSR wizard

At the bottom of the SSL tab, click the Generate a Certificate Signing Request button. This opens a form where you enter the details for your certificate.

Step 3: Fill in the certificate details

Complete the following fields:

• Country: the two-letter ISO country code where your organization is legally registered (for example, US).
• State/Province: the full name of the state or province (for example, California).
• Locality: the city where your business is located (for example, Los Angeles).
• Organization Name: the legal name of your company or organization. For Domain Validation (DV) certificates, you can enter NA.
• Organization Unit: leave this field blank. The OU field has been deprecated by the CA/Browser Forum and CAs will ignore it.
• Common Name: the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) you want to secure, for example yourdomain.com or www.yourdomain.com.

Note: Modern browsers and clients verify hostnames against the Subject Alternative Name (SAN) extension, not the Common Name. When you order your certificate, make sure every domain name or IP address you need is listed in the SAN field during the ordering process.

Step 4: Generate the CSR and private key

Choose the output directory where Alpha Anywhere will save the CSR and private key files, then click Create Certificate Signing Request.

The application generates two files:

• A .csr file containing the Certificate Signing Request.
• A .key file containing the private key.

Important: Keep the private key file safe and do not share it with anyone. You will need it when you install your SSL certificate.

Step 5: Submit the CSR to the Certificate Authority

Open the .csr file in a text editor. Copy the entire contents, including the -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE REQUEST----- and -----END CERTIFICATE REQUEST----- lines, and paste them into the CSR field during the SSL certificate order process.

After your Certificate Authority validates the request and issues the certificate, proceed to install the SSL certificate on Alpha Anywhere.

Verify your CSR

Before submitting the CSR, it is a good idea to verify that all the information is correct. Use our CSR Decoder to check the Common Name, organization details, and key size encoded in your CSR.

After the SSL certificate is installed, you can run a full configuration check with our SSL Checker.