title: Mutual authentication in SSL/TLS
body: <p>I am new to SSL authentication and I have a requirement to authenticate two architectural components over a trust boundary with SSL (I have control over both components). I think I will need two way SSL authentication with both the server and client having certificates. </p>
  
  <p>Can the certificates be self-signed? (ie. signed by the vendor, and this won't nullify using SSL in the first place? Or do I need a third party verification service to ensure the identity of the certificate?)</p>
  
  <p>How does the handshake work in terms of public and private keys for both server and client?</p>
  
  <p>I will have to configure the server in IIS to use the cetificate, and send the client certificate with the request (most likely by configuration using WCF?), but are there any other tasks I will have to do to make this work?</p>