Role configuration for Certificate Enrollment Policy Web Service fails with error message "The argument is null or empty."

Assume the following scenario:

• A role configuration for the Certificate Enrollment Policy Web Service (CEP) is performed using PowersShell (Install-AdcsEnrollmentPolicyWebService).
• The role configuration fails with the following error message:

Cannot validate argument on parameter 'SSLCertThumbprint'. The argument is null or empty. Provide an argument that is not null or empty, and then try the command again.

The Certificate Enrollment Web Services (Certificate Enrollment Policy Web Service, CEP, and Certificate Enrollment Web Service, CES) enable the automatic request and renewal of certificates from a certification authority via a Web-based interface. This eliminates the need to contact the certification authority directly via Remote Procedure Call (RPC). For a more detailed description, see the article "Certificate request basics via Certificate Enrollment Web Services (CEP, CES)„.

This error occurs when no valid thumbprint for an SSL certificate is passed to the SSLCertThumbprint argument.

Related links:

• Installing a Certificate Enrollment Policy Web Service (CEP)
• Configuring a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Certificate Template for Web Server