To configure a port, the tool you use depends on the operating system that is running on your machine.

If you are running Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP, use the HttpCfg.exe tool. With Windows Server 2003 this tool is installed. With Windows XP, you can download the tool at Windows XP Service Pack 2 Support Tools. For more information, see Httpcfg Overview. The Windows Support Tools documentation explains the syntax for the Httpcfg.exe tool.

If you are running Windows Vista, use the Netsh.exe tool that is already installed.

This topic describes how to accomplish several procedures:

Determining a computer's current port configuration.
Getting a certificate's thumbprint (necessary for the following two procedures).
Binding an SSL certificate to a port configuration.
Binding an SSL certificate to a port configuration and supporting client certificates.
Deleting an SSL certificate from a port number.

Note that modifying certificates stored on the computer requires administrative privileges.

To determine how ports are configured

In Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP, use the HttpCfg.exe tool to view the current port configuration, using the query and ssl switches, as shown in the following example.
Copy Code
```
httpcfg query ssl
```
In Windows Vista, use the Netsh.exe tool to view the current port configuration, as shown in the following example.
Copy Code
```
netsh http show sslcert
```

To get a certificate's thumbprint

Use the Certificates MMC snap-in to find an X.509 certificate that has an intended purpose of client authentication. For more information, see How to: View Certificates with the MMC Snap-in.
Access the certificate's thumbprint. For more information, see How to: Retrieve the Thumbprint of a Certificate.
Copy the thumbprint of the certificate into a text editor, such as Notepad.
Remove all spaces between the hexadecimal characters. One way to accomplish this is to use the text editor's find-and-replace feature and replace each space with a null character.

In Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP, to support clients that authenticate with X.509 certificates at the transport layer, follow the preceding procedure but pass an additional command-line parameter to HttpCfg.exe, as shown in the following example.
Copy Code
```
httpcfg set ssl -i 0.0.0.0:8012 -h 0000000000003ed9cd0c315bbb6dc1c08da5e6 -f 2
```
The -f switch has the syntax of n where n is a number between 1 and 7. A value of 2, as shown in the preceding example, enables client certificates at the transport layer. A value of 3 enables client certificates and maps those certificates to a Windows account. See HttpCfg.exe Help for the behavior of other values.
In Windows Vista, to support clients that authenticate with X.509 certificates at the transport layer, follow the preceding procedure, but with an additional parameter, as shown in the following example.
Copy Code
```
netsh http add sslcert ipport=0.0.0.0:8000 certhash=0000000000003ed9cd0c315bbb6dc1c08da5e6 appid={00112233-4455-6677-8899-AABBCCDDEEFF} clientcertnegotiation=enable
```

Use the HttpCfg.exe or Netsh.exe tool to see the ports and thumbprints of all bindings on the computer. To print the information to disk, use the redirection character ">", as shown in the following example.
Copy Code
```
httpcfg query ssl>myMachinePorts.txt
```
In Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP, use the HttpCfg.exe tool with the delete and ssl keywords. Use the -i switch to specify the IP:port number, and the -h switch to specify the thumbprint.
Copy Code
```
httpcfg delete ssl -i 0.0.0.0:8005 -h 0000000000003ed9cd0c315bbb6dc1c08da5e6
```
In Windows Vista, use the Netsh.exe tool, as shown in the following example.
Copy Code
```
Netsh http delete sslcert ipport=0.0.0.0:8005
```

Dig deeper!
People who read this also read...

Next page: MMC snapin