Introduction

This guide focuses on the design of certificate services solutions. The design was created using the guidance provided in the Certificate Services Blueprint. It introduced a number of options to deliver mission-critical certificate services on an enterprise-class network infrastructure.

Windows Server System Reference Architecture (WSSRA) is an integrated set of service solutions based on architectural guidance for typical enterprise scenarios. The designs detailed in this guide were formulated using real world scenario specifications, specifically the Centralized Data Center (CDC) and Satellite Branch Office (SBO) scenarios. These scenarios are outlined in the Introduction to Windows Server System Reference Architecture document, and a further level of detail is provided in the Lab Implementation of Windows Server System Reference Architecture document. This guide provides a detailed breakdown of the requirements and exact design choices made for the provision of certificate services in the CDC and SBO scenarios.

Designing certificate services includes the following design phases:

These phases are described in the Certificate Services Blueprint. The technology choices made throughout the design process are required to meet specific service-level goals for criteria such as availability, security, and scalability. These design goals may be incorporated either implicitly or explicitly in the logical or physical design; wherever appropriate, this guide describes how they were incorporated in the design.

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	Who Should Read This Guide
	Knowledge Prerequisites

Who Should Read This Guide

This guide is written for information technology (IT) professionals who are responsible for the planning, design, and deployment of certificate services as part of a secure network infrastructure in enterprises that are similar in scale and scope to the CDC or SBO scenarios. The audience includes consultants, system architects, and other IT professionals involved in the planning stages of application or infrastructure development projects across organizations.

The reader is expected to be able to follow the technical details and decisions presented in this guide.

Note: As described in the Certificate Services Blueprint, implementation of certificate services requires definition of operational processes in the form of a certification practice statement (CPS) to allocate and manage certificates appropriately.
It is a best practice to define such policies and practices as early as possible in the planning process. Definition of these practices is outside the scope of this guide but remains an important element in the planning of certificate services. Where mentioned, the CPS URL refers to an empty Web page that would contain the CPS in a real work scenario.

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Knowledge Prerequisites

The reader of this guide should be familiar with the basic concepts of the following technologies:

For further information on these technologies, refer to the Network ServicesBlueprint (for DNS) and Directory Service Blueprint.

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