ECS4100 Series Web Management Guide-R07

Table Of Contents
Chapter 12
| Security Measures
Configuring the Secure Shell
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3. Import Client’s Public Key to the Switch – See “Importing User Public Keys” on
page 313 to copy a file containing the public key for all the SSH client’s granted
management access to the switch. (Note that these clients must be configured
locally on the switch via the User Accounts page as described on page 291.) The
clients are subsequently authenticated using these keys. The current firmware
only accepts public key files based on standard UNIX format as shown in the
following example for an RSA key:
-----BEGIN RSA PUBLIC KEY-----
MIIBCgKCAQEAmk9QvzWeYFgvjInC/jyvalribLTmx5ncPJcnC0RHsAgbuzefGRhV
RSdcx63mRUXiG968LksVXPKJeEa6cX02xZoLwbg96VPoarLTrnI8UC55XFw4c32I
q0FERXUIVQPfSt2XgPqOHi+uIaokeKJ6SV3V05CmdXwRYmSr4ZGQB2SjOp4cMpmy
TKIIfHxQ0L7WfSKJnBMgsk9ZyzvD1pZxXoHKdG87k4k9gn8d+fcV9d7xHf2255jI
1xNwPOZDHy57yjC63sO4xoYcTE7TBrCM5vqJwr17R8ioNXorpRvWZ1ump2FZTZHE
nyuoYvSJMaR8iTtboFIjEonqVX6gsLFwhwIDAQAB
-----END RSA PUBLIC KEY-----
4. Set the Optional Parameters – On the SSH Settings page, configure the optional
parameters, including the authentication timeout, the number of retries, and
the server key size.
5. Enable SSH Service – On the SSH Settings page, enable the SSH server on the
switch.
6. Authentication – One of the following authentication methods is employed:
Password Authentication (for SSH V2 Clients)
a. The client sends its password to the server.
b. The switch compares the client's password to those stored in memory.
c. If a match is found, the connection is allowed.
Note:
To use SSH with only password authentication, the host public key must still
be given to the client, either during initial connection or manually entered into the
known host file. However, you do not need to configure the client’s keys.
Public Key Authentication – When an SSH client attempts to contact the switch,
the SSH server uses the host key pair to negotiate a session key and encryption
method. Only clients that have a private key corresponding to the public keys
stored on the switch can access it. The following exchanges take place during
this process:
Authenticating SSH v2 Clients
a. The client first queries the switch to determine if public key
authentication using a preferred algorithm is acceptable.
b. If the specified algorithm is supported by the switch, it notifies the
client to proceed with the authentication process. Otherwise, it rejects
the request.
c. The client sends a signature generated using the private key to the
switch.