What This Course Covers

Before you get started, make sure this course covers what you want to learn. This is an introductory level course appropriate for System Administrators and support staff who are unfamiliar with digital certificates and Netscape's Certificate Management System version 4 (CMS4). We'll cover these topics:

This is only an introductory course; its main purpose is to get you started with CMS4. A more complete understanding of a public-key infrastructure will require you to take additional courses or read supplemental reference documents.

General Concepts About Encryption and CMS4

The first goal of this course is to provide you with an overview of encryption and digital certificates. By the time you complete this course you'll be able to describe how public-key encryption works and how it's used to provide privacy and authentication over the Internet. If you already know something about encryption, you can use this material to refresh your understanding.

You'll also learn about the basic features and architecture of Netscape's Certificate Management System version 4. We'll introduce you to the terms used to describe a public-key infrastructure (PKI) and show how CMS4 fits into this picture.

Installation and Configuration of CMS4

The second goal of this course is to teach you how to install and configure CMS4 in a sandbox environment. The term "sandbox environment" refers to a test system functioning in a non-critical role. This could be your own personal desktop system or a machine in a testing lab or classroom. Your sandbox environment should be a system you can afford to make mistakes on.

We strongly suggest you actually install CMS4 by following the step-by-step instructions in the Installation Module. This will require you to have access to the CMS4 installation software, either from a CD or from Netscape's external web site.

Basic Administration

The third goal of this course is to cover some of the common administrative tasks associated with CMS4 such as issuing and revoking certs. You'll learn how to use Netscape Console and the Administrative Interface of CMS4 to access restricted management and configuration features.

By the time you finish this course you should be able to start and stop CMS4 and know how to perform a basic set of administrative tasks.


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