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SSH Configuration
When configuring SSH, go to these sections for information you are interested:
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SSH Overview
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SSH Server and Client Configuration Task List
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Displaying and Maintaining SSH Configuration
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Comparison of SSH Commands with the Same Functions
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SSH Configuration Examples
SSH Overview
Introduction to SSH
Secure Shell (SSH) is a protocol that provides secure remote login and other security services in
insecure network environments. In an SSH connection, data are encrypted before being sent out and
decrypted after they reach the destination. This prevents attacks such as plain text password
interception. Besides, SSH also provides powerful user authentication functions that prevent attacks
such as DNS and IP spoofing.
SSH adopts the client-server model. The device can be configured as an SSH client or an SSH server.
In the former case, the device establishes a remote SSH connection to an SSH server. In the latter case,
the device provides connections to multiple clients.
Furthermore, SSH can also provide data compression to increase transmission speed, take the place of
Telnet or provide a secure “channel” for FTP.
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Currently, when functioning as an SSH server, an S4210 switch supports SSH2 and SSH1.
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When functioning as an SSH client, an S4210 switch supports only SSH2.
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Unless otherwise noted, SSH refers to SSH2 throughout this document.
Algorithm and Key
Algorithm is a set of transformation rules for encryption and decryption. Information without being
encrypted is known as plain text, while information that is encrypted is known as cipher text. Encryption
and decryption are performed using a string of characters called a key, which controls the
transformation between plain text and cipher text, for example, changing the plain text into cipher text or
cipher text into plain text.
