location of server certificates

[crstml@libero.it]

Hello all

I have an Apache webserver and I want to enable it to serve contents
over https. In order to understand the entire workflow of certificate
management and how https works I have created my own CA. Essentially
I have generated a self signed certificate for my CA and installed
in my browser as a truested CA. Next I have generated a certificate for
the server and signed it with the private key of the CA.

Now I am ready to install the server certificate on the machine where
Apache runs.

Here is my question: Where will the certificate be placed in the filesystem?
Is there any recomended location?

The information I can find on the internet about this issue is not
convincing. Let me explain why:

  - some people mention /etc/ssl/certs as the appropriate location

    Isn't this folder used for Trusted CAs instead of server
    certificates? Another objection about this location: isn't this
    location managed by update-ca-certificates?

  - some pages tell you to create a folder "localcerts" under
    /etc/ssl/

    Why create it here? The entire /etc/ssl/ is managed by the os sofware.
    Why should I interfere with the OS software?

  - other pages do not specify any prefered location (e.g. the Apache
    documentation)

  - other pages say to no store the certificate inside the Apache configuration
    folder /etc/apache2  because the certificate is not something which is
    related to Apache. This advice seems right, because some day I can replace
    Apache with another server. But where to place it?

Thank you
Cristian