How To Install New Ssl Certificate

"Help! I'm a Systems Administrator and I need to install a custom SSL Certificate onto our PaperCut server. What's the easiest way to do this?"

Setting up PaperCut to use SSL/TLS can be fairly complicated if you take the command line approach and can sometimes lead to a few cups of coffee being needed before it works. To take the pain away, there is an easier method you can use thanks to a free tool called KeyStore Explorer. The process can be broken into three main parts:

Creating a KeyStore.
Generating a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) and Importing the CA Response
Cutting Over the PaperCut Configuration

If you'd like to check out the command line method, which offers more control at the expense of ease, head over to our trusted certificate documentation in the Help Center

If you already have a cert generated by your CA, you can skip to Importing an Existing Certificate Keypair

Note 💡 Before proceeding, if you're an MF customer and wanting to update your SSL certificate, please reach out to your PaperCut Reseller or Authorized Solution Center for confirmation on the impact of this action. Changing the SSL certificate on your PaperCut server can temporarily prevent server access for some types of MFDs until a thumbprint is manually accepted at the MFD's panel, or a firmware update could be required.

Part Zero: Setting up KeyStore Explorer

Download and install the latest release of KeyStore Explorer from: http://www.keystore-explorer.org/downloads.html

Depending on the version of JRE you have installed, KeyStore Explorer might ask you to update Java's cryptography Libraries. Follow the prompts and it will guide you through this.

The video below demonstrates how to set up KeyStore Explorer

Part One: Creating a new Keystore

1. Click Create a new KeyStore

2. Select JKS, then click OK

3. click the Generate Key Pair icon to generate a Key Pair

4. Select RSA, then set the Key Size for your new certificate to either 2048 or 4096 and click OK

5. In the Validity Period field, set how long the certificate will be valid for

6. Click the address book icon

7. In the Common Name field, enter the Fully Qualified Domain Name (link users will access) for your PaperCut server. Fill out the other fields according to your organization's details, then click OK

8. If your server has more than one name, or if you intend to use a Wildcard Certificate you should fill out the Subject Alternative Name (SAN) extension for your certificate to avoid errors. If not, skip step 8.

8a. Select the Add Extensions button.

8b. Click the + Button to Add an Extension Type.

8c. Scroll down through the extension types and select the Subject Alternative Name, then click OK

8d. Select the + Button in the Subject Alternative Name Extension Window.

8e. In the Alternative Name Window, select DNS Name and enter the FQDN for your PaperCut server machine. Select OK

Repeat this adding process for any other domain names that may be associated with your PaperCut machine (for example, if you want to associate webprint.yourdomain.edu and papercut.yourdomain.edu with the same machine).

8f. Click OK Until you are prompted with an Alias Window

9. In the Enter Alias field, set an alias so you know what the key is for, then click OK

10. Set the password for your key, then click OK. Remember to make a note of this, as you will need to re-enter this later as the "server.ssl.key-password".

The video below demonstrates how to create a new certificate:

Part Two: Generating a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) and importing the response

1. Right-click on your Key Pair, then select Generate CSR

2. In the CSR File field, set the output path for the CSR, then click OK

3. Apply for a certificate with your Certificate Authority (CA) by providing them the CSR.

4. The CA will provide your new certificate, plus one or more "CA certs" (the certificate of the CA, and maybe their upstream CA, etc.). If they have provided a "bundle" (all the certs in the one file). Otherwise, choose the file that represents your certificate. Right-click the key, then select Import CA Reply then select From File and browse to the chosen certificate file (probably .crt)

If there are several separate certificate files, you might need to edit the certificate chain to ensure all the certificates are in there. Get in touch if you need a hand.

The video below demonstrates how to generate a CSR:

Optional: Importing an Existing Certificate Keypair

Note 💡 This section only applies to your organization if the Certificate Authority has replied to your CSR with a keypair instead of a .crt file, or if your Certificate Authority allows you to generate and download certificates through their interface (instead of by submitting a CSR file). If this doesn't apply to your organization click here to go to cutting over the PaperCut configuration.

1. Click Create a new Key Store

2. Select JKS, then click OK

3. Click the Import Key Pair icon

4. Select the type of certificate you are using, then click OK

This is normally PKCS12 (.pfx, .p12), but it depends on where your certificate came from.

5. Click Details to verify the certificate. If you get an error, it could be the password or the wrong certificate type

pkcs12 import

pkcs8 import

6. In the Enter Alias field, enter an alias for the newly imported Certificate, then click OK

Part Three: Cutting Over the PaperCut Configuration

1. Save your KeyStore

2. Set the password for your KeyStore , then click OK. Remember to make a note of this, as you will need to re-enter this later as the "server.ssl.keystore-password"

3. Copy the saved KeyStore to [install-path]/server/custom/
4. Edit [install-path]/server/server.properties and change the values below to match your filename and passwords and remember to remove the # signs to enable these keys

server.ssl.keystore=custom/papercut-keystore

server.ssl.keystore-password=papercut

server.ssl.key-password=papercut

Note: If the keystore filename includes a file extension, please include it here. (ex: papercut-keystore.ks)

5. Restart the PaperCut Application Server service and check https://your.fully.qualified.domain.name:9192/admin

If you don't see any errors, congratulations! You can now reward yourself with a coffee. If you see an error message, reach out to us via (http://support.papercut.com) then grab a coffee. Most of the time, we will have replied before you have made it back to your desk.

Categories: How-to Articles, Security and Privacy

Keywords: SSL, Security, KeyStore Explorer, Certificate