Setting up HTTPS (secure HTTP) for IPS Server

You cannot set up the IPS Server with HTTPS immediately enabled.

The instructions in this section explain the basic steps to enable HTTPS, assuming that you have IPS Server already running using HTTP, and that you have a certificate ready to use.

Important: The change to HTTPS will invalidate all license files (for both IPS Server and Product licensing) with 'http' in the URLs, and you must obtain new license files with ‘https’ in the server URLs. The change doesn't affect product licensing that is based on an external license server.

Important: IPS Server is not compatible with certificates that have private keys based on the CNG ('Cryptography API: Next Generation') storage provider. (If you try to install such a certificate then IPS Server will typically give the installation error: "Current user has no access to the certificate's private key".) Guidance on using a different legacy provider is provided in the topics listed below.