How to install Let’s Encrypt SSL Certs

Some of our websites are using free SSL certs provided by Let’s Encrypt.

e.g. https://solusvm.hostcentral.net

It provides a free solution to any service requiring SSL certificates. These SSL certs expire every 3 months but they can be easily renewed.

The below example is catered for solusvm.hostcentral.net in SG0742

1. Installation of Certbot

# yum install git -y
# cd /root
# git clone https://github.com/certbot/certbot

2. Generation of the SSL Cert

# cd /root/certbot
# ./certbot-auto certonly --webroot -w /usr/local/solusvm/www -d solusvm.hostcentral.net

Note: the domain name needs to be publicly resolvable

3. Renewal of the SSL Cert

# cd /root/certbot
# ./certbot-auto renew

4. Replacing the SSL Certs

# cd /etc/letsencrypt/live/solusvm.hostcentral.net
# cat privkey.pem cert.pem > solusvm.pem
cp /etc/letsencrypt/live/solusvm.hostcentral.net/solusvm.pem /usr/local/solusvm/ssl/cert.pem
cp /etc/letsencrypt/live/solusvm.hostcentral.net/fullchain.pem /usr/local/svmstack/nginx/ssl/ssl.crt
cp /etc/letsencrypt/live/solusvm.hostcentral.net/privkey.pem /usr/local/svmstack/nginx/ssl/ssl.key

service lighttpd restart
service svmstack-nginx restart

If apache throws an error which being restarted, it means wrong files have been provided.

5. Verify the SSL Cert is Properly installed