This chapter provides basic information on an Apache server with the
mod_ssl security module enabled to use the OpenSSL
library and toolkit. The combination of these three components, provided
with Red Hat Linux, will be referred to in this chapter as the secure Web server or just
as the secure server.
The mod_ssl module is a security module for the
Apache Web server. The mod_ssl module uses the
tools provided by the OpenSSL Project to add a very important feature to
Apache — the ability to encrypt communications. In contrast,
using regular HTTP, communications between a browser and a Web server
are sent in plaintext, which could be intercepted and read by someone
along the route between the browser and the server.
This chapter is not meant to be complete and exclusive documentation for
any of these programs. When possible, this guide will point you to
appropriate places where you can find more in-depth documentation on
particular subjects.
This chapter will show you how to install these programs. You will also
learn the steps necessary to generate a private key and a certificate
request, how to generate your own self-signed certificate, and how to
install a certificate to use with your secure Web server.
