CAs issue different kinds of certificates, differing in what kind of checks the CA has made on the owner and consequently
what purpose the certificate serves - in what roles it guarantees the owner as trustworthy. For example:
- Typically, a CA issues its own root CA machine with a self-signed root certificate
- If you are the owner of a Web site accessed by the general public, you can request a server identification certificate (server
certificate for short), confirming to your clients the identity of your server
- If you are engaged in business-to-business communications (B2B), you will probably want a client certificate, confirming the
identity of your site
Exactly what the certificate certifies - in other words, its purpose - is stated in the certificate.