# Installation on remote server first steps **URL:** \ **Category:** Help\ **Created:** [August 20, 2019, 6:25am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/installation-on-remote-server-first-steps/100268 "2019-08-20T06:25:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![sotiredofnames](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dec6dc/32.png) [@sotiredofnames](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/sotiredofnames)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 6:25am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/installation-on-remote-server-first-steps/100268/1 "2019-08-20T06:25:46Z")
Please fill out the fields below so we can help you better. Note: you must provide your domain name to get help. Domain names for issued certificates are all made public in Certificate Transparency logs (e.g. [https://crt.sh/?q=example.com](https://crt.sh/?q=example.com)), so withholding your domain name here does not increase secrecy, but only makes it harder for us to provide help. My domain is: [bloq-e.de](http://bloq-e.de) I ran this command: no, I ‘installed’ the certificate It produced this output: 443:0 server certificate is a CA certificate (BasicConstraints: CA == TRUE !?) My web server is (include version): apache 2.4 I think, surely above 2.4 The operating system my web server runs on is (include version): no idea My hosting provider, if applicable, is: [webgo.de](http://webgo.de) I can login to a root shell on my machine (yes or no, or I don’t know): I don’t know I’m using a control panel to manage my site (no, or provide the name and version of the control panel): no The version of my client is (e.g. output of `certbot --version` or `certbot-auto --version` if you’re using Certbot): i don’t use cerbot but manual verification First, I did read the following kind of instructions: > **[How It Works - Let's Encrypt - Free SSL/TLS Certificates](https://letsencrypt.org/how-it-works/)** > > The objective of Let’s Encrypt and the ACME protocol is to make it possible to set up an HTTPS server and have it automatically obtain a browser-trusted certificate, without any human intervention. This is accomplished by running a certificate... [https://letsencrypt.org/getting-started/](https://letsencrypt.org/getting-started/) - sorry, but not helpful I’ve been researching this isssue for a few days by now, and I read sudo, and cerbot and windows server and openSSL what do I know, but nothing clean. I need it clean. I do have an apache on my own computer, just fine, but I’m not a pro. My hoster, however, does support let’sEncrypt, but only for more expensive packages. I recap what I did so far: I hope this contribution will help others, or, after getting through with it, you might add it to your getting started - thing. This link helped me a lot to get started - getting practical: [https://www.borncity.com/blog/2017/05/05/lets-encrypt-ssl-zertifikat-fr-hosteurope-installieren/](https://www.borncity.com/blog/2017/05/05/lets-encrypt-ssl-zertifikat-fr-hosteurope-installieren/) in german, sorry so following this blog, I first went to [https://www.sslforfree.com/](https://www.sslforfree.com/) got two files I loaded up to my server went back to [sslforfree.com](http://sslforfree.com), clicked the link - so they check, if the two files verily are on my server, and got me three text fields with private key, certificate and ca bundle. Now comes the fun part My host actually offers in my menu ‘add SSL’ and then offers me 4 text fields in which I did paste the text; CRT, CSR (I left this one empty), PrivateKey, and CA (optinal). They don’t provide any instructions, or explanations. Then it activated it, and shifted the text from CA to CSR I do get the message “SSL-Certificate” for this domain. Then I went to [https://www.sslshopper.com/ssl-checker.html](https://www.sslshopper.com/ssl-checker.html) they check on the certificate, basically said it’s ok. And it was not, but maybe after 48 hours it would have been. in the mean time, I don’t know why, I get 400 bad request. I read that, although SSL is in the menu, my host does not offer Let’sEncrypt for my packet, unless I pay every month like 15 euros. Anyway, I have my own apache running - part of the deal - and I wanna make it work. Recap / problems first, I have two domains: [bloq-e.de](http://bloq-e.de) and [www.bloq-e.de](http://www.bloq-e.de) I read I need a certificate for each of them! I also read, I first need to make sure, that none of the above is redirected to the other one. As for now, [www.bloq-e.de](http://www.bloq-e.de) ist redirected to [bloq-e.de](http://bloq-e.de) but I don’t find no such entry in the host’s httpd.conf I also read, after installing the certificate(s), I have to redirect the http:// to https://, after! redirecting [www.bloq-e.de](http://www.bloq-e.de) to [bloq-e.de](http://bloq-e.de) Is that true? I also found an instruction on how to upload the certificate files - not the text - onto my server. but the instruction raised more questions than it answered. I got very nervous when I read I was supposed to upload the privateKey to a safe place??? What’s that? How do I do that? Then I again and again read: I first have to create a virtual host in apache. On port 443. which requires the serverName. And I don’t know this. Or may, since I upload my files via FileZilla / FTP, and there I have to enter the server, it maybe is “s192.goserver.host”. So what I’m trying to tell you here is: I’m totally lost. And I’d greatly appreciate to get the picture of the installation Do I have shell-access? I don’t know. This is a weird host, who turns customers into children. I can access / overwrite the httpd.conf, but … yeah well, the host gives me a text field with all entries they made on the apache server - each client has their ‘own’ server running. Actually, it’s not clear that these are all entries. And in my root, there is a htaccess file which is plain empty. ---
**Author:** ![\_az](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/22d042/32.png) [@\_az](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/_az)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2019, 7:37am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/installation-on-remote-server-first-steps/100268/2 "2019-08-20T07:37:45Z")
I think that the person who can answer your questions adequately is going to be a support representative of [webgo.de](http://webgo.de). The reason for this is that your hosting provider is using some custom control panel/server management software that nobody on this forum is likely to be familiar with. You have your private key and certificate from sslforfree, that’s great. The basic way to configure an SSL certificate with Apache is documented on [https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/ssl/ssl\_howto.html](https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/ssl/ssl_howto.html) , under “Basic Configuration Example”. You can more or less copy it as it is written, substituting the `ServerName` for `bloq-e.de` (and maybe adding `ServerAlias www.bloq-e.de`) and substituting `SSLCertificateFile` and `SSLCertificateKeyFile` with the files you obtained from sslforfree. But I don’t know if it is going to work, because we have no way of knowing how it is going to interact with your host’s control panel. For this reason, it is best to ask them for guidance. Additionally, it seems that your host uses nginx in front of Apache. So I am not convinced that this is going to work at all, as nginx is dealing with SSL, not Apache. ---
**Author:** ![sotiredofnames](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dec6dc/32.png) [@sotiredofnames](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/sotiredofnames)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2019, 6:17am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/installation-on-remote-server-first-steps/100268/3 "2019-08-22T06:17:27Z")
Thanks for your endeavors. And I think your right! I got an error statement: 502 Bad Gateway, mentionning nginx. I’m switching to another hoster now, one who truely support Let’sEncrypt. Thanks again. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/letsencrypt/original/3X/c/a/ca6c06ea1ea201324bba7048c6841ce60236468d.png) [@system](https://community.letsencrypt.org/u/system)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2019, 6:17am UTC](https://community.letsencrypt.org/t/installation-on-remote-server-first-steps/100268/4 "2019-09-21T06:17:30Z")
Closed on September 21, 2019, 6:17am UTC This topic was automatically closed 30 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.