Comprehensive and Detailed Explanation From Exact Extract of Forescout Platform Administration and Deployment:
According to the Forescout RADIUS Plugin Configuration Guide and CSR Generation documentation, the information that must be known prior to generating a Certificate Signing Request (CSR) is Hostname, IP Address, and FQDN.
Information Required for CSR Generation:
According to the RADIUS Plugin Configuration Guide:
"When you generate the certificate signing request (CSR), you must know the following information about the system requesting the certificate:
The hostname of the system
The IP address of the system
The FQDN (Fully Qualified Domain Name) of the system"
Standard CSR Requirements:
According to the official documentation:
When generating a CSR, the following information is typically requested:
Common Name (CN) - The FQDN or hostname of the system
IP Address - The IP address of the appliance or device
Organization Name - The organization/company name
Organization Unit (OU) - Department or division
Locality (L) - City or town
State (ST) - State or province
Country (C) - Country code
Key Type - Typically RSA (2048-bit minimum)
Core Required Elements:
The most critical information that MUST be known before generating the CSR:
Hostname - The computer/appliance name (e.g., "counteract-em-01")
IP Address - The management IP address of the appliance (e.g., "192.168.1.50")
FQDN - The fully qualified domain name (e.g., "counteract-em-01.example.com")
These three pieces of information are essential because:
The certificate's validity is tied to these identifiers
The CSR encodes these values
The CA uses this information to validate the certificate request
Endpoints and systems verify certificates against these values
Why Other Options Are Incorrect:
A. Certificate extension, format requirements, Encryption Type - These are configuration options, not prerequisite knowledge; extension type (e.g., .pfx, .pem) is determined after CSR signing
C. IP address, CA, Host Name - Missing FQDN; while CA information is needed eventually, it's not required to GENERATE the CSR
D. Revocation Authority, Certificate Extension, CA - Revocation authority and certificate extension are post-generation concerns; not needed to generate CSR
E. CA, Domain Name, Administrators Name - Administrator name is not necessary for CSR generation; CA information is needed for obtaining signed certificate, not generating CSR
CSR Generation Process:
According to the documentation:
Gather Required Information - Collect hostname, IP address, and FQDN
Generate CSR - Use tools like fstool cert gen to create the CSR file
Answer Prompts - Provide the hostname, IP, and FQDN when prompted
Submit to CA - Send the CSR file to a Certificate Authority for signing
Receive Signed Certificate - CA returns the signed certificate
CSR File Output:
According to the documentation:
The CSR generation process creates a file (typically ca_request.csr) containing:
The encoded hostname, IP address, and FQDN
The public key
The signature algorithm
Other system identification information
This file is then submitted to a Certificate Authority for signing.
Referenced Documentation:
Forescout RADIUS Plugin Configuration Guide v4.3 - Certificate Readiness section
Create a Certificate Sign Request documentation
How to Create a CSR (Certificate Signing Request) - DigiCert Reference
RADIUS Plugin Configuration - System Certificate section
