OpenSSH : SSH Key-Pair Authentication2023/11/09

	Configure SSH server to login with Key-Pair Authentication. Create a private key for client and a public key for server to do it.
[1]	Create Key-Pair by each user, so login with a common user on SSH Server Host and work like follows.

# create key-pair

[fedora@dlp ~]$

ssh-keygen -t ecdsa

Generating public/private ecdsa key pair.
Enter file in which to save the key (/home/fedora/.ssh/id_ecdsa):  # Enter or input changes if you want
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):  # set passphrase (if set no passphrase, Enter with empty)
Enter same passphrase again:
Your identification has been saved in /home/fedora/.ssh/id_ecdsa
Your public key has been saved in /home/fedora/.ssh/id_ecdsa.pub
The key fingerprint is:
SHA256:2doLQULj/LCEWlV0asIbJ/sKUOPp7pgVfsT8FHc2rsI fedora@dlp.srv.world
The key's randomart image is:
.....
.....

[fedora@dlp ~]$

ll ~/.ssh

total 16
-rw-------. 1 fedora fedora 557 Nov  9 09:14 id_ecdsa
-rw-r--r--. 1 fedora fedora 182 Nov  9 09:14 id_ecdsa.pub
-rw-------. 1 fedora fedora 846 Nov  9 09:05 known_hosts
-rw-r--r--. 1 fedora fedora  98 Nov  9 09:05 known_hosts.old

[fedora@dlp ~]$

mv ~/.ssh/id_ecdsa.pub ~/.ssh/authorized_keys

[2]	Transfer the private key created on the Server to a Client, then it's possible to login with Key-Pair authentication.

[fedora@node01 ~]$

mkdir ~/.ssh

[fedora@node01 ~]$

chmod 700 ~/.ssh

# transfer the private key to the local ssh directory

[fedora@node01 ~]$

scp fedora@dlp.srv.world:/home/fedora/.ssh/id_ecdsa ~/.ssh/

fedora@dlp.srv.world's password:
id_ecdsa                                      100%  557     1.7MB/s   00:00

[fedora@node01 ~]$

ssh fedora@dlp.srv.world

Enter passphrase for key '/home/fedora/.ssh/id_ecdsa':   # passphrase if you set
Web console: https://dlp.srv.world:9090/ or https://10.0.0.30:9090/

Last login: Thu Nov  9 09:05:36 2023

[fedora@dlp ~]$

# logined

[3]	If you set [PasswordAuthentication no], it's more secure.

[root@dlp ~]#

vi /etc/ssh/sshd_config

# line 65, 69 : uncomment and change to [no]

PasswordAuthentication

.....
.....
KbdInteractiveAuthentication

[root@dlp ~]#

systemctl restart sshd

SSH Key-Pair Authentication on Windows Client #1

	This is the example to login to SSH server from Windows Client. It uses Putty on this example. Before it, Transfer a private key to Windows Client.
[4]	Run [Puttygen.exe] that is included in [Putty]. (placed in the folder [Putty.exe] is also placed) If not included, Download it from official site (www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/). After starting [Puttygen.exe], Click [Load] button on the following window.

[5]	Specify the private key that you transferred from SSH server, then passphrase is required like follows, answer it. (if not set passphrase, this step is skipped)

[6]	Click [Save private key] button to save it under a folder you like with any file name you like.

[7]	Start Putty and Open [Connection] - [SSH] - [Auth] - [Credentials] on the left pane, then specify your private key on the [Private key file] field.

[8]	Back to the [Session] on the left pane and specify your SSH server host to Connect.

[9]	When SSH key-pair is set, the passphrase if it is set is required to login like follows, then answer it.

SSH Key-Pair Authentication on Windows #2

[10]

On Windows 11, OpenSSH Client has been implemented as a Windows feature,
so it's possible to authenticate with SSH Key-Pair without Putty and other 3rd party softwares.
Transfer your private key to your Windows 11 and put it under the [(logon user home).ssh] folder like follows, then it's ready to use Key-Pair authentication.

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