If the server certificate or private key is not correct, the server will not start and returns the following message:

Certificate file does not exist or file is not valid.
Private key file does not exist or file is not valid.

If you do not provide the certificate information in the [AGENT] section of the ssa.ini, but provide it in the [SERVER] section, and then try to start the server, the server does not start. You receive the following message:

If you do not provide the certificate information in the [ADMIN] section of the ssa.ini file and try to connect ssaadmin to the host using the hostname and port number, the connection fails with a timeout.

If you do not provide the certificate information, SSL = 1 parameter, or host that is either the common name or an alternate name, in the nucleus.ini file, and try to connect with a client like ssasql, you receive an error. The SQL Worksheet and other ODBC tools will timeout after one minute in this scenario.