DutchGrid and NIKHEF Grid Certification Authority

Why a certificate? You need a certificate to authenticate (make your identity known) to services, hosts and other users in the grid environment. With your certificate, you can set up secure internet connections, sign your electronic messages, and prove your identity to web and grid sites. However, the certificate in itself does not give you any access rights per se: for that you will also need authorization for your favourite services.

Request and manage your certificates
(documentation)

Trust this Site ...
Install the DutchGrid CA trust anchor in your browser from a secure site. Supported by TERENA's TACAR Repository.

If you have no idea what to do from here, read the guide to getting a certificate. Note that for certification you must go in-person to a registration authority near you, with identity papers, to have your identity vetted.

My Certificate

Request and manage your personal certificates with jGridstart
Request a host certificate via the web process
Import your old certificate in your Web Browser
Renew your medium-security host certificates in time

Lost the passphrase for your key, or your entire key file? Revoke it first at https://ca.dutchgrid.nl/revoke, and use jGridstart to request a new one. You will need to visit your registration authority again in person with your ID, and write on the paper form what happened, e.g. "lost my passphrase, please revoke previous certificate".

For Whom?

Persons and systems from educational and research organisations in the Netherlands are eligible for identity certificates from the DutchGrid CA. Also research departments of commercial companies may apply, but for their experimental and proof-of-concept activities only. The Dutch Grid Certification Authorities (DutchGrid CA) provides X.509 certificates only for identification and authentication purposes related to Grid activities.
Read more background and explanation for users ...

There are three CAs in operation at the moment

Regular (production) use: the Medium-Security X.509 CA: For research and educational institutes that use Grids as part of inter-organizational projects: VL-e, LCG, EGEE, DEISA, etc. Apply for certificates from this Medium-Security CA in virtually all cases, except for computer-science students.
For demonstrations and lab courses: DutchDemo X.509 CA: To be used solely for computer science students in the context of the DAS-2 system. In particular, these are of no use if you want to get access to the VL-e PoC Environment.
For tutorials in Northern Europe and the Benelux only: EGEE-NE Tutorial CA: Only for Grid tutorials. If you need to go here, you will be instructed to do so by your tutor.

By requesting a certificate or by incorporating the DutchGrid/NIKHEF CA cert into your authentication scheme, you accept to comply with the policy associated with the use of the DutchGrid/NIKHEF CA. The DutchGrid/NIKHEF CA is run on a best-effort basis only and declines any responsibility for damages, including indirect or consequential damages, arising out of the use of the DutchGrid and NIKHEF CA certificates.

The DutchGrid Medium-Security CA is an EUGridPMA Accredited Classic Authority. Root anchors registered with the TERENA Academic CA Repository.