{"id":2749,"date":"2018-10-28T23:53:02","date_gmt":"2018-10-29T05:23:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/blog\/?p=2749"},"modified":"2021-10-06T02:54:15","modified_gmt":"2021-10-06T08:24:15","slug":"install-wildcard-ssl-certificate-multiple-servers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/blog\/install-wildcard-ssl-certificate-multiple-servers\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Install Wildcard SSL Certificate on Multiple Servers"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><span lang=\"EN-US\">Step-by-step instructions for installing a Wildcard on multiple servers<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>One of the main benefits of a Wildcard SSL certificate is that a single certificate can allow you to secure multiple subdomains simultaneously without needing to get different certificates issued for each of them. This is one of the main reasons why a Wildcard SSL certificate is favored by large corporations as well.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>If you are thinking \u201cHow can I use one SSL certificate on multiple servers?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In this article, we\u2019ll show you <strong>how to install wildcard SSL certificate on multiple servers<\/strong> that host different subdomains. Basically, the process for installing <strong>a wildcard SSL certificate on multiple servers<\/strong> is the same as for a single certificate until it\u2019s time to install the certificate on the other servers.<\/p>\n<h3>How to Install Wildcard SSL Certificate Multiple Servers<\/h3>\n<p>There are two major steps involved in installing Wildcard SSL certificate multiple levels subdomains \u2014 Generating the Certificate Signing Request (CSR) and then installing the CSR.<\/p>\n<h3>Generating the CSR<\/h3>\n<p>The process of generating a Certificate Signing Request varies greatly between different server software. The following are the major steps for the Microsoft IIS platform and a Linux-based platform such as Apache, Tomcat or others.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Microsoft IIS platform<\/strong>: You need to access the <strong>Internet Information Services (IIS) <\/strong>Manager. Go to <strong>Administrative Tools<\/strong>&gt;\u00a0<strong>Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager<\/strong>. Select the correct server name and then click on <strong>Server Certificates<\/strong> &gt; <strong>Complete Certificate Request<\/strong>. Now provide the location of <strong>the certificate file<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Linux Platform<\/strong>: Generate the CSR via the OpenSSL command line.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>While generating <strong>the CSR<\/strong>, you\u2019ll be asked to fill in specific pieces of information. These will include <strong>the fully qualified domain name (FQDN)<\/strong> along with all three parts of the full FQDN, i.e., www.mywebsite.com. For a Wildcard SSL, you\u2019ll have to replace the \u201cwww\u201d with the Wildcard placeholder, <strong>an asterisk (*)<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The CSR will be generated for one of your servers along with a private key file. You need to keep the key secure and ensure that only the administrator has password-protected access to it.<\/p>\n<h3>Installing the Certificate<\/h3>\n<p>Once the CSR has been generated, you need to submit it (along with some information) to the Certificate Authority\u2019s website. For example, if you\u2019re getting a Wildcard SSL from RapidSSL or GeoTrust, you need to submit the CSR to RapidSSL or GeoTrust.<\/p>\n<p>Within a few minutes, you\u2019ll receive the files you need to complete the installation. You will need to unzip them and place them in the correct directories.<\/p>\n<p>This step can be completed with the use of a manager-system or using OpenSSL. The certificate will have to be installed to the original server. And, if you use <strong>different platforms for multiple servers<\/strong>, then you can use the copy to convert the format of the file for other servers. Once the certificates are installed into a server, you need to export it (along with the private key), possibly convert the format (for different platforms), and install it to other servers.<\/p>\n<p>RapidSSL or GeoTrust provides highly qualified tech support that can also guide you through this process.<\/p>\n<h3>FAQs<\/h3>\n<h3>What are Wildcard SSL Certificates?<\/h3>\n<p><strong>A Wildcard SSL Certificate can secure your primary website domain along with all of its subdomains with a single certificate<\/strong>. For example, a certificate for www.mywebsite.com can also secure blog.mywebsite.com and store.mywebsite.com.<\/p>\n<h3>What is a Wildcard Certificate common name?<\/h3>\n<p>A Wildcard Certificate common name is the fully qualified domain name that you want to secure with a certificate. While specifying the common name, you have to insert an asterisk (*) to the left of the common name.<\/p>\n<p>For example, if you want to secure subdomains like blog.mywebsite.com and store.mywebsite.com, you have to request a certificate for *.mywebsite.com.<\/p>\n<p>If you want to secure subdomains like mail.www.mywebsite.com and blog.www.mywebsite.com, you have to request a certificate for *.www.mywebsite.com.<\/p>\n<h3>Can I use a Wildcard SSL Certificate on multiple servers?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes, a <strong>Wildcard SSL Certificate can be used on multiple servers<\/strong>. The process to do so has been illustrated in the \u201cHow to Install Wildcard SSL Certificate on Multiple Servers\u201d section of this article.<\/p>\n<h3>Can I create a Wildcard SSL Certificate for the second level domain?<\/h3>\n<p>Yes, you can create a Wildcard SSL Certificate for two levels. You can secure your subdomains within the primary domain, and you can also cover subdomains within a subdomain with a single Multi-Domain Wildcard certificate. However, <strong>a standard Wildcard can only secure subdomains at a single level<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h3>The Best Wildcard SSL Certificate Resources<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/blog\/wildcard-ssl-certificates-and-easy-answers\/\"><strong>Wildcard SSL Certificate and Easy Answers<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/blog\/wildcard-ssl-csr-guide-for-apache\/\">How to Generate a WildCard SSL Certificate Signing Request (CSR) for Apache + Mod SSL + OpenSSL<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/blog\/setting-up-a-wildcard-ssl-on-cpanelwhm\/\">Setting Up a Wildcard SSL on CPanel\/WHM<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/blog\/difference-multi-domain-wildcard-ssl-certificates\/\">The Difference Between Multi-Domain SSL and Wildcard SSL Certificates<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"graysection\"><h2>Buy Wildcard SSL Certificates &amp; Save Up to 60%<\/h2>\n<p>Secure unlimited subdomains on the multiple servers with a single Wildcard SSL Certificate.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"more-link floatnone\" style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/ssl-types\/wildcard-ssl-certificates.aspx\">Shop for Cheap Wildcard SSL Certificate and Save Up to 60%<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Step-by-step instructions for installing a Wildcard on multiple servers One of the main benefits of a Wildcard SSL certificate is that a single certificate can allow you to secure multiple &hellip; <span class=\"d-flex justify-content-end\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/blog\/install-wildcard-ssl-certificate-multiple-servers\/\" class=\"btn btn-blue\">Read More <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">How to Install Wildcard SSL Certificate on Multiple Servers<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":740,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[2433,169,166,2436,2432,1943,2435,2431,1941,1940,2437,2228,2441,168,37,2430,2434,346,345,363],"class_list":["post-2749","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildcard-ssl-certificate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2749","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2749"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2749\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/740"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2749"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2749"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2749"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rapidsslonline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=2749"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}