Creating a valid signer certificate using the Certificate Management tool

To use Rational Developer for System z Host Connect with custom CA certificates, you must first import the server CA certificate into a key database file using the IBM Key Management tool.

Start the IBM Key Management tool.

  1. Navigate to the <RDz InstalledImage>/jdk/jre/bin directory where <RDz InstalledImage> is the location where you have Rational Developer for System z installed.
  2. Double click the file ikeyman.exe (or ikeyman if the extensions are hidden). The IBM Key Management tool opens.

Using the IBM Key Management tool.

  1. Click Key Database File and select New....
  2. Select PKCS12 for the Key database type.
  3. Specify a filename using p12 as the filename extension (for example, mykey.p12).
  4. Specify the location or use the Browse... button to navigate to the location where you want to store the database file.
    Note: Make note of where you store this file. You need to provide this filename and location to Host Connect
  5. In the Password prompt dialog, enter the password you want to use. Re-enter the password in the Confirm password field.
  6. Under Key Database Content, click the pull down menu and select Signer Certificates.
  7. Click Add... to add the server certificate. The Open dialog appears.
  8. Click Browse to navigate to the location of the server CA certificate.
  9. Specify a label for the CA certificate.
  10. Click OK. The CA certificate is now added to the key database file.
  11. Close the IBM Key Management Tool.
Note: You can use any name with a .p12 extension for the Key Database File. The Key Database File created in the previous instructions is referred to as the CustomizedCAs.p12 file in the following instructions.

To use the CustomizedCAs.p12 file in Host Connect

  1. Open the Host Connect emulator.
  2. Click the Properties tab.
  3. Ensure that the SSL Enabled check box is selected.
  4. Ensure that you select the security protocol for the session.
  5. Click the Browse button next to the CA Certificate File field and point to the CustomizedCAs.p12 file.
  6. Enter the password for the CustomizedCAs.p12 file in the Personal certificate password field.
  7. Select File>Save to save the Host Connect properties
  8. Close the Host Connect emulator and open it again. The emulator session restarts with the new properties.