A certificate authority (CA) issues certificates valid for up to 397 days. When a certificate expires, you must manually renew and redeploy it — a missed renewal can disrupt your services. The certificate hosting feature in Certificate Management Service automates the renewal application so your certificate is replaced before it expires.
When the validity period of a hosted certificate falls below 30 calendar days, the system automatically applies for a new certificate on your behalf.
How it works
Certificate hosting provides three capabilities:
Automatic certificate application before expiration — Alibaba Cloud submits a renewal application up to 30 calendar days before your hosted certificate expires and returns the new certificate to the Certificate Management Service console.
Automatic carryover of remaining validity — The remaining days on your hosted certificate are added to the new certificate, so you don't lose the time you've already paid for.
Dedicated technical support — Online installation instructions are available for Apache, NGINX, and Tomcat web servers, which helps enterprises without dedicated technical personnel and individuals get certificates installed.
Note: Certificate hosting does not automatically install the new certificate on your web server. After the associated certificate is issued, install it manually on your web server with guidance from dedicated customer service staff to replace the hosted certificate.
Prerequisites for automatic renewal
Alibaba Cloud automatically submits the renewal application when both of the following conditions are met:
Alibaba Cloud DNS is activated for the certificate applicant's Alibaba Cloud account.
The CA determines that the information and materials in the certificate application are valid.
If either condition is not met, Alibaba Cloud contacts you to help verify the application information and get a new certificate issued.
Remaining validity carryover
When a new certificate is issued, the remaining days on the hosted certificate carry over to it, so you don't lose time already paid for. The new certificate expires one year after the hosted certificate's expiration date.
Example: A hosted certificate with a one-year validity period expires on August 1, 2022. Alibaba Cloud applies for and issues a new certificate on July 20, 2022. The new certificate is valid from July 20, 2022, to August 1, 2023 — the remaining days (July 20–August 1, 2022) carry over into the new certificate's term.
Carryover applies only when:
The associated certificate has the same specifications as the hosted certificate: domain name type, certificate type, and certificate brand.
Carryover does not apply to uploaded certificates. If you enable hosting for an uploaded certificate, Alibaba Cloud submits the renewal application up to 15 calendar days before expiration (not 30), and the remaining validity period is not carried over.
Billing
Refunds for associated certificates are not available in the Certificate Management Service console. To request a refund, contact your account manager.