Ssl /tls

[takito]

Hello,

 

I want to turn on SSL for my new site, so I got a free 90 Days certificate as a starting point, and later on i will issue a 1 year certificate from StartSSL.

 

I created a private key, issued a CSR, and created my CRT as a final step.

 

Than i tried to access my site by adding 'S' to 'http://', but i got nothing... 'https://' just didn't work.

So i read the wiki and found out that i'll need to purchase a static IP for it to work, so i have a few questions:

 

1. Why do i need a static IP while the certificate is issued to my domain name ? i don't really understand the logic...

2. Can i use a self signed certificate to avoid using a static IP ?

3. Is it possible to get a free static IP / any other free solution ? (even a temp solution will be nice..)

 

 

 

Thank you for your time and good will,

Takito.

[Ice IT Support]

Yes, a dedicated IP is required because the TLS handshake happens before any HTTP headers are sent. On a shared IP, the server does not know which certificate to use because it does not know which site is being accessed. It doesn't matter whether the certificate is self signed or signed by a CA if the server doesn't know which certificate to use.

 

The fee for a dedicated IP is what our ISP charges us. We can't provide a free IP for that reason.