Customizing the OtherName field

When you use the OtherName field, you are able to bind additional identities or owner information to the subject of the certificate using the subject alternate name extension. These identities might take different forms, such as employee numbers, customer account numbers, and other identities that you choose to use.

The OtherName value is a concatenated string that consists of one or more pairs of OIDs and their associated values. The string is saved in the subject alternate name extension in the certificate.

PKI Services implements the OtherName field as a customizable INSERT called AltOther_<OID>. The following certificate template in pkiserv.tmpl is supplied to illustrate the use of the INSERT fields.

Template Name - n-Year PKI Certificate for Extensions Demonstration

The n-year PKI certificate template builds a certificate using information provided primarily by users, rather than information that you control. For demonstration purposes, the template builds a certificate that contains all extensions that are supported by PKI Services. The template contains two sample OtherName fields:

%%AltOther_1_2_3_4_5%%: Builds one input field.
%%AltOther_1_2_3_4_6%%: Builds two input fields.

The AltOther_1_2_3_4_5 string represents an OtherName field with OID 1.2.3.4.5, an 11-character string that stores a customer account number. The AltOther_1_2_3_4_6 string represents an OtherName field with OID 1.2.3.4.6, a 17-character string that stores a 9-digit license number and an expiration date in the yyyymmdd format.

When you choose to use the OtherName field to build the subject alternate name extension, you might also want to customize the end-user web pages to allow end-users to enter the required information using customized input screens that are easier for them to use. For example, rather than asking a user to enter a string like the one shown below, you can prompt the user to enter a 9-digit license number and its expiration date.

Example of an OtherName field value:

1.2.3.4.6,12345678920050215