Practical guides

SSL/TLS

Configure Apache HTTPD with SSL/TLS from scratch — mod_ssl setup, VirtualHost HTTPS, cipher hardening, HSTS, OCSP stapling, Let's Encrypt with Certbot, SNI multi-site hosting, and mTLS client authentication. Working configs for Ubuntu/Debian and RHEL/CentOS.

DevOps

Set up certificate expiry monitoring using Prometheus exporters (x509-certificate-exporter, Blackbox exporter, cert-manager metrics), PromQL alerting rules, Grafana dashboards, and AlertManager notifications for Slack and PagerDuty.

SSL/TLS

The definitive reference for Java's cacerts trust store — locate it across JDK versions, list trusted CAs, import and remove certificates with keytool, configure custom trust stores, handle Docker containers, and troubleshoot PKIX path building failures.

PKI

Step-by-step migration playbook from legacy Microsoft AD CS to modern PKI with ACME, HashiCorp Vault, and cert-manager. Covers assessment, parallel operation, workload migration, rollback plans, and realistic timelines.

Kubernetes

Complete guide to configuring TLS on Kubernetes ingress controllers. Covers Nginx Ingress TLS termination, Traefik IngressRoute, Gateway API TLSRoute, cert-manager auto-issuance, mTLS at ingress, wildcard certificates, and troubleshooting.

Kubernetes

Install and configure cert-manager for automated TLS certificate management in Kubernetes. Covers Issuers, ClusterIssuers, Let's Encrypt, Vault PKI, DNS-01 challenges, wildcard certs, and production troubleshooting.

SSL/TLS

Understand every certificate format — PEM, DER, PKCS#12 (PFX/P12), PKCS#7 (P7B), and JKS. Includes identification, use cases, and complete OpenSSL/keytool conversion commands between all formats.

SSL/TLS

Complete Java keytool command reference covering keystore creation, certificate import/export, trust store management, format conversion, and troubleshooting for production Java applications.

Key Management

Step-by-step runbook for rotating JSON Web Key Sets (JWKS) across AWS KMS, GCP Cloud KMS, and Azure Key Vault. Covers zero-downtime rotation, grace periods, automation scripts, and validation.

SSL/TLS

Set up free, automated HTTPS with Let's Encrypt and Certbot on Nginx, Apache, and standalone servers. Covers HTTP-01, DNS-01 wildcards, auto-renewal, deploy hooks, troubleshooting, and rate limits.

PKI

Configure Microsoft NDES (Network Device Enrollment Service) for SCEP certificate enrollment. Covers IIS setup, certificate templates, registration authority, challenge passwords, and fixes for every common NDES error.

SSL/TLS

Configure Nginx for A+ SSL Labs rating with TLS 1.3, strong cipher suites, OCSP stapling, HSTS, and mTLS. Includes complete configs, troubleshooting, and security header setup for production environments.

PKI

Understand what a PKI automation platform does — certificate discovery, lifecycle automation, policy enforcement, and multi-CA orchestration. Includes evaluation criteria, architecture patterns, and build-vs-buy analysis.

SSL/TLS

Understand every field in an X.509 certificate — serial number, subject, issuer, SAN, key usage, thumbprint, and extensions. Includes OpenSSL decoding examples and real-world troubleshooting for each field.

SSL/TLS

Master OpenSSL with this comprehensive guide covering certificate generation, CSR creation, chain verification, TLS debugging, format conversion, and production hardening. Every command you'll ever need.