Identity & Certificate Management Flashcards

Which tool is commonly used to generate cryptographic material (certificates and keys) for a Hyperledger Fabric network?

Answer: cryptogen

The `cryptogen` tool is the standard Fabric utility for generating all required cryptographic material based on a network topology defined in a crypto-config.yaml file.

What is the key difference between a local MSP and a channel MSP in Hyperledger Fabric?

Answer: Local MSP defines identity at the node level, while channel MSP defines membership rules for a specific channel

A local MSP defines the identity and permissions of a specific node or user, while a channel MSP defines the rules for validating identities that can participate in a given channel.

What does CRL stand for in Hyperledger Fabric identity management?

Answer: Certificate Revocation List

CRL stands for Certificate Revocation List, which identifies certificates that have been revoked and should no longer be trusted within the Fabric network.

What is the purpose of the `signcerts` folder within an MSP directory structure?

Answer: To store the entity's own signing certificate used for identity

The `signcerts` folder in an MSP directory contains the entity's own X.509 certificate used for signing transactions and proposals.

What is the role of the `admincerts` folder in a Hyperledger Fabric MSP?

Answer: It contains certificates of identities with administrative privileges for the organization

The `admincerts` folder contains certificates of identities granted administrative privileges, allowing them to perform admin operations like instantiating chaincode on channels.

Why must an identity be registered before it can be enrolled in Hyperledger Fabric CA?

Answer: Registration creates a record of the identity in the CA database before credentials can be issued

Registration creates an entry in the CA's database with the identity's attributes and secret, which is required before the identity can enroll to receive its X.509 certificates.

What is an affiliation in Hyperledger Fabric CA?

Answer: An organizational hierarchy used to associate identities with specific departments or groups

Affiliations in Fabric CA represent organizational hierarchies (e.g., org1.department1) and are used to associate identities with specific parts of an organization when registering.