HP E3800 Series, Access Security Manual

Page: 335 / 732

8-3
Configuring Secure Shell (SSH)
Terminology
Terminology
■ SSH Server: An HP switch with SSH enabled.
■ Key Pair:
A pair of keys generated by the switch or an SSH client
application. Each pair includes a public key, that can be read by
anyone and a private key held internally in the switch or by a client.
■ PEM (Privacy Enhanced Mode): Refers to an ASCII-formatted
client public-key that has been encoded for portability and efficiency.
SSHv2 client public-keys are typically stored in the PEM format. See
figure 8-3 for an example of PEM-encoded ASCII keys.
■ Private Key: An internally generated key used in the authentication
process. A private key generated by the switch is not accessible for
viewing or copying. A private key generated by an SSH client applica-
tion is typically stored in a file on the client device and, together with
its public key counterpart, can be copied and stored on multiple
devices.
■ Public Key:
An internally generated counterpart to a private key. A
device’s public key is used to authenticate the device to other devices.
■ Enable Level: Manager privileges on the switch.
■ Login Level: Operator privileges on the switch.
■ Local password or username:
A Manager-level or Operator-level
password configured in the switch.
■ SSH Enabled: (1) A public/private key pair has been generated on
the switch (
generate ssh [dsa | rsa]
) and (2) SSH is enabled (
ip ssh
).
(You can generate a key pair without enabling SSH, but you cannot
enable SSH without first generating a key pair. See “2. Generating the
Switch’s Public and Private Key Pair” on page 8-9 and “4. Enabling
SSH on the Switch and Anticipating SSH Client Contact Behavior” on
page 8-15.)