Deploy User Certificates
Applies To: Windows Server 2008
Deploy user certificates
You can use this procedure to configure the certificate template that Active Directory® Certificate Services (AD CS) uses as the basis for user certificates that are enrolled to domain users.
Membership in both the Enterprise Admins and the root domain's Domain Admins group is the minimum required to complete this procedure.
To configure the certificate template and auto-enrollment
On the computer where Active Directory Certificate Services is installed, click Start, click Run, type mmc, and then click OK.
On the File menu, click Add/Remove Snap-in, and then click Add. The Add or Remove Snap-ins dialog box opens.
In Available snap-ins, double-click Certification Authority. Select the certification authority (CA) that you want to manage with the snap-in, and then click Finish. The Certification Authority dialog box closes, returning to the Add or Remove Snap-ins dialog box.
In Available snap-ins, double-click Certificate Templates, and then click OK.
In the console tree, click Certificate Templates. All of the certificate templates are displayed in the details pane.
In the details pane, click the User template.
On the Action menu, click Duplicate Template. The Duplicate Template dialog box opens. Select the template version appropriate for your deployment, and then click OK. The new template properties dialog box opens.
On the General tab, in Display Name, type a new name for the certificate template or keep the default name. Select the Publish Certificate in Active Directory check box.
Click the Security tab. In Group or user names, click Domain Users.
In Permissions for Domain Computers, under Allow, select the Enroll and Autoenroll permission check boxes, and then click OK.
Double-click Certification Authority, double-click the CA name, and then click Certificate Templates. On the Action menu, point to New, and then click Certificate Template to Issue. The Enable Certificate Templates dialog box opens.
Click the name of the certificate template you just configured, and then click OK. For example, if you did not change the default certificate template name, click Copy of User, and then click OK.
On the computer where Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) is installed, click Start, click Run, type mmc, and then click OK.
On the File menu, click Add/Remove Snap-in, and then click Add. The Add or Remove Snap-ins dialog box opens.
In the Add or Remove Snap-ins dialog box, in Available snap-ins, double-click Group Policy Management Console. The Select Group Policy Object wizard opens. Click Browse, and then select the appropriate Group Policy object (for example, Default Domain Policy). Click OK, click Finish, and then click OK again.
Double-click Default Domain Policy. Open User Configuration, then Windows Settings, then Security Settings, and then Public Key Policies.
Double-click Certificate Services Client - Auto-Enrollment. The Certificate Services Client - Auto-Enrollment Properties dialog box opens.
On the Define Policy Settings tab, in Configuration Model, select Enabled.
Select the Renew expired certificates, update pending certificates, and remove revoked certificates check box.
Select the Update certificates that use certificate templates check box, and then click OK.
Additional considerations
After you complete this procedure, domain users automatically enroll a user certificate when Group Policy is refreshed. To refresh Group Policy, reboot the client computer or, at the command prompt, run gpupdate.
Ensure that all appropriate domain system containers are configured for autoenrollment of user certificates either through the inheriting of Group Policy settings of a parent system container or through explicit configuration.