Create a Secure Server with SSL

A secure Web server consists of two components: the SecureSockets Layer (SSL) protocol and, usually, a digital certificate from a Certificate Authority (CA). SSL provides encrypted communications and handles authentication needs between a Web browser and your Web server. A CA provides a generally accepted digital certificate and provides an additional level of authentication for your Web server because the CA guarantees that your Web server is, in fact, your Web server and not someone else’s.

To create a secure Web server, you must have at least the following four packages installed:

• apache — Provides the Apache Web server.
• mod_ssl — Installs the mod_ssl Apache loadable module, which provides strong encryption for Apache and gives Apache the ability to use SSL and its companion protocol, Transport Layer Security (TLS).
• openssl — Implements the SSL and TLS protocols and a general purpose encryption library.
• mm — Enables multiple instances of Apache to share state information.