Importing Certificates into SZ100 - Specifically Godaddy Certs

brian_koomen — Thu, 13 Mar 2025 13:12:50 GMT

I am not a certificate guru by any means. We do a hand full of updates every year and every system has a different interface/process to import. The SmartZone Cert import seems to give me the most problems.

All our certificates are generated from Godaddy. Godaddy offers multiple flavors to download a cert. When I say flavors I mean they offer the cert in IIS, Apache, Tomcat, etc...formats. I have never been able to find any format just import straight into the SZ. I always have to call support for them to "tweak" the certificate.

This time I had the tech provide the instructions as I will not remember the process when it is time to renew again. I decided to post the step here in case there was anybody else struggling with a GoDaddy certificate import.

These steps will create the files (Root, Intermediate, and Server). From there the import should be straightforward....

Step 1: Open the .CRT File

Locate the .CRT file on your computer.
Double-click the file to open it in the Windows Certificate Viewer.

Step 2: View the Certificate Chain

In the Certificate Viewer, go to the Certification Path tab.
Here, you will see a hierarchy showing:

Root Certificate (Top-most)
Intermediate Certificate(s) (Middle)
Server Certificate (Bottom)

Step 3: Extract the Server Certificate

Click on the lowest-level certificate (this is the Server Certificate).
Click View Certificate.
In the new window, go to the Details tab.
Click Copy to File… (This opens the Certificate Export Wizard).
Click Next, then choose Base-64 encoded X.509 (.CER) format.
Click Next, choose a destination, and save it as server_certificate.cer.

Step 4: Extract the Intermediate Certificate(s)

In the Certification Path tab, select the Intermediate Certificate (middle level).
Repeat the same steps as above to export it.
Save it as intermediate_certificate.cer.

Step 5: Extract the Root Certificate

Select the Top-most certificate (this is the Root Certificate).
Follow the same steps and save it as root_certificate.cer.

Re: Importing Certificates into SZ100 - Specifically Godaddy Certs

Anusha_Vemula — Fri, 02 May 2025 16:59:39 GMT

Thanks for sharing this info, Brian.