SSH Keys Microsoft Windows

4 minute read

SSH Keys on MS Windows

What are SSH keys?

SSH (Secure Shell) keys are an access credential that is used in the SSH protocol.

The private key remains on the system being used to access the HPCC cluster and is used to decrypt information that is exchanged in the transfer between the HPCC cluster and your system.

A public key file is used to encrypt information, and is stored on your own system. The public key file is stored on the HPCC cluster and contains a list of authorized public keys.

Why do you need SSH keys?

HPCC supports two authentication methods; Password+DUO and SSH Keys. The Password+DUO method requires a UCR NetID, if you do not have this then you will need to use SSH keys in order to access the HPCC cluster.

What you need

Filezilla

You will need to install Filezilla in order to transfer the public SSH key to the HPCC cluster.

1. Download the Filezilla Client for Windows here. * Make sure your Windows system is updated to the latest version.
2. Follow the install wizard to complete the install of Filezilla.

MobaXterm

You will need to install MobaXterm in order to generate your SSH keys and also to transfer the keys to the cluster.

1. Download MobaXterm from here.
2. Unzip
3. Double click portable version of exe and run the MobaXterm application.

Create SSH Keys (MobaXterm)

1. Begin by clicking on the tools drop down on the upper menu bar

   

2. Find and click on the MobaKeyGen (SSH key generator) option

   

3. A window should appear to create a new SSH key. Click on generate to create a new SSH key pair. Follow the on menu instructions.

   

4. Once your key has been created, enter a password in the key passphrase field to password protect your key. Click on conversions in the tool bar and click on Export OpenSSH Key. Save this key as id_rsa and put the file in an easy to access location. Click on Save private key to save the private key with an extension of .ppk to use with MobaXterm or FileZilla. Save the key as mobaxterm_privkey and put the file in an easy to access location.

   

5. Highlight EVERYTHING in the box labeled “Public key for pasting into OpenSSH authorized_keys file” then right-click on it and choose Copy. Open Notepad and paste the copied text. Save the file as id_rsa.pub and put the file in an easy to access location.

   

Keys Location

SSH keys should be saved under the location C:\Users\username\.ssh.

Configure SSH Keys

Public SSH Key

Now that you have created your SSH keys, and renamed them, you will need to placed the public key (id_rsa.pub) on the cluster using the cluster.hpcc.ucr.edu

1. Start the Filezilla application.

2. Fill in the Quickconnect fields at the top of the application window:

   • Enter your HPCC username in the Username field.
   • Enter the HPCC servername cluster.hpcc.ucr.edu for the Host field.
   • Enter your password in the Password field.
   • Enter 22 in the Port field.

   

3. Click on Quickconnect

   

4. If the next pop up prompts you, then check the box that states Always trust this host, add this key to the cache, then click the OK button.

   

5. You will need to create a .ssh directory to hold your SSH keys. On the right hand side, right click and click on the Create directory option under your home folder location.

6. A window will appear to name the new directory. Name should be the following format: /rhome/username/.ssh. After naming the new directory click on OK.

7. Right click on the new .ssh directory that has been created. Find and click on File permissions.

8. A window with the directory permissions will appear. The .ssh directory needs exact permissions in order for it to function properly. Follow the image below to apply the permissions.

9. Now that you are connected to Filezilla transfer your public SSH key from your system by dragging the file id_rsa.pub and dropping it into the HPCC cluster direcotry /rhome/username/.ssh/.

   

Private SSH Key

Once your public key is in place, now you can configure Filezilla to use your private SSH key and connect to the cluster through the secure.hpcc.ucr.edu server.

1. Open Filezilla Site Manager button in the top bar of icons.

   

2. Click on New Site, rename it (optional) and press enter.

   

3. Make sure the following fields are correctly filled before adding your SSH key file:

   • Protocol: should be set to SFTP - SSH File Transfer Protocol
   • Host: type in secure.hpcc.ucr.edu
   • Port: type 22
   • Logon Type: set to Key file
   • User: type in your HPCC username

   After these fields are finalized, click the Browse.. button.

   

4. Navigate to the folder you saved your private key file in and open the private key file mobaxterm_privkey.ppk. You should see the added keyfile in the Key file: box, then click Connect.

   

5. Subsequnt connections can be done from the Quickconnect history by clicking on the down arrow to the right side of the Quickconnect button. Remember to select the secure.hpcc.ucr.edu address.

   

6. Transfer files by double clicking or drag-n-drop. For more details regarding file transfers vist Filezilla Usage.