Creating a certificate

This recipe demonstrates how you can create a certificate using PowerShell and SMO.

Getting ready

In this recipe, we will create a certificate called Test Certificate, protected by the database master key. You will need to make sure that the database master key has been created first for the database.

The T-SQL equivalent of what we are trying to accomplish is:

CREATE CERTIFICATE [Test Certificate]
WITH SUBJECT = N'This is a test certificate.', 
START_DATE = N'02/10/2012', 
EXPIRY_DATE = N'01/01/2015'

How to do it...

Let's list the steps required to complete the task.

1. Open the PowerShell console by going to Start | Accessories | Windows PowerShell | Windows PowerShell ISE.

2. Import the SQLPS module, and create a new SMO Server object:

   #import SQL Server module
   Import-Module SQLPS -DisableNameChecking
   
   #replace this with your instance name
   $instanceName = "KERRIGAN"
   $server = New-Object -TypeName Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Smo.Server -ArgumentList $instanceName

3. Add the following...