Certificates

Chapter 15 DBMS-Specific Features

Certificates

A public key certificate, usually just called a certificate, is a digitally-signed statement that binds the value of a public key to the identity of the person, device, or service that holds the corresponding private key. Certificates are issued and signed by a certification authority (CA). The entity that receives a certificate from a CA is the subject of that certificate. PowerDesigner models certificates as extended objects with a stereotype of <<Certificate>>.

Creating a certificate

You can create a certificate in any of the following ways:

Select Model→Certificate Objects to access the List of Certificates, and click the Add a Row tool
Right-click the model or package in the Browser, and select New→Certificate

Certificate properties

You can modify an object's properties from its property sheet. To open a certificate property sheet, double-click its diagram symbol or its Browser entry in the Certificate Objects folder.

The following extended attributes are available on the Microsoft tab:

Name	Scripting Name	Description
Authorization	Authorization	Specifies the name of a user as the owner of the certificate.
Assembly	Assembly	Specifies a signed assembly that has already been loaded into the database.
Assembly File	AssemblyFile	Specifies the complete path, including file name, to a DER encoded file that contains the certificate. The path name can be a local path or a UNC path to a network location. The file will be accessed in the security context of the SQL Server service account. This account must have the required file system permissions.
Subject	Subject	Specifies the value of the subject field in the metadata of the certificate as defined in the X.509 standard.
Active for begin dialog	ActiveForBeginDialog	Specifies that the certificate is available to the initiator of a Service Broker dialog conversation.