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Create RA Profile

An RA Profile selects the OTPKI profiles that certificates are issued from, and decides how the end entity created for each certificate is named.

Create the RA Profile and select the Authority from the previous step on it, see Create RA Profile for the general procedure. Creating the RA Profile does not put it into service, it has to be enabled before certificates can be issued through it.

Select the OTPKI profiles

AttributeRequiredDescription
End Entity ProfileYesThe OTPKI end entity profile that certificates are enrolled through
Certificate ProfileYesThe OTPKI certificate profile used as the template for the certificates
Certificate AuthorityYesThe OTPKI certification authority that signs the certificates

Select the end entity profile first. The certificate profile and the certification authority are then offered only with the values that the selected end entity profile allows, as configured in Configure CA and Profiles.

Configure the login ID

Every certificate issued through the RA Profile gets an end entity in OTPKI, identified by its login ID. The login ID is derived for each issuance from the settings below.

AttributeRequiredDescription
Login ID strategyYesHow the login ID is derived
Username prefixNoText inserted before the derived value
Username postfixNoText inserted after the derived value

The available strategies are:

StrategyLogin IDAdditional input
Login ID from CNThe CN of the certificate request subject
Login ID from DN attributeA named attribute of the certificate request subjectLogin ID DN attribute
Custom login IDA fixed value used for every certificateLogin ID custom value
Random login IDA random 16 character value

Selecting a strategy reveals the additional input it needs, if any.

The final login ID is the username prefix, the derived value, and the username postfix joined together, and it must be between 3 and 64 bytes long. A value outside that range is rejected before the request reaches OTPKI. Characters outside the ASCII range count as more than one byte.

Login IDs are unique in OTPKI

A login ID identifies one end entity across the whole OTPKI installation, and issuing a certificate creates a new end entity. A login ID that is already taken therefore fails.

Each strategy allows as many certificates as it produces distinct login IDs:

  • Random login ID produces a new value every time, so it suits any RA Profile, including one that issues in volume.
  • Login ID from CN and Login ID from DN attribute allow one certificate per distinct value in the certificate request, so they suit profiles where each subject is certified once.
  • Custom login ID produces one value in total, so it suits a profile that issues a single certificate, or one that renews the certificate of an end entity it registered earlier.
Certificate requests in CRMF format

The subject cannot be read from a certificate request in CRMF format, so an RA Profile used for CRMF enrollment must use Custom login ID or Random login ID. The strategies that derive the login ID from the subject reject a CRMF request.

The login ID and the end entity are recorded on the certificate when it is issued, and are reused when the certificate is later renewed or revoked through the platform.

Certificate operations

The RA Profile needs no further configuration for issuing, renewing, revoking, or registering certificates. Those operations take the certificate request, the revocation reason, or the subject from the request itself, together with the settings above.