JGridstart/Releases/1.0alpha1

JGridstart 1.0alpha1 is the very first pre-release of jGridstart. You are welcome to test this version! Please notify us of any bugs you find, for the moment via email wvengen+jgridstart@nikhef.nl .

As a pre-release, you need to know that this version contains bugs and is not suitable for end-users. Additionaly, there are some ways in which it differs from the final product by design:

• While production grid certificates reside in ~/.globus, this version operates on ~/.globus-test to keep it safe (so you won't see your current grid certificate, if any). Later versions will operate on ~/.globus by default.
• Certificate requests are posted to a test certificate authority, so you can play with it as you like without bothering the real CA.

Getting started

To request a dummy certificate via jGridstart, please follow these steps:

1. Open jGridstart 1.0alpha via java web start
2. Request a new certificate (if this is not clear upon running jGridstart, it is considered a bug)
3. When you have submitted your request, you don't need to visit a registration authority in person for this test. Instead, you can validate your own certificate by visiting the test certificate authority: locate your certificate, and press the lock icon to make your certificate valid.
4. Close the wizard; restart jGridstart or refresh (F5/menu). This will show what to do next.

Importing your existing certificate is possible from a PKCS#12/PEM file containing your certificate or CSR _with_ your private key.

Please test and try to get it to misbehave :) It's alpha-software so you'll probably succeed, this will help me to get it fixed before releasing the software in the wild. Known issues will be added below.

Known issues

• Major functionality
  • Print and PDF export of verification form shows neither form fields nor their contents
  • Certificate extensions are not preserved when renewing a certificate
• Small bugs
  • Verification form printout/PDF should fit on a single page
  • Wizard to request a new certificate, retrieve, install and renew it can take a long time to load
  • Import of PKCS#12/PEM files without a private key results in incomplete certificates at next run
  • Entering a wrong password when importing a PKCS#12/PEM file doesn't allow one to specify another password
  • Selecting a different web browser in installation step still opens default browser when opening a link

These issues are being addressed in current development.