diff --git a/src/ca-config.cpp b/src/ca-config.cpp
index 753d483..8d3f309 100644
--- a/src/ca-config.cpp
+++ b/src/ca-config.cpp
@@ -25,89 +25,54 @@
 namespace ndn {
 namespace ndncert {
 
-CaConfig::CaConfig() = default;
-
-CaConfig::CaConfig(const std::string& fileName)
-  : m_fileName(fileName)
-{
-  open();
-  load();
-}
-
 void
-CaConfig::open()
+CaConfig::load(const std::string& fileName)
 {
-  std::ifstream inputFile;
-  inputFile.open(m_fileName.c_str());
-  if (!inputFile.good() || !inputFile.is_open()) {
-    std::string msg = "Failed to read configuration file: ";
-    msg += m_fileName;
-    BOOST_THROW_EXCEPTION(Error(msg));
-  }
-
   try {
-    boost::property_tree::read_info(inputFile, m_config);
+    boost::property_tree::read_json(fileName, m_config);
   }
   catch (const boost::property_tree::info_parser_error& error) {
-    BOOST_THROW_EXCEPTION(Error("Failed to parse configuration file " + m_fileName +
+    BOOST_THROW_EXCEPTION(Error("Failed to parse configuration file " + fileName +
                                 " " + error.message() + " line " + std::to_string(error.line())));
   }
 
   if (m_config.begin() == m_config.end()) {
-    BOOST_THROW_EXCEPTION(Error("Error processing configuration file: " + m_fileName + " no data"));
+    BOOST_THROW_EXCEPTION(Error("Error processing configuration file: " + fileName + " no data"));
   }
 
-  inputFile.close();
+  parse();
 }
 
 void
-CaConfig::load()
+CaConfig::parse()
 {
-  m_caName = Name(m_config.get<std::string>("name"));
-  m_validatorConfig = m_config.get_child("validator-conf");
+  m_caItems.clear();
+  auto caList = m_config.get_child("ca-list");
+  auto it = caList.begin();
+  for (; it != caList.end(); it++) {
+    CaItem item;
+    item.m_caName = Name(it->second.get<std::string>("ca-prefix"));
+    item.m_caInfo = it->second.get<std::string>("ca-info");
+    item.m_probe = it->second.get("probe", "");
+    item.m_freshnessPeriod = time::seconds(it->second.get<uint64_t>("issuing-freshness"));
+    item.m_validityPeriod = time::days(it->second.get<uint64_t>("validity-period"));
 
-  parseCertificateInfo(m_config.get_child("certificate-info"));
-  parseCaAnchor(m_config.get_child("ca-anchor"));
-  parseChallengeList(m_config.get_child("challenge-list"));
-}
-
-void
-CaConfig::parseCertificateInfo(const ConfigSection& configSection)
-{
-  m_freshPeriod = configSection.get<uint64_t>("freshness-period");
-}
-
-void
-CaConfig::parseCaAnchor(const ConfigSection& configSection)
-{
-  std::string type = configSection.get<std::string>("type");
-  std::string value = configSection.get<std::string>("value");
-  if (type == "file") {
-    boost::filesystem::path certfilePath = absolute(value,
-                                                    boost::filesystem::path(m_fileName).parent_path());
-    m_anchor = io::load<security::v2::Certificate>(certfilePath.string());
-    if (m_anchor != nullptr) {
-      BOOST_ASSERT(m_anchor->getName().size() >= 1);
-    }
-    else
-      BOOST_THROW_EXCEPTION(Error("Cannot read certificate from file: " + certfilePath.native()));
-  }
-  else if (type == "base64") {
-    std::istringstream ss(value);
-    m_anchor = io::load<security::v2::Certificate>(ss);
-  }
-  else {
-    BOOST_THROW_EXCEPTION(Error("Unrecognized trust anchor '" + type + "' '" + value + "'"));
+    auto challengeList = it->second.get_child("supported-challenges");
+    item.m_supportedChallenges = parseChallengeList(challengeList);
+    item.m_anchor = Name(it->second.get<std::string>("ca-anchor"));
+    m_caItems.push_back(item);
   }
 }
 
-void
-CaConfig::parseChallengeList(const ConfigSection& configSection)
+std::list<std::string>
+CaConfig::parseChallengeList(const ConfigSection& section)
 {
-  auto it = configSection.begin();
-  for (; it != configSection.end(); it++) {
-    m_availableChallenges.push_back(it->second.get<std::string>("type"));
+  std::list<std::string> result;
+  auto it = section.begin();
+  for (; it != section.end(); it++) {
+    result.push_back(it->second.get<std::string>("type"));
   }
+  return result;
 }
 
 } // namespace ndncert
diff --git a/src/ca-config.hpp b/src/ca-config.hpp
index 9bde1f9..ed95cb2 100644
--- a/src/ca-config.hpp
+++ b/src/ca-config.hpp
@@ -29,6 +29,18 @@
 
 typedef boost::property_tree::ptree ConfigSection;
 
+class CaItem
+{
+public:
+  Name m_caName;
+  std::string m_caInfo;
+  std::string m_probe;
+  time::seconds m_freshnessPeriod;
+  time::days m_validityPeriod;
+  std::list<std::string> m_supportedChallenges;
+  Name m_anchor;
+};
+
 /**
  * @brief Represents a CA configuration instance
  */
@@ -41,45 +53,25 @@
   class Error : public std::runtime_error
   {
   public:
-    explicit
-    Error(const std::string& what)
-      : std::runtime_error(what)
-    {
-    }
+    using std::runtime_error::runtime_error;
   };
 
 public:
-  CaConfig();
-
-  explicit
-  CaConfig(const std::string& fileName);
-
-PUBLIC_WITH_TESTS_ELSE_PRIVATE:
   void
-  open();
+  load(const std::string& fileName);
 
+private:
   void
-  load();
+  parse();
 
-  void
-  parseCertificateInfo(const ConfigSection& configSection);
-
-  void
-  parseCaAnchor(const ConfigSection& configSection);
-
-  void
+  std::list<std::string>
   parseChallengeList(const ConfigSection& configSection);
 
 public:
-  Name m_caName;
-  uint64_t m_freshPeriod;
-  shared_ptr<security::v2::Certificate> m_anchor;
-  std::list<std::string> m_availableChallenges;
-  ConfigSection m_validatorConfig;
+  std::list<CaItem> m_caItems;
 
 PUBLIC_WITH_TESTS_ELSE_PRIVATE:
   ConfigSection m_config;
-  std::string m_fileName;
 };
 
 } // namespace ndncert
diff --git a/src/client-config.hpp b/src/client-config.hpp
index fbc71f3..fbb703b 100644
--- a/src/client-config.hpp
+++ b/src/client-config.hpp
@@ -27,15 +27,6 @@
 namespace ndn {
 namespace ndncert {
 
-class CaItem
-{
-public:
-  Name m_caName;
-  std::string m_caInfo;
-  std::string m_probe;
-  std::list<std::string> m_supportedChallenges;
-};
-
 class ClientConfig
 {
 public:
diff --git a/tests/unit-tests/ca-config.t.cpp b/tests/unit-tests/ca-config.t.cpp
index 09a0d08..e803254 100644
--- a/tests/unit-tests/ca-config.t.cpp
+++ b/tests/unit-tests/ca-config.t.cpp
@@ -32,31 +32,25 @@
 
 BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE(ReadConfigFileWithFileAnchor)
 {
-  CaConfig config("tests/unit-tests/ca.conf.test");
-  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(config.m_caName.toUri(), "/ndn/edu/ucla/cs/zhiyi");
-  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(config.m_freshPeriod, 720);
-  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(config.m_anchor->getName().toUri(),
+  CaConfig config;
+  config.load("tests/unit-tests/ca.conf.test");
+  auto itemA = config.m_caItems.front();
+  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(itemA.m_caName.toUri(), "/ndn/edu/ucla/cs/zhiyi");
+  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(itemA.m_probe, "true");
+  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(itemA.m_freshnessPeriod, time::seconds(720));
+  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(itemA.m_validityPeriod, time::days(360));
+  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(itemA.m_anchor.toUri(),
+                    "/ndn/edu/ucla/cs/zhiyi/KEY/%9A%E0%C6%C6%09%7C%92i/self/%FD%00%00%01Z%B0%2AJ%B4");
+  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(itemA.m_supportedChallenges.size(), 1);
+
+  auto itemB = config.m_caItems.back();
+  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(itemB.m_caName.toUri(), "/ndn/site1");
+  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(itemB.m_probe, "true");
+  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(itemB.m_freshnessPeriod, time::seconds(720));
+  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(itemB.m_validityPeriod, time::days(360));
+  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(itemB.m_anchor.toUri(),
                     "/ndn/site1/KEY/%11%BC%22%F4c%15%FF%17/self/%FD%00%00%01Y%C8%14%D9%A5");
-  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(config.m_availableChallenges.size(), 1);
-}
-
-BOOST_AUTO_TEST_CASE(ReadConfigFileWithBase64Anchor)
-{
-  auto identity = addIdentity(Name("/ndn/site1"));
-  auto key = identity.getDefaultKey();
-  auto cert = key.getDefaultCertificate();
-
-  using namespace security::transform;
-  std::stringstream ss;
-  bufferSource(cert.wireEncode().wire(), cert.wireEncode().size()) >> base64Encode() >> streamSink(ss);
-
-  const std::string certBase64 = ss.str();
-
-  CaConfig config("tests/unit-tests/ca.conf.test");
-  config.m_config.put("ca-anchor.type", "base64");
-  config.m_config.put("ca-anchor.value", certBase64);
-  config.load();
-  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(*(config.m_anchor), cert);
+  BOOST_CHECK_EQUAL(itemB.m_supportedChallenges.size(), 1);
 }
 
 BOOST_AUTO_TEST_SUITE_END() // TestCaConfig
diff --git a/tests/unit-tests/ca.conf.test b/tests/unit-tests/ca.conf.test
index 8459594..838d9c4 100644
--- a/tests/unit-tests/ca.conf.test
+++ b/tests/unit-tests/ca.conf.test
@@ -1,73 +1,29 @@
-; The namespace that the NDN Certificate Authority will serve.
-name "/ndn/edu/ucla/cs/zhiyi"
-
-; This section configures parameter(s) of the issued certificates.
-certificate-info
 {
-  ; freshness-period defines the freshness period of newly issued certificates.
-  freshness-period 720
-}
-
-; This ca-anchor section configures the CA certificate.
-;
-; The type defines the type of certificate. Now NDNCERT supports two types:
-;
-;   file; value should be the file name of the certificate file
-;   base64; value should be the Base64 encoded plain text of NDN certificate bytes
-;
-ca-anchor
-{
-  type file
-  value "ca.ndncert.test"
-}
-
-; This challenge-list section defines a list of all available challenge types.
-;
-; It includes one or more challenge. For every challenge, the type should be
-; the unique type identifier of the registered Challenge Module.
-;
-challenge-list
-{
-  challenge
-  {
-    type pin
-  }
-}
-
-;
-validator-conf
-{
-  ; This section defines the trust model for NDNCERT CaModule validator. It consists of rules
-  ; and trust-anchors, which are briefly defined in this file.  For more information refer to
-  ; manpage of ndn-validator.conf:
-  ;
-  ;   man ndn-validator.conf
-  ;
-  ; A trust-anchor is a pre-trusted certificate.  This can be any certificate that is the root
-  ; of certification chain (e.g., NDN testbed root certificate) or an existing default system
-  ; certificate `default.ndncert`.  A rule defines conditions a valid packet MUST have. A
-  ; packet must satisfy one of the rules defined here. A rule can be broken into two parts:
-  ; matching & checking. A packet will be matched against rules from the first to the last
-  ; until a matched rule is encountered. The matched rule will be used to check the packet. If
-  ; a packet does not match any rule, it will be treated as invalid.  The matching part of a
-  ; rule consists of `for` and `filter` sections. They collectively define which packets can be
-  ; checked with this rule. `for` defines packet type (data or interest) and `filter` defines
-  ; conditions on other properties of a packet. Right now, you can only define conditions on
-  ; packet name, and you can only specify ONLY ONE filter for packet name.  The checking part
-  ; of a rule consists of `checker`, which defines the conditions that a VALID packet MUST
-  ; have. See comments in checker section for more details.
-  rule
-  {
-    id "zhiyi interest rule"
-    for interest
-    filter
+  "ca-list":
+  [
     {
-      type name
-      regex ^<ndn><edu><ucla><cs><zhiyi>[<_NEW><_POLL>]<>*$
-    }
-    trust-anchor
+        "ca-prefix": "/ndn/edu/ucla/cs/zhiyi",
+        "ca-info": "UCLA's ceritificate authority, located in BH4805.",
+        "probe": "true",
+        "issuing-freshness": "720",
+        "validity-period": "360",
+        "ca-anchor": "/ndn/edu/ucla/cs/zhiyi/KEY/%9A%E0%C6%C6%09%7C%92i/self/%FD%00%00%01Z%B0%2AJ%B4",
+        "supported-challenges":
+        [
+            { "type": "PIN" }
+        ]
+    },
     {
-      type any
+        "ca-prefix": "/ndn/site1",
+        "ca-info": "UCLA's ceritificate authority, located in BH4805.",
+        "probe": "true",
+        "issuing-freshness": "720",
+        "validity-period": "360",
+        "ca-anchor": "/ndn/site1/KEY/%11%BC%22%F4c%15%FF%17/self/%FD%00%00%01Y%C8%14%D9%A5",
+        "supported-challenges":
+        [
+            { "type": "PIN" }
+        ]
     }
-  }
-}
+  ]
+}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tests/unit-tests/ca.ndncert.test b/tests/unit-tests/ca.ndncert.test
deleted file mode 100644
index e7d29bf..0000000
--- a/tests/unit-tests/ca.ndncert.test
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,12 +0,0 @@
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-2aUUCRgBAhkEADbugBX9AU8wggFLMIIBAwYHKoZIzj0CATCB9wIBATAsBgcqhkjO
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-C5bD15mjfhWudK4I1tOb4b/9xWCHyM7F
\ No newline at end of file