Generating a Secure Shell host key

You can generate a Secure Shell host key to authenticate the identity of the Secure Shell server to the client.

For the advanced management module, the host keys are generated automatically if no host keys exist when the SSH server is enabled or when Secure SMASH is enabled. The Secure Shell server cannot be used until key generation is complete, which can take from 3 to 5 minutes. The event log records when the key generation starts and when it is completed.

When you request a new host key, both an RSA key and a DSA key are created to enable access to the management module. To preserve the secrecy of the private portion of the Secure Shell host key, it is not backed up during a configuration save-restore operation.

To create a new Secure Shell host key, complete the following steps:

  1. In the navigation pane, click MM Control → Security.
  2. Scroll to the SSH Server/Host Key Management section. A page similar to the one in the following illustration is displayed.
    Graphic illustrating the SSH Host Key Management page.
  3. Click Generate SSH Host Key.
The key generation process is started in the background. You can check the progress of key generation by consulting the event log. If the SSH server is enabled, it is automatically restarted with the new host key after the key is generated.
Parent topic: Configuring the Secure Shell (SSH) server