ZyWALL 2 Series User’s Guide

Certification authorities maintain directory servers with databases of valid and revoked certificates. A directory of certificates that have been revoked before the scheduled expiration is called a CRL (Certificate Revocation List). The ZyWALL can check a peer’s certificate against a directory server’s list of revoked certificates. The framework of servers, software, procedures and policies that handles keys is called PKI (public-key infrastructure).

15.1.1 Advantages of Certificates

Certificates offer the following benefits.

The ZyWALL only has to store the certificates of the certification authorities that you decide to trust, no matter how many devices you need to authenticate.

Key distribution is simple and very secure since you can freely distribute public keys and you never need to transmit private keys.

15.2 Self-signed Certificates

Until public-key infrastructure becomes more mature, it may not be available in some areas. You can have the ZyWALL act as a certification authority and sign its own certificates.

15.3 Configuration Summary

This section summarizes how to manage certificates on the ZyWALL.

Use the My Certificate screens to generate and export self-signed certificates or certification requests and import the ZyWALLs’ CA-signed certificates.

Use the Trusted Remote Hosts screens to import self-signed certificates.

Use the Trusted CA screens to save CA certificates to the ZyWALL.

Use the Directory Servers screen to configure a list of addresses of directory servers (that contain lists of valid and revoked certificates).

Figure 15-1 Certificate Configuration Overview

15-2

Certificates