The following discussion describes how to create the files required for SSL and RSA support in MySQL. File creation can be performed using facilities provided by MySQL itself, or by invoking the openssl command directly.

SSL certificate and key files enable MySQL to support encrypted connections using SSL. See Section 8.3.1, “Configuring MySQL to Use Encrypted Connections”.

RSA key files enable MySQL to support secure password exchange over unencrypted connections for accounts authenticated by the sha256_password (deprecated) or caching_sha2_password plugin. See Section 8.4.1.3, “SHA-256 Pluggable Authentication”, and Section 8.4.1.2, “Caching SHA-2 Pluggable Authentication”.