Edventures in Normalcy

I had to switch out a certificate on a server and got the below error messages, documented here to make this familiar int he future. I was worried that it would break the other sites on the server, 2 others using the old certificate. Instead the server updated the certificate on all 3 and all 3 remained up and running. I could swear that is not how it happened in the past, but this may have been a different case.

Edit Site Binding

At least one other site is using the same HTTPS binding and the binding is configured with a different certificate.  Are you sure that you want to reuse this HTTPS binding and reassign the other site or sites to use the new certificate?

Edit Site Binding

The certificate is associated with this binding is also assigned to another site’s binding.  Editing this binding will cause the HTTPS binding of the other site to be unusable.  Do you still want to continue?

How does one move an SSL Certificate between web hosts securely? Well, you want the certificate exported from the source server. If you have direct access, you can do this yourself, otherwise I would CALL the Source Provider. Supply them a randomly generated password, you can have them generate a password for you. This password should NOT be emailed to you if at all possible. The password should be used to secure the SSL certificate. Have the certificate exported as a PFX, this is a common format that includes almost everything you could need for the SSL, outside of intermediate certificates. The password secured PFX can then be emailed, and it can then be provided to the destination host. Supply them the password used over the phone, or if you have direct access you can import the PFX using the password. I will be adding articles for exporting and importing certificates. I will soon be securing the SSL specific scripts on this site to be accessible ONLY when reached securely. Oh how nice that will be.