In a client-server network environment, entities identify themselves using digital certificates. The usage assigned to a certificate when it is connected to a key ring indicates its intended purpose.
Personal certificates are to be used by the local server application to identify itself.
Certificate-authority certificates are to be used to verify the peer entity's certificate. Peers with certificates issued by certificate authorities connected to the key ring are considered trusted network entities. Peers possessing certificates that can not be verified because the certificate-authority certificate is not available may also be considered trusted if their personal certificates are connected to the key ring as a trusted site certificate. Use caution when connecting a peer's certificate to a key ring as a trusted site certificate. The normal certificate verification tests performed by the server on the peer's certificate are bypassed in this case.