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Features Summary

This is a overview of all the major features available across the Certify The Web product suite, categorized by functionality and indicating which features are common across products or specific to individual components.

Certificate Management & Automation​

Core Certificate Features​

These fundamental certificate management capabilities are available across all products:

  • Automated ACME Certificate Renewals - Automatic renewal with zero-config failure notifications
  • Multi-CA Support - Support for Let's Encrypt, Google Trust Services, ZeroSSL, Buypass, and enterprise CAs
  • Certificate Authority Fallback - Optional automatic fallback to alternative CAs if the primary fails
  • Wildcard Certificate Support - Full support for wildcard domains (*.example.com)
  • IP Certificates - Certificate covering IPv4 or IPv6 addresses
  • Multi-Domain Certificates (SAN) - Single certificate covering multiple domains
  • Certificate Preview - Preview planned changes before requesting certificates
  • Multi-config Validation - Configure multiple mixed domain/ip validation methods for one certificate
  • Certificate Revocation - Manual certificate revocation when needed
  • Configuration Export/Import - Backup and restore certificate configurations

Advanced Certificate Options​

  • Custom Private Key Types - RSA and ECDSA key support with configurable key sizes
  • Preferred Certificate Chains - Specify preferred certificate chains for compatibility
  • Certificate Signing Request (CSR) Control - Optionally use your own CSR, ideal for when the private key is not controlled by you
  • PFX Password Protection - Secure certificate files with passwords
  • Staging Mode Support - Test certificates for development and testing
  • Certificate Comments & Metadata - Organize certificates with custom descriptions

Domain Validation Methods​

DNS Validation (dns-01)​

  • 50+ DNS Provider Integrations - Built-in support for major DNS providers
  • Certify DNS Service - Hosted acme-dns compatible service
  • acme-dns support - Standard CNAME-based delegation
  • Manual DNS Option - Manual TXT record creation when APIs aren't available
  • Custom DNS Scripting - Custom scripts for unsupported DNS providers

HTTP Validation (http-01)​

  • Built-in HTTP Challenge Server - Integrated challenge response server
  • IIS Integration - Automatic HTTP validation via IIS (Windows)
  • Custom HTTP Challenge Handlers - Configurable challenge response methods

Deployment & Integration​

Built-in Deployment Tasks​

Comprehensive deployment options for various platforms and services:

Web Servers & Load Balancers:

  • IIS (Auto-deployment with binding management)
  • Apache HTTP Server (PEM format export)
  • nginx (PEM format export)
  • Apache Tomcat (PKCS#12 keystore)

Microsoft Services:

  • Microsoft Exchange (IMAP, SMTP, IIS, POP services)
  • Active Directory Federation Services (ADFS)
  • Remote Desktop Services (RDP Gateway, RDP Listener)
  • Routing and Remote Access Service (RAS)
  • IIS Centralized Certificate Store (CCS)

Cloud & Container Platforms:

  • Azure App Service
  • Azure Key Vault
  • HashiCorp Vault (with namespace support)
  • AWS services (via export tasks)

Security & Secrets Management:

  • Local Windows Certificate Store
  • Doppler secrets storage
  • Various secrets vault integrations

Custom Deployment Options​

  • PowerShell Script Execution - Custom PowerShell scripts with parameter passing (cross platform)
  • Bash Script Support - Linux/macOS script execution
  • Webhook Integration - HTTP webhooks with customizable payloads
  • SSH/SFTP Deployment - Remote file deployment over secure connections
  • UNC Share Deployment - Network share certificate distribution (Windows)
  • Service Management - Start/stop/restart services after deployment (Windows)
  • Permission Management - Set certificate key permissions (Windows)

User Interfaces & Management​

Desktop Application (CCM - Windows)​

  • Rich Desktop UI - Full-featured Windows desktop application
  • Real-time Status Monitoring - Live renewal status and progress tracking
  • Certificate Store Integration - Direct Windows certificate store management
  • IIS Management - Visual IIS site and binding management

Web-Based Management (Management Hub)​

  • Cross-Platform Web UI - Browser-based interface for all platforms
  • Multi-User Access - Role-based user management and permissions
  • Centralized Management - Manage certificates across multiple instances
  • API Access - RESTful API for automation and integration

Command Line Interface​

  • Full CLI Support - Complete command-line interface for automation
  • Scripting Integration - PowerShell and bash scripting support
  • Automated Deployment - Unattended installation and configuration
  • Bulk Operations - Mass certificate management operations

Monitoring & Reporting​

Status & Health Monitoring​

  • Real-time Status Dashboard - Live certificate status overview
  • Renewal Failure Detection - Automatic failure notification system
  • Certificate Expiry Monitoring - Proactive expiration warnings
  • Detailed Logging - Comprehensive activity and error logging

Hosted Dashboard Service​

  • Centralized Reporting - Cloud-based certificate monitoring
  • Multi-Server Aggregation - Monitor hundreds of servers from one dashboard
  • Failure Analysis - Detailed failure messages and troubleshooting
  • Email Notifications - Automated renewal failure notifications
  • Historical Reporting - Certificate renewal history and trends

External ACME Client Monitoring​

Hub & Agent Only:

  • Certbot Integration - Monitor existing Certbot renewals
  • acme.sh Support - Track renewals from acme.sh installations
  • win-acme and simple-acme - Monitor Windows ACME client renewals
  • Posh-ACME Integration - PowerShell ACME module monitoring

Infrastructure & Deployment​

Platform Support​

Common Across Products:

  • Windows Server (2016+)
  • Windows Desktop (Windows 10+)

Hub & Agent Only:

  • Linux (Ubuntu, CentOS, RHEL, Debian, Alpine)
  • macOS (Intel & Apple Silicon)
  • Docker containers
  • Kubernetes
  • Red Hat/IBM OpenShift

Data Storage Options​

  • SQLite (Default) - File-based database for single instances
  • Microsoft SQL Server - Enterprise database support (2016+)
  • PostgreSQL - Open-source database support (9.5+)
  • Database Migration Tools - Migrate between database types

Scalability & Performance​

  • Multi-Instance Management - Manage hundreds of certificate instances
  • Distributed Architecture - Scale across multiple servers
  • Background Processing - Non-blocking certificate operations
  • Batch Operations - Efficient bulk certificate management

Security & Compliance​

Security Features​

  • Encrypted Credential Storage - DPAPI encryption for stored credentials (Windows)
  • Role-Based Access Control - Granular user permissions (Hub)
  • API Security - Token-based authentication for scoped API access

Compliance & Standards​

  • ACME Protocol Compliance - Comprehensive RFC 8555 ACME support, plus draft features.
  • Industry Standard Formats - PEM, PFX, PKCS#12 certificate formats

Specialized Features​

STIR/SHAKEN Certificates​

CCM & Hub:

  • Telecommunications Certificate Support - Specialized certificates for telecom providers
  • Authority Token Management - SPC token and CRL handling

Import/Export​

  • Bulk Certificate Management - Import/export certificate configurations
  • Migration Tools - Migrate certificates between instances
  • Backup & Restore - Complete configuration backup capabilities

Product-Specific Features​

Certify Certificate Manager (CCM)​

  • Desktop UI - Windows desktop application and background service

Management Hub​

  • Web-Based Interface - Cross-platform browser access
  • Multi-User Management - Role-based user accounts
  • Instance Management - Control multiple CCM instances
  • Container Support - Docker and Kubernetes deployment
  • Managed DNS Challenges - Centralized DNS challenge handling
  • Managed ACME API Server - Act as ACME server for other clients

Management Agent​

  • Headless Operation - No UI required for Linux/macOS
  • External Client Monitoring - Monitor third-party ACME clients
  • Cross-Platform Service - systemd/launchd service integration

Dashboard Service​

  • Hosted Monitoring - Cloud-based renewal monitoring

Getting Started​

To get started with any of these features:

For specific feature documentation, see the individual guides.