See documentation.
Following are some common errors to watch out for:


It doesn't work together with Storable::fd_retrieve|fd_store, see
https://rt.cpan.org/Ticket/Display.html?id=23419.
You need to use freeze/nfreeze/thaw and syswrite/sysread the data
yourself. See the bug for examples how to do it.

---------------------

If you get an SSL connection but not certificate you might check
the cipher with Net::SSLeay::get_cipher( $socket->_get_ssl_object ).
If it is something like 'ADH-AES256-SHA' you should try to disable
ADH in your cipherlist, e.g. set SSL_cipherlist to 'ALL:!ADH'
or just leave it empty so that it uses the openssl default
which does not include ADH.

---------------------

There is a problem with openssl versions 0.9.8a and 0.9.8b, see
http://marc.theaimsgroup.com/?l=openssl-dev&m=113550694922967&w=2
The bug was fixed in newer releases, but if you are forced to use 
these buggy versions you should apply a patch to Net::SSLeay 1.30,
see http://rt.cpan.org/Public/Bug/Display.html?id=22910.

---------------------

If you plan on having IO::Socket::SSL sockets auto-close themselves
when they go out of scope (like LWP::UserAgent expects), you will
need to get Scalar::Util or WeakRef from CPAN (Scalar::Util comes
standard with Perl 5.8.0 and above).  This is because the self-tying
mechanism that IO::Socket::SSL uses to appear simultaneously as an
object and a glob reference only works if a circular reference is
used.

---------------------

Note that a random number generator is required for the proper
operation of this module.  Systems that have /dev/random or
/dev/urandom are fine, but those that do not, like most versions
of Solaris, will need to fetch one before installing IO::Socket::SSL.
If you don't already have a favorite, try EGD (egd.sourceforge.net).

---------------------

Versions of perl-ldap below v0.26 do not work with this version
of IO::Socket::SSL because they contain a workaround for old
versions of IO::Socket::SSL that breaks new versions.

---------------------

Note that when writing a preforking server (a server that accepts a
connection and then hands it off to a child for processing), it is
best to handle SSL negotiation after the socket has been passed to
the child (using socket_to_SSL()).  If implemented so that the server
handles negotiation, a failed negotiation may tie up the server until
the connection times out.

---------------------

One user mentioned that the following did not work as it should in
IO::Socket::SSL, but worked in IO::Socket::INET:

chomp($var = <$socket>);
print ord(chop($var));    # Prints "10" for people using ASCII

This is due to a bug in Perl that is fixed in 5.8.1.  If you need
a workaround, try one of the following:

chomp($var = $socket->getline());
chomp($var = scalar <$socket>);
chomp($var = $var = <$socket>);

Any function that returns the value of <$socket> (in scalar context)
unchanged will work.

---------------------

If you have 384-bit RSA keys you need to use Diffie Hellman Key Exchange.
See the parameter SSL_dh_file or SSL_dh for how to use it and
http://groups.google.de/group/mailing.openssl.users/msg/d60330cfa7a6034b
for an explanation why you need it.

-- 
Steffen Ullrich (Steffen_Ullrich at genua.de)
Peter Behroozi (behrooz at fas.harvard.edu)