Some clarifications on an SSL certificate

Question

I currently have a secured site running at https://current.example.ca and the certificate is bound to current.example.ca. I also have a new version of the site running at https://new.example.com. If I use the current certificate on the new site, I will get the following warning from Google Chrome:

You attempted to reach new.example.com, but instead you actually reached a server identifying itself as current.example.ca.

What are the steps that I should take to get a new certificate for my new site? Should I:

1. Re-generate a new public/private key pair
2. Send the new public key along with the new distinguished name new.example.ca to a CA to get a new one

What are your thoughts?

Answer 1

If your CA will do you a multisite certificate for a sensible amount of money, you should attempt to get the certificate reissued with multiple names. However, on the basis that they're separate vhosts on separate SSL IP addresses, generating a new key and CSR and buying another certificate is a perfectly valid option.