Security Certificates Overview

A public-key certificate or a digital security certificate is an electronic means that identifies a public key to a particular individual or an organization.

You could obtain a security certificate, by using your own certificate authority server (CA server) or by depending on an independent CA.

The certificate contains information about the identity of the user. For example, name, email address, the date the certificate was issued, and the name of the CA issuing the certificate. This is generally in the case of email encryption, code signing, and e-signature systems.

Transport Layer Security (TLS), typically has a computer or other device as the subject of the certificate. TLS is also called Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and is known for being a part of the HTTPS protocol for securely browsing the web.

If you use custom Extensible Authentication Protocol-Transport Layer Security (EAP-TLS) certificates, you must generate your self-signed certificates or obtain them from a trusted Certificate Authority (CA). In this case, additional configuration is required. You must install client-side certificates on the Vocera Voice Server and the configuration computer, install the server-side certificates on your authentication server, configure your authentication server for EAP-TLS.

Alternatively, you can use the Vocera Manufacturer Certificates. Vocera devices are preconfigured with EAP-TLS client certificates that are automatically downloaded from the Vocera Voice Server or the Badge Configuration Computer. Vocera Manufacturer Certificates use 1024, 2048, 4096, 7192, and 16384-bit keys RSA keys that provide excellent security for enterprise and conform to industry standards and NIST recommendations. If you decide to use Vocera Manufacturer Certificates on the device, you still need to install Vocera Voice Server-side certificates on your authentication server. For more information, refer to Using External Certificates.