Management Best Practices

Certificate lifecycle management becomes more critical with wildcard and SAN certificates due to their broader impact. Establish clear ownership and responsibility for these high-value certificates. Implement robust monitoring to ensure timely renewal, as expiration affects multiple services simultaneously. Automated monitoring systems should check certificate validity across all protected hostnames, not just primary domains.

Security practices for wildcard and SAN certificates require enhanced rigor. Implement hardware security modules (HSMs) or key management services for private key protection. Use certificate pinning cautiously, as the broad coverage complicates pin management. Regular security audits should examine all systems with access to private keys. Consider implementing separate certificates for production and non-production environments to limit risk exposure.

Documentation becomes crucial when managing complex certificate deployments. Maintain detailed records of all hostnames covered, servers using certificates, renewal procedures, and responsible personnel. Document the business justification for wildcard versus individual certificates. Clear documentation ensures continuity when personnel change and supports compliance auditing requirements.