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	Description
Authorization	Specifies the name of a user as the owner of the certificate. Scripting name: Authorization
Assembly	Specifies a signed assembly that has already been loaded into the database. Scripting name: Assembly
Assembly File	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. Scripting name: AssemblyFile
Subject	Specifies the value of the subject field in the metadata of the certificate as defined in the X.509 standard. Scripting name: Subject
Active for begin dialog	Specifies that the certificate is available to the initiator of a Service Broker dialog conversation. Scripting name: ActiveForBeginDialog