Managing keys and certificates 447
Nortel WLAN—Security Switch 2300 Series Configuration Guide
Public key infrastructures
A public-key infrastructure (PKI) is a system of digital certificates and certification authorities that verify and
authenticate the validity of each party involved in a transaction through the use of public key cryptography. To
have a PKI, the WSS requires the following:
• A public key
• A private key
• Digital certificates
•A CA
• A secure place to store the private key
A PKI enables you to securely exchange and validate digital certificates between WSS switches, servers, and
users so that each device can authenticate itself to the others.