Unified Communications UC SSL Certificates
A Unified Communications certificate, or UC Certificate for short, is a new type of certificate developed primarily for use with Microsoft Exchange 2007 and Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 products. The defining feature, and really the only thing that makes a UC Certificate different from a normal certificate, is the use of the Subject Alternative Name field in the certificate. In the Subject Alternative Name field, or SAN for short, any number of different domain names or common names can be entered enabling the certificate to work on any of the included domain names. This allows one certificate to secure both internal network names as well as external domain names.
For example, you could get one UC SSL Certificate to cover all of the following:
mydomain.com
mail.mydomain.com
myservername.local
autodiscover.mydomain.com
anotherdomain.com
This can provide significant cost savings in many situations. A UC Certificate is also required for certain features in MS Exchange Server 2007, Office Communications Server 2007, and Live Communications Server 2005. However, even if you aren't using these applications, you can use UC Certificates to secure multiple domain names or sub-domains in one certificate. This can simplify situations that would require multiple IP addresses because one IP address per certificate is normally required. Here is a comparison of the cheapest UC SSL Certificates offered. For a list of all UC SSL Certificates, use the SSL Advanced Search.
| Certificate Name | GoDaddy's Standard UC Certificate | Comodo's Unified Communications | DigiCert's Unified Communications | Entrust's Unified Communications |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buy Now |
Buy Now |
Buy Now | Buy Now | Buy Now |
| Certificate Authority | GoDaddy | Comodo | DigiCert | Entrust |
| Certificate Authority Rating |
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|
|
|
| Price For 1 Year |
$100
|
$200
|
$328
|
$599
|
| Price For 2 Years | $180.00 | $0.00 | $590.00 | $1,099.00 |
| Multiple Year Options | Up to 10 Years | Up to 1 Year | Up to 3 Years | Up to 2 Years |
| Domains Secured | 5 Different Domain Names Included - Additional hostnames available at 5/$90. | 3 Different Domain Names Included - Each additional name is $30/year | 4 Different Domain Names Included - Each additional name is $39/year | 10 Different Domain Names Included - Additional hostnames available at 3/$99. |
| Issuance Speed | Immediate | Within 1 hour | Within 1 hour | 3-5 days |
| Validation Required | Domain Validation | Business and Domain Validation | Business and Domain Validation | Business and Domain Validation |
| Notification Level in Browsers | Domain Name Shown On Certificate Only | Domain Name and Business Name Shown On Certificate | Domain Name and Business Name Shown On Certificate | Domain Name and Business Name Shown On Certificate |
| Encryption Strength | Up to 256-bit | Up to 256-bit | Up to 256-bit | Up to 256-bit |
| Browser Compatibility | 99% | 99% | 99% | 99% |
| Includes Site Seal | Included | Included | Included | Included |
| Number of Free Reissues Allowed | 2 Free reissues within 30 days after issuance | Unlimited until expired | Unlimited until expired | Unlimited until expired |
| Server License | Single Server | Single Server | Unlimited Servers | Single Server |
| Support Options | Free Phone and Email, 24x7 | Free Chat and E-mail, 24/7 | Free Chat, Phone and E-mail, 24/6 | Free E-mail, Phone 9-5 EST |
| Support Reviews | Read reviews | Read reviews | Read reviews | Read reviews |
| Free Trial Available | No | No | No | No |
| Uses Chained Certificates | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Refund Policy | No refund | Full refund within 30 days of issuance | Full refund within 30 days of issuance | No refund |
| Warranty | $2,000 | $0 | $1,000,000 | $0 |
| Learn More | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More |
| Remove From Comparison | Remove | Remove | Remove | Remove |
| Buy Now |
Buy Now |
Buy Now | Buy Now | Buy Now |
UC Certificate Links and Resources: