Certificate Services
Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2
Certificate Services provides customizable services for issuing and managing certificates that are used in software security systems that employ public key technology. Certificate Services is available on computers running Microsoft® Windows Server® 2003, Standard Edition; Microsoft® Windows Server™ 2003, Enterprise Edition; and Microsoft® Windows Server™ 2003, Datacenter Edition.
Tip
Overviews for more recent versions of certificate services are available:
- Windows Server® 2012: What's New in AD CS?
- Windows Server® 2008 and Windows Server® 2008 R2: Active Directory Certificate Services.
- Community Overview: Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS) Overview.
Before deploying certification authorities and a public key infrastructure, see Checklist: Creating a certification hierarchy with an offline root certification authority.
Before configuring certification authorities and clients for certificate autoenrollment, see Checklist: Configuring certificate autoenrollment.
Before removing a deployed certification authority from your enterprise, see Checklist: Decommissioning a certification authority.
For tips about using Certificate Services, see Certificate Services Best practices.
For help with specific tasks, see Certificate Services How To....
For general background information, see Certificate Services Concepts.
For problem-solving instructions, see Certificate Services Troubleshooting.