Configuring Secure Shell (SSH)

Configuring the Switch for SSH Operation

4.Add any data required by your SSH client application. For example Before saving the key to an SSH client’s "known hosts" file you may have to insert the switch’s IP address:

Inserted

 

Bit

 

Exponent <e>

 

Modulus <n>

IP

 

Size

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Address

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 6-9. Example of a Switch Public Key Edited To Include the Switch’s IP Address

For more on this topic, refer to the documentation provided with your SSH client application.

Displaying the Public Key. The switch provides three options for displaying its public key. This is helpful if you need to visually verify that the public key the switch is using for authenticating itself to a client matches the copy of this key in the client’s "known hosts" file:

■Non-encoded ASCII numeric string: Requires a client ability to display the keys in the “known hosts” file in the ASCII format. This method is tedious and error-prone due to the length of the keys. (See figure 6-8on page 6-13.)

■Phonetic hash: Outputs the key as a relatively short series of alpha- betic character groups. Requires a client ability to convert the key to this format.

■Hexadecimal hash: Outputs the key as a relatively short series of hexadecimal numbers. Requires a parallel client ability.

For example, on the switch, you would generate the phonetic and hexadecimal versions of the switch’s public key in figure 6-8as follows:

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