How to Generate a CSR Without a Common Name

This guide explains step by step how to generate a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) without a Common Name (CN) using Nginx (OpenSSL). Generating a CSR without a Common Name is required to produce a GoGetSSL™ Public IP SAN product. This is a special product that lets you secure public IP addresses through the domain validation process. Most devices require HTTPS to be installed with a Public IP address without an FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name).

Step 1: Log In to Your Server

First you need to access your server. If you're working on a local Linux machine, you can press CTRL+ALT+T or CTRL+ALT+F1 to open a terminal window. If you're connecting remotely, log in to your server via SSH:

Code: ssh username@server_ip

Step 2: Generate the CSR and Private Key

Run the following command to generate a new CSR and private key. Replace new with your actual public IP address or any custom name without dots.

Code: openssl req -new -newkey rsa:2048 -nodes -keyout new.key -out new.csr

Explanation of the command:

• openssl – invokes the OpenSSL software.
• req – specifies that a CSR should be generated.
• -new – generates a new CSR.
• -newkey rsa:2048 – generates a new 2048-bit RSA key.
• -nodes – leaves the private key unencrypted (no password protection).
• -keyout – specifies the name of the private key file.
• -out – specifies the name of the CSR file.

Note: In most cases, a 2048-bit RSA key is both secure and efficient. You can also opt for a more secure but more resource-intensive 4096-bit key, or the ECC algorithm.

Step 3: Enter the CSR Information

After running the command, you'll be asked to enter the information required for your CSR. Enter your information as follows:

• Common Name (CN): Leave this field blank (required for a Public IP SAN).
• Organization: You can leave it blank or enter any name.
• Organization Unit (OU): You can enter something like "IT" or "Security".
• City or Locality: Enter your city.
• State or Province: Enter your region or state.
• Country: Enter your country code (in ISO-2 format, e.g., US for the United States, TR for Turkey).

Important: Do not set a password for the private key, as this can prevent the SSL certificate from being generated correctly.

Step 4: Locate the CSR File

Once CSR generation is complete, the .csr file will be saved in the directory you were working in. You can use the following command to list CSR files:

Code: ls *.csr

Step 5 (Optional): View the CSR in the Console

If you want to inspect the generated CSR's content, you can open it in a text editor with the following command:

Code: sudo nano new.csr

This step is optional, but can be useful if you want to review the CSR before submitting it.

Conclusion

Once the CSR is generated, it can be submitted to obtain an SSL certificate for the public IP address. After receiving the certificate, you can complete the SSL installation by uploading it to your server together with your private key.