How to Generate the CSR on Red Hat Linux

In this tutorial, we will show you how to generate a CSR on Red Hat Linux.

Just follow the steps below:

Step 1: Make sure you have the Open SSL utility installed

It should come pre-installed in your system, but if you don’t have it, run the following command:

$ sudo yum install openssl

Step 2: generate your CSR and private key

Type the following command:

$ openssl req -new -newkey rsa:2048 -nodes -keyout example.com.key -out example.com.csr

Note: replace example.com with your actual domain name.

Step 3: Enter your information into the CSR

Please, use only alphanumeric characters when entering your details

• Country Name: enter the two-letter code of your country.
• State or Province Name: type the full name of the state or region where your company is registered
• Locality Name: specify the name of the city or town where your business is located
• Organization Name: enter the officially registered name of your company. For instance, GPI Holding LLC. For Domain Validation certificates, you can put in NA instead
• Organization Unit Name: it’s usually IT or Web Administration. You can use NA for DV certificates
• Common Name: enter the Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) you want to secure. For example, yourdomain.com. If you want to install a wildcard certificate, add an asterisk in front of your domain name (e.g. *.yourdomain.com)
• Email Address: provide a valid email address
• A challenge password: leave blank
• An Optional Company Name: leave blank

The OpenSSL utility will instantly create two files:

• .key containing your private key (you will need it later during SSL installation)
• .csr containing your CSR code (you will need it when applying for your SSL certificate)

Open the yourdomain.csr file with a text editor of your choice, and copy-paste its content including the —–BEGIN CERTIFICATE REQUEST—– and footer —–END CERTIFICATE REQUEST—– tags during your order process with your SSL vendor.

After your CA validates the CSR and issues the SSL certificate, you can proceed to the Red Hat Linux SSL installation instructions.