Wildcard Certificate for Exchange 2016: What Is It and How Do I Get One?

What is a Microsoft Exchange Server Wildcard certificate for Exchange 2016? Here’s everything you need to know!

Are you not sure what an Exchange server wildcard certificate is? Or how to secure subdomains for your Microsoft exchange server? Well, you found the right article at the right time! In this article, we address everything you need to know about the Wildcard Certificate Exchange Server 2016. We have divided the entire word ‘exchange server wildcard certificate’ in small pieces to make you understand the concept in the easiest possible way!

What Are a Microsoft Exchange Server and an Exchange Server Wildcard Certificate?

Exchange Server: It is an email and calendar server offered by Microsoft. It’s most commonly referred to as Microsoft Exchange Server or MS Exchange, and it runs exclusively on Windows OS. It was started in 1996 with the first version named Exchange Server 4.0. The latest version is Microsoft Exchange Server 2019.

Exchange Server Certificate: When we say Exchange server certificate, it means a secure socket layer (SSL)/transport layer security (TLS) certificate that protects the communication between the server and the client. SSL/TLS certificates use public key infrastructure (PKI) and a 256-bit hashing algorithm to encrypt the data in transit. Since 2007, it’s mandatory to use an SSL/TLS certificate on Exchange servers.

Exchange Server Wildcard Certificate: A wildcard is a type of SSL certificate that secures one primary domain (fully qualified domain name, or FQDN) and all of its first-level subdomains under the same certificate. For example, if you buy a wildcard certificate for the domain mysite.com, it will also secure domains like:

• www.mysite.com,
• mail.mysite.com,
• calender.mysite.com,
• blog.mysite.com, and
• billing.mysite.com.

The wildcard SSL certificate that you install on the Microsoft Exchange Server is sometimes referred to as an Exchange Server Wildcard Certificate. In reality, however, this is a bit of a misnomer because all wildcard SSL certificates work on Microsoft Exchange servers.

Wildcard Certificate Exchange 2016: The same goes with this one —the wildcard certificate you install on the Exchange Server 2016 is the same as other wildcard SSL certificates. It’s just that people sometimes call them by these types of terms.

How to Get a Wildcard Certificate for Exchange Server 2016

All the regular wildcard SSL certificates will work on Exchange Server 2016. However, not all wildcards are created equally. This is why you should get your certificate  from a reputable brand that offers a generous warranty, generous discounts, and 24/7 customer support.  

Check out some of the best Exchange Server Wildcard Certificates available through RapidSSLonline.com:

Is an Exchange Server Wildcard Certificate Different from a UCC Certificate?

Previously, it was quite challenging to install an SSL certificate on the Microsoft Exchange Server. To ease this process, certificates authorities designed an SSL certificate named unified communications certificate (UCC) exclusively for Exchange servers. UCC is SAN enabled, meaning that it secures multiple domain names, domains with different TLDs (such as .org, .net, .ca, .au, and .in), and any level of subdomains under the same certificate ”umbrella.” All these domains/subdomains must be listed as additional SANs. 

There is a UCC wildcard also available in the market. It secures multiple domains and an unlimited number of subdomains. A UCC wildcard has the same features as a multi domain wildcard SSL certificate. 

UCC certificates start from as little as $221.96 per year.

Is UCC Mandatory for Microsoft Exchange Server?

No. Nowadays, all the regular multi domain SSL certificates, multi domain wildcard, and wildcard certificates are compatible with the Microsoft Exchange Server. UCC is recommended but not compulsory because, realistically, you can use any SSL certificate with Microsoft Exchange.

Note: As per the latest guidelines issued by Microsoft on Nov. 20, 2019, it will support TLS 1.2 as a minimum. All the SSL certificates available on RapidSSLonline.com support TLS 1.2.

Verification Required for Exchange Server Wildcard Certificate

There are two validation options available for any Exchange Server Wildcard certificate:

1. Domain validation (DV): The process is automated, easy, and can be completed within minutes. 
2. Organization validation (OV): This level of validation is for medium to large companies and reputed organizations. It takes one to three days for certificate authorities to complete the rigorous validation process. Read more about the organization validation process, eligibility, and documents required to learn more. 

How to Install a Wildcard on Exchange Server 2016

For more information about how to install a wildcard SSL certificate for your Microsoft Exchange Server 2016, check out our helpful step-by-step wildcard installation guide.