The validity of certificates

Certificates are used to encrypt communication between services, and the certificates are installed on all the computers that run one or more of the XProtect services.

Depending on how certificates are created, they can be related to the computer they are installed on, and they will only be valid as long as the computer name stays the same.

For more information about how to create certificates, see Introduction to certificates.

If a computer name is changed, the certificates that are used may become invalid, and the XProtect VMS cannot be started. To get the system up and running again, complete these steps:

• Create new certificates and reinstall them on all of the computers in the environment.

• Apply the new certificates, using the Server Configurator, on each of the computers to enable encryption with the new certificates.

This will trigger the registration of the new certificates and get the system up and running again.