Introduction

In this article, we will guide you through the steps of installing an SSL certificate on the Apache web server in the CentOS/Ubuntu Operation System.

We assume that you have Apache installed on your server and have certificate files(including .key and .crt files).

1 Upload the .key and .crt files

Upload the .key and .crt files to your Linux Server.

2 Configure the <VirtualHost> block

Open the configuration file of the website.

Configurate the <VirtualHost> file block for the site. Refer to <VirtualHost *:80> to create a VirtualHost for 443, and add the following code.

<VirtualHost *:443>

        SSLEngine on

        SSLCertificateFile /path/to/your_domain_name.crt

        SSLCertificateKeyFile /path/to/your_private.key

</VirtualHost>

3 Enable ssl module

For CentOS server, use "httpd -M | grep ssl" to check if the SSL module is installed. If it’s not, install it through "yum install mod_ssl ".

For Ubuntu server, use "apache2 -M | grep ssl" to check if the SSL module is installed. If it’s not, install it through "apt install mod_ssl ".

4 Test your Apache configuration file

For CentOS and Ubuntu server, please run "apachectl configtest". If "Syntax OK" is displayed, the configuration file setup was successful.

5 Restart Apache

For CentOS server, restart the Apache Service by using " systemctl restart httpd ".

For Ubuntu server, restart the Apache Service by using " systemctl restart apache2 ".

6 Test the HTTPs of your website

You can access your website via https://your_domain_name now.

7 Add redirection from HTTP to HTTPS

7.1 Install redirect module

For CentOS server, please refer to the following:

yum install mod_rewrite

For Ubuntu server, please refer to the following:

apt install mod_rewrite

7.2 Edit configuration file

Modify the “/etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf” file and add the following at the end of the file.

RewriteEngine On

RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off

RewriteRule (.*) https://%{HTTP_HOST}%{REQUEST_URI}

8 Restart Apache