Dynamic Route for CDN (DCDN) supports HTTPS secure acceleration. You can upload a custom certificate or add a purchased certificate from SSL Certificates Service to DCDN to enable HTTPS secure acceleration. HTTPS secure acceleration implements encryption for data in transit. This topic describes how to configure and renew an SSL certificate.

Prerequisites

  • An SSL certificate is prepared. If you want to purchase an SSL certificate, you can log on to the SSL Certificates Service console to apply for a free certificate or purchase a certificate from a certificate authority (CA).
  • If you want to use a custom certificate, it must be in a valid format. For more information, see Certificate formats.

Background information

SSL certificates are classified into different types based on vetting and verification requirements. Different types provide different levels of security and are suitable for different websites. For more information, see Supported certificate types.

DCDN supports only certificates in the PEM format. If a certificate is not in the PEM format, convert the certificate to the PEM format. For more information, see Convert certificate formats.
Note
  • The CRT file extension is short for certificate. The certificate may be in PEM or Distinguished Encoding Rules (DER) format. Before you convert the format of a certificate, check whether the certificate needs to be converted into other formats.
  • PEM is a text format. It starts with " -----BEGIN ***-----" and ends with "-----END ***-----". The content between these lines is encoded in Base64. Both the certificate and private key can be saved in this format. To distinguish a certificate from a private key, the extension of a private key file that is in PEM format is .key.

Step 1: Configure or renew an SSL certificate

HTTPS secure acceleration is a value-added service. After you enable HTTPS, you are charged based on the number of HTTPS requests. You cannot use DCDN data transfer plans to offset the fees. For more information about HTTPS pricing, see Billing of requests and WebSocket.

  1. Log on to the DCDN console.
  2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Domain Names.
  3. On the Domain Names page, find the domain name that you want to manage, and click Configure in the Actions column.
  4. In the left-side navigation pane on the details page of the specified domain name, click HTTPS Settings.
  5. In the HTTPS Certificate section, click Modify.
  6. In the HTTPS Settings dialog box, turn on SSL Acceleration.
    After you turn on SSL Acceleration, the system prompts that you will be charged for using HTTPS. You can choose to enable or disable HTTPS based on your business requirements. For more information about HTTPS pricing, see Billing of requests and WebSocket.
  7. On the page that appears, configure parameters.
    HTTPS certificate
    Parameter Description
    Certificate Source Certificate Source contains an Alibaba Cloud certificate, a custom certificate, and a free certificate. You can switch among these three types of certificates based on your business requirements.
    • SSL Certificates Service

      You can apply for certificates of various CAs and types in the SSL Certificates Service console.

    • Custom Certificate (Certificate+Private Key)
      If you cannot find a certificate that meets your requirements from the certificate list, upload a custom certificate. You must enter the certificate name, the public key, and the private key of the certificate. The certificate is saved to SSL Certificates Service. You can check the certificate on the SSL Certificates page.
      Note If the system indicates that the certificate already exists when you upload a custom certificate with a private key, change the certificate name and try again.
    • Free Certificate
      Free certificates are used only for HTTPS secure acceleration. You cannot manage free certificates or view the public or private keys of free certificates in the SSL Certificates Service console. Follow the instructions in the Alibaba Cloud CDN console to apply for or renew free certificates.
      • Free certificates are issued within one to two business days. During this period of time, you can choose to upload a custom certificate or select a certificate from Alibaba Cloud SSL Certificates Service.
        Note After you submit the application, the certificate may be issued within several hours or two business days. The time it takes is based on the verification process required by the CA.
      • A free SSL certificate is valid for one year. Before it expires, you do not need to apply for a new certificate each time you enable HTTPS acceleration. You must apply for a new certificate only if the current one expires.
    Certificate Name
    You must specify a certificate name if Certificate Source is set to one of the following values:
    • SSL Certificates Service
    • Custom Certificate (Certificate+Private Key)
    Certificate (Public Key) If you set the Certificate Source parameter to Custom Certificate (Certificate + Private Key), you must set the Certificate (Public Key) and Private Key parameters. For more information, see PEM Encoding Reference below the Certificate (Public Key) and Private Key fields.
    Private Key
  8. Click OK.

Step 2: Check whether HTTPS takes effect

After an SSL certificate is uploaded, it takes effect within one minute. To verify that the SSL certificate takes effect, send HTTPS requests to access resources. If the URL is displayed with a lock icon in the address bar of the browser, HTTPS secure acceleration is working as expected. Check the settings

Step 3: Disable HTTPS secure acceleration

If you no longer require HTTPS secure acceleration, you can disable this feature in the DCDN console at any time. HTTPS secure acceleration is disabled immediately after you turn off the switch.