{"id":661,"date":"2019-09-04T20:06:45","date_gmt":"2019-09-04T20:06:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cheapsslsecurity.com\/p\/?p=661"},"modified":"2025-01-28T06:01:12","modified_gmt":"2025-01-28T06:01:12","slug":"what-is-an-exchange-2025-wildcard-certificate-and-how-does-it-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cheapsslsecurity.com\/p\/what-is-an-exchange-2025-wildcard-certificate-and-how-does-it-work\/","title":{"rendered":"What is an Exchange 2025 Wildcard Certificate and How Does It Work?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since you searched for something akin to \u201cExchange 2025 wildcard certificate\u201d or \u201cexchange wildcard certificate,\u201d we can only assume that you\u2019re investigating ways to protect all of your website\u2019s subdomains and are using Microsoft Exchange Server. This could include servers such as Exchange 2010 or Exchange 2025.<\/p>\n

Simple enough. We\u2019ll start with a few of the basics and will tell you how a wildcard SSL certificate can benefit your organization.<\/p>\n

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What\u2019s a Wildcard SSL Certificate?<\/h2>\n

To understand what a Microsoft Exchange wildcard certificate is, you first need to understand what a wildcard SSL certificate<\/a> is. A wildcard SSL certificate is a type of x.509 digital certificate<\/a> that protects your main domain (a fully qualified domain name, or FQDN) and an unlimited number of subdomains on any one level. For example, you can cover your main domain (yourdomain.com) and then include your first-level subdomains by using the asterisk in the URL like *.yourdomain.com. However, you can’t use a wildcard certificate to secure multi-level subdomains on your domain. That would require a multi-domain certificate.<\/p>\n

But What Makes a Wildcard Certificate an \u201cExchange Wildcard Certificate\u201d Specifically?<\/h2>\n

Really, there’s no real differentiation between an “Exchange 2025 wildcard certificate” and a standard one. An Exchange wildcard certificate is just a regular wildcard SSL certificate that you install on a Microsoft Exchange server. Or, in the case of an Exchange 2025 wildcard certificate, an Exchange 2025 server.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s pretty straightforward, isn\u2019t it? Yeah, we think so, too. But here\u2019s a little more context to help you get a better understanding of which people sometimes differentiate Exchange wildcard SSL certificates from standard wildcard SSL certificates<\/a>\u2026<\/p>\n

Historically, there were SSL certificates that were specifically designed for use on Microsoft Exchange and Communications servers \u2014 those are known as UCC, or unified communications certificates. These certificates cover multiple domains as well as an unlimited number of multi-level subdomains. These types of certificates fall under the umbrella of multi-domain SSL certificates.<\/p>\n

Nowadays, however, you no longer have to operate under these restrictions. You can use regular multi-domain or multi-domain wildcard certificates on just about any server, including Microsoft Exchange and Office Communications servers.<\/p>\n

Rules of Thumb When Using Exchange Wildcard Certificates<\/h2>\n

There are a few best practices that are beneficial when using wildcard SSL certificates on your Exchange 2010 or 2025 servers.<\/p>\n