TLS on Windows: System and Software Requirements

The system and software requirements for using TLS on the Windows operating environment are as follows:
  • a computer that runs Windows 2000 (or later).
  • depending on your configuration, access to the Internet and a web browser.
  • the TCP/IP communications access method.
  • Microsoft Certificate Services add-on software.
  • if you run your own CA, the Microsoft Certificate Authority application (which is accessible from your web browser).
  • for SAS/CONNECT, a client session that runs on a computer that has a Trusted CA Certificate. This is necessary in order for a SAS/CONNECT client session to connect to a SAS/CONNECT server session via a Windows spawner using TLS encryption.
    The Windows spawner must run on a server that has a Trusted CA Certificate and a Personal Certificate.
  • knowledge of your site's security policy, practices, and technology. The properties of the digital certificates requested depends on the security policies that have been adopted at your site.
There is a Microsoft issue that needs attention before configuring ENCRYPTFIPS on Microsoft Windows 2003 servers.
Services that run on a computer that use Microsoft Windows Server 2003 might not recognize Windows environment variable changes. To resolve this issue, perform these steps:
Go to the Microsoft support website http://support.microsoft.com/kb/887693 to find out how to resolve the Windows 2003 Server environment variable issue.