diff --git a/pom.xml b/pom.xml
index 6e1f5c59a7..cc63a43e29 100644
--- a/pom.xml
+++ b/pom.xml
@@ -46,7 +46,7 @@
     <doclint>none</doclint>
 
     <!-- Set versions for depending projects -->
-    <org.apache.directory.api.version>2.1.9</org.apache.directory.api.version>
+    <org.apache.directory.api.version>2.1.10-SNAPSHOT</org.apache.directory.api.version>
     <org.apache.directory.mavibot.version>1.0.0-M8</org.apache.directory.mavibot.version>
     <org.apache.directory.checkstyle-configuration.version>2.0.2</org.apache.directory.checkstyle-configuration.version>
     <org.apache.directory.jdbm.version>2.0.0-M3</org.apache.directory.jdbm.version>
diff --git a/protocol-ldap/src/main/java/org/apache/directory/server/ldap/replication/ReplicationTrustManager.java b/protocol-ldap/src/main/java/org/apache/directory/server/ldap/replication/ReplicationTrustManager.java
index 108e07ca7b..2400e53e72 100644
--- a/protocol-ldap/src/main/java/org/apache/directory/server/ldap/replication/ReplicationTrustManager.java
+++ b/protocol-ldap/src/main/java/org/apache/directory/server/ldap/replication/ReplicationTrustManager.java
@@ -22,6 +22,9 @@
 
 
 import java.io.ByteArrayInputStream;
+import java.io.File;
+import java.io.FileInputStream;
+import java.io.InputStream;
 import java.security.KeyStore;
 import java.security.cert.CertificateException;
 import java.security.cert.X509Certificate;
@@ -38,9 +41,11 @@
 
 /**
  * A X509TrustManager implementation used by the replication subsystem.
- * This implementation doesn't require the certificates to be stored in a file, instead
- * it parses the given certificates of replica peers using Bouncycastle's X509CertParser 
- * and stores them in the in-memory KeyStore.
+ * It is seeded with the JVM default trust store (the 'javax.net.ssl.trustStore'
+ * file, or the 'cacerts' file of the Java installation) so that certificates
+ * signed by a trusted CA are accepted out of the box. Certificates of replica
+ * peers can be added on top of that by parsing them with Bouncycastle's
+ * X509CertParser and storing them in the in-memory KeyStore.
  * 
  * The SunX509 TrustManagerFactory is then initialized using this KeyStore and the
  * resulting X509TrustManager present in this factory's TrustManagers will be used
@@ -85,7 +90,7 @@ private ReplicationTrustManager()
     {
         try
         {
-            ks.load( null, null ); // initiate with null stream and password, this keystore resides in-memory only
+            loadDefaultTrustStore();
 
             TrustManagerFactory tmFactory = TrustManagerFactory.getInstance( TrustManagerFactory.getDefaultAlgorithm() );
             tmFactory.init( ks );
@@ -110,6 +115,70 @@ private ReplicationTrustManager()
     }
 
 
+    /**
+     * Initializes the in-memory keystore with the JVM default trust store:
+     * either the file configured through the 'javax.net.ssl.trustStore' system
+     * property, or the 'cacerts' file of the Java installation. If none of
+     * them can be loaded, the keystore is left empty and certificates can
+     * still be added via {@link #addCertificate(String, byte[])}.
+     */
+    private void loadDefaultTrustStore()
+    {
+        String trustStoreFile = System.getProperty( "javax.net.ssl.trustStore" );
+        char[] trustStorePassword = null;
+
+        String trustStorePasswordValue = System.getProperty( "javax.net.ssl.trustStorePassword" );
+
+        if ( trustStorePasswordValue != null )
+        {
+            trustStorePassword = trustStorePasswordValue.toCharArray();
+        }
+
+        try
+        {
+            if ( trustStoreFile != null )
+            {
+                try ( InputStream in = new FileInputStream( trustStoreFile ) )
+                {
+                    ks.load( in, trustStorePassword );
+                }
+            }
+            else
+            {
+                File cacertsFile = new File( System.getProperty( "java.home" ),
+                    "lib" + File.separator + "security" + File.separator + "cacerts" );
+
+                if ( cacertsFile.exists() )
+                {
+                    try ( InputStream in = new FileInputStream( cacertsFile ) )
+                    {
+                        ks.load( in, trustStorePassword );
+                    }
+                }
+                else
+                {
+                    ks.load( null, null );
+                }
+            }
+        }
+        catch ( Exception e )
+        {
+            LOG.warn( "failed to load the default trust store, continuing with an empty keystore", e );
+
+            try
+            {
+                ks = KeyStore.getInstance( KeyStore.getDefaultType() );
+                ks.load( null, null );
+            }
+            catch ( Exception ke )
+            {
+                // cannot happen with a null stream and null password
+                LOG.error( "failed to initialize an empty keystore", ke );
+            }
+        }
+    }
+
+
     /**
      * loads the given map of [alias-name, certificate-data] entries into the keystore
      * to be used by the trust manager
diff --git a/protocol-ldap/src/main/java/org/apache/directory/server/ldap/replication/SyncReplConfiguration.java b/protocol-ldap/src/main/java/org/apache/directory/server/ldap/replication/SyncReplConfiguration.java
index e5731e3af2..7671096d89 100644
--- a/protocol-ldap/src/main/java/org/apache/directory/server/ldap/replication/SyncReplConfiguration.java
+++ b/protocol-ldap/src/main/java/org/apache/directory/server/ldap/replication/SyncReplConfiguration.java
@@ -55,7 +55,8 @@
  *   <li>configEntryDn : the configuration entry's DN</li>
  *   <li>chaseReferrals : tells if we chase referrals, defaults to false</li>
  *   <li>cookie : the replication cookie</li>
- *   <li>useTls : the connection uses TLS, defaults to true</li>
+ *   <li>useTls : the connection uses TLS (= StartTLS over LDAP), defaults to true</li>
+ *   <li>useSsl : the connection uses SSL (= LDAPS), defaults to false</li>
  *   <li>trustManager : the trustManager to use, defaults to {@link ReplicationTrustManager}</li>
  * </ul>
  * 
@@ -119,9 +120,12 @@ public class SyncReplConfiguration implements ReplicationConsumerConfig
     /** flag to indicate whether to chase referrals or not, default is false hence passes ManageDsaITControl with syncsearch request*/
     private boolean chaseReferrals = false;
 
-    /** flag to indicate the use of TLS, default is true */
+    /** flag to indicate the use of TLS (= StartTLS over LDAP), default is true */
     private boolean useTls = true;
 
+    /** flag to indicate the use of SSL (= LDAPS), default is false */
+    private boolean useSsl = false;
+
     /** the X509 certificate trust manager used, default value set to {@link ReplicationTrustManager} */
     private X509TrustManager trustManager = ReplicationTrustManager.getInstance();
 
@@ -489,7 +493,7 @@ public Dn getConfigEntryDn()
 
 
     /**
-     * @return true if we use TLS
+     * @return true if we use TLS (= StartTLS over LDAP)
      */
     public boolean isUseTls()
     {
@@ -498,9 +502,9 @@ public boolean isUseTls()
 
 
     /**
-     * set the option to turn on/off use of TLS
+     * set the option to turn on/off use of TLS (= StartTLS over LDAP)
      * 
-     * @param useTls If we have to use TLS
+     * @param useTls If we have to use TLS (= StartTLS over LDAP)
      */
     public void setUseTls( boolean useTls )
     {
@@ -508,6 +512,25 @@ public void setUseTls( boolean useTls )
     }
 
 
+    /**
+     * @return true if we use SSL (= LDAPS)
+     */
+    public boolean isUseSsl()
+    {
+        return useSsl;
+    }
+
+
+    /**
+     * set the option to turn on/off use of SSL (= LDAPS)
+     * 
+     * @param useSsl If we have to use SSL (= LDAPS)
+     */
+    public void setUseSsl( boolean useSsl )
+    {
+        this.useSsl = useSsl;
+    }
+
     /**
      * @return The Trustmanager instance
      */
@@ -643,7 +666,7 @@ public String toString()
         sb.append( "provider:" ).append( producer ).append( ", " );
         sb.append( "user:'" ).append( replUserDn ).append( "', " );
 
-        sb.append( "TLS:" ).append( useTls ).append( "]" );
+        sb.append( "TLS:" ).append( useTls ).append( ", SSL:" ).append( useSsl ).append( "]" );
 
         return sb.toString();
     }
diff --git a/protocol-ldap/src/main/java/org/apache/directory/server/ldap/replication/consumer/ReplicationConsumerImpl.java b/protocol-ldap/src/main/java/org/apache/directory/server/ldap/replication/consumer/ReplicationConsumerImpl.java
index e2c292f783..8d7902623e 100644
--- a/protocol-ldap/src/main/java/org/apache/directory/server/ldap/replication/consumer/ReplicationConsumerImpl.java
+++ b/protocol-ldap/src/main/java/org/apache/directory/server/ldap/replication/consumer/ReplicationConsumerImpl.java
@@ -222,7 +222,12 @@ public boolean connect()
                 connection = new LdapNetworkConnection( providerHost, port );
                 connection.setSchemaManager( schemaManager );
 
-                if ( config.isUseTls() )
+                if ( config.isUseSsl() )
+                {
+                    connection.getConfig().setTrustManagers( config.getTrustManager() );
+                    connection.getConfig().setUseSsl( true );
+                }
+                else if ( config.isUseTls() )
                 {
                     connection.getConfig().setTrustManagers( config.getTrustManager() );
                     connection.getConfig().setUseTls( true );
diff --git a/server-annotations/src/main/java/org/apache/directory/server/annotations/CreateConsumer.java b/server-annotations/src/main/java/org/apache/directory/server/annotations/CreateConsumer.java
index a2a3764a09..52333a39e3 100644
--- a/server-annotations/src/main/java/org/apache/directory/server/annotations/CreateConsumer.java
+++ b/server-annotations/src/main/java/org/apache/directory/server/annotations/CreateConsumer.java
@@ -53,6 +53,7 @@
  *   <li>configEntryDn : the configuration entry's DN</li>
  *   <li>chaseReferrals : tells if we chase referrals, defaults to false</li>
  *   <li>useTls : the connection uses TLS, defaults to true</li>
+ *   <li>useSsl : the connection uses SSL (= LDAPS), defaults to false</li>
  *   <li>trustManagerFQCN : X509TrustManager FQCN to override strictCertVerification</li>
  * </ul>
  * @author <a href="mailto:dev@directory.apache.org">Apache Directory Project</a>
@@ -199,6 +200,14 @@
     boolean useTls() default true;
 
 
+    /** 
+     * flag to indicate the use of SSL (= LDAPS), default is false
+     * 
+     * @return <tt>true</tt> if SSL is in use
+     */
+    boolean useSsl() default false;
+
+
     /** 
      * Fully-qualified class name of an X509TrustManager to use for replication TLS.
      * If set, this takes precedence over strictCertVerification().
diff --git a/server-annotations/src/main/java/org/apache/directory/server/factory/ServerAnnotationProcessor.java b/server-annotations/src/main/java/org/apache/directory/server/factory/ServerAnnotationProcessor.java
index fbf1ab2d1f..ec66535b5d 100644
--- a/server-annotations/src/main/java/org/apache/directory/server/factory/ServerAnnotationProcessor.java
+++ b/server-annotations/src/main/java/org/apache/directory/server/factory/ServerAnnotationProcessor.java
@@ -294,6 +294,7 @@ private static ReplicationConsumer createConsumer( CreateConsumer createConsumer
         config.setReplUserDn( createConsumer.replUserDn() );
         config.setReplUserPassword( Strings.getBytesUtf8( createConsumer.replUserPassword() ) );
         config.setUseTls( createConsumer.useTls() );
+        config.setUseSsl( createConsumer.useSsl() );
         config.setBaseDn( createConsumer.baseDn() );
         config.setRefreshInterval( createConsumer.refreshInterval() );
 
diff --git a/server-config/src/main/java/org/apache/directory/server/config/beans/ReplConsumerBean.java b/server-config/src/main/java/org/apache/directory/server/config/beans/ReplConsumerBean.java
index 20f66c5ef9..6dbe7ea6da 100644
--- a/server-config/src/main/java/org/apache/directory/server/config/beans/ReplConsumerBean.java
+++ b/server-config/src/main/java/org/apache/directory/server/config/beans/ReplConsumerBean.java
@@ -98,6 +98,10 @@ public class ReplConsumerBean extends AdsBaseBean
     @ConfigurationElement(attributeType = SchemaConstants.ADS_REPL_USE_TLS, isOptional = true)
     private boolean replUseTls;
 
+    /** Tells if SSL should be used during replication */
+    @ConfigurationElement(attributeType = SchemaConstants.ADS_REPL_USE_SSL, isOptional = true, defaultValue = "false")
+    private boolean replUseSsl;
+
     /** The X509 TrustManager FQCN to use */
     @ConfigurationElement(attributeType = "ads-replTrustManagerFQCN", isOptional = true)
     private String replTrustManagerFQCN;
@@ -419,6 +423,24 @@ public void setReplUseTls( boolean replUseTls )
     }
 
 
+    /**
+     * @return the replUseSsl
+     */
+    public boolean isReplUseSsl()
+    {
+        return replUseSsl;
+    }
+
+
+    /**
+     * @param replUseSsl the replUseSsl to set
+     */
+    public void setReplUseSsl( boolean replUseSsl )
+    {
+        this.replUseSsl = replUseSsl;
+    }
+
+
     /**
      * @return the replTrustManagerFQCN
      */
@@ -485,6 +507,7 @@ public String toString( String tabs )
         sb.append( toString( tabs, "  trust manager's FQCN", replTrustManagerFQCN ) );
 
         sb.append( toString( tabs, "  use TLS", replUseTls ) );
+        sb.append( toString( tabs, "  use SSL", replUseSsl ) );
 
         return sb.toString();
     }
diff --git a/server-config/src/test/java/org/apache/directory/server/config/ConfigWriterTest.java b/server-config/src/test/java/org/apache/directory/server/config/ConfigWriterTest.java
index a3962cad1d..48c454b51c 100644
--- a/server-config/src/test/java/org/apache/directory/server/config/ConfigWriterTest.java
+++ b/server-config/src/test/java/org/apache/directory/server/config/ConfigWriterTest.java
@@ -22,10 +22,12 @@
 
 
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertEquals;
+import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertFalse;
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertNotNull;
 import static org.junit.jupiter.api.Assertions.assertTrue;
 
 import java.io.File;
+import java.lang.reflect.Field;
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.Comparator;
@@ -44,6 +46,10 @@
 import org.apache.directory.api.util.FileUtils;
 import org.apache.directory.api.util.exception.Exceptions;
 import org.apache.directory.server.config.beans.ConfigBean;
+import org.apache.directory.server.config.beans.AdsBaseBean;
+import org.apache.directory.server.config.beans.DirectoryServiceBean;
+import org.apache.directory.server.config.beans.LdapServerBean;
+import org.apache.directory.server.config.beans.ReplConsumerBean;
 import org.apache.directory.server.core.api.DnFactory;
 import org.apache.directory.server.core.partition.ldif.SingleFileLdifPartition;
 import org.apache.directory.server.core.shared.DefaultDnFactory;
@@ -162,4 +168,69 @@ public int compare( LdifEntry o1, LdifEntry o2 )
         // Destroying the config partition
         configPartition.destroy( configPartition.beginReadTransaction() );
     }
+
+
+    /**
+     * Tests that the 'ads-replUseSsl' attribute is not written into the
+     * configuration entries as long as it keeps its default value (false),
+     * and that it is written once explicitly enabled. The attribute type
+     * itself is defined in the LDAP API schema.
+     */
+    @Test
+    public void testReplConsumerUseSsl() throws Exception
+    {
+        ConfigBean configBean = new ConfigBean();
+
+        // The list is normally set by the ConfigPartitionReader, initialize it here
+        Field directoryServiceBeansField = ConfigBean.class.getDeclaredField( "directoryServiceBeans" );
+        directoryServiceBeansField.setAccessible( true );
+        directoryServiceBeansField.set( configBean, new ArrayList<AdsBaseBean>() );
+
+        DirectoryServiceBean directoryServiceBean = new DirectoryServiceBean();
+        directoryServiceBean.setDirectoryServiceId( "default" );
+
+        LdapServerBean ldapServerBean = new LdapServerBean();
+        ldapServerBean.setServerId( "ldapServer" );
+
+        ReplConsumerBean replConsumerBean = new ReplConsumerBean();
+        replConsumerBean.setReplConsumerId( "test" );
+        replConsumerBean.setReplProvHostName( "localhost" );
+        replConsumerBean.setReplProvPort( 10389 );
+        replConsumerBean.setSearchBaseDn( "ou=system" );
+
+        ldapServerBean.addReplConsumers( replConsumerBean );
+        directoryServiceBean.addServers( ldapServerBean );
+        configBean.addDirectoryService( directoryServiceBean );
+
+        // With the default value (false), the attribute must not be written
+        ConfigWriter configWriter = new ConfigWriter( schemaManager, configBean );
+        LdifEntry replConsumerEntry = findReplConsumerEntry( configWriter.getConvertedLdifEntries() );
+        assertNotNull( replConsumerEntry );
+        assertFalse( replConsumerEntry.getEntry().containsAttribute( "ads-replUseSsl" ) );
+
+        // With the flag explicitly enabled, the attribute must be written
+        replConsumerBean.setReplUseSsl( true );
+        configWriter = new ConfigWriter( schemaManager, configBean );
+        replConsumerEntry = findReplConsumerEntry( configWriter.getConvertedLdifEntries() );
+        assertNotNull( replConsumerEntry );
+        assertTrue( replConsumerEntry.getEntry().containsAttribute( "ads-replUseSsl" ) );
+        assertTrue( Boolean.parseBoolean( replConsumerEntry.getEntry().get( "ads-replUseSsl" ).getString() ) );
+    }
+
+
+    /**
+     * Finds the replication consumer entry in the given list of entries.
+     */
+    private LdifEntry findReplConsumerEntry( List<LdifEntry> entries )
+    {
+        for ( LdifEntry entry : entries )
+        {
+            if ( "ads-replConsumerId=test".equalsIgnoreCase( entry.getDn().getRdn().getName() ) )
+            {
+                return entry;
+            }
+        }
+
+        return null;
+    }
 }
diff --git a/server-config/src/test/resources/ldapServer.ldif b/server-config/src/test/resources/ldapServer.ldif
index 4d3c625747..2a24f0b616 100644
--- a/server-config/src/test/resources/ldapServer.ldif
+++ b/server-config/src/test/resources/ldapServer.ldif
@@ -180,6 +180,7 @@ ads-replSearchFilter: (&(objectClass=top)(ou=test))
 ads-replProvPort: 12345
 ads-replRefreshNPersist: TRUE
 ads-replUseTls: TRUE
+ads-replUseSsl: TRUE
 ads-replStrictCertValidation: TRUE
 ads-replAliasDerefMode: NEVER
 ads-replRefreshInterval: 100
diff --git a/service-builder/src/main/java/org/apache/directory/server/config/builder/ServiceBuilder.java b/service-builder/src/main/java/org/apache/directory/server/config/builder/ServiceBuilder.java
index a105231067..1c8e503847 100644
--- a/service-builder/src/main/java/org/apache/directory/server/config/builder/ServiceBuilder.java
+++ b/service-builder/src/main/java/org/apache/directory/server/config/builder/ServiceBuilder.java
@@ -1074,6 +1074,7 @@ public static List<ReplicationConsumer> createReplConsumers( List<ReplConsumerBe
                 config.setSearchSizeLimit( replBean.getReplSearchSizeLimit() );
 
                 config.setUseTls( replBean.isReplUseTls() );
+                config.setUseSsl( replBean.isReplUseSsl() );
                 
                 if ( !Strings.isEmpty( replBean.getReplTrustManagerFQCN() ) )
                 {