SSH Key Authentication

These instructions assist existing users of Cheaha in getting access to new Cheaha.

Mac OS X
ssh-keygen -t rsa
 * On your Mac open Terminal application.
 * Run the following command on your '''terminal:
 * You can put a passphrase for your SSH key ( Not mandatory but highly recommended)
 * A id_rsa.pub file would have been created.
 * Open the file by running less .ssh/id_rsa.pub and copy the content.
 * Press q to exit out of the file.
 * Now SSH to your cheaha.rc.uab.edu account, and paste the content in ~/.ssh/authorized_keys using your favorite editor.
 * Now log out from cheaha.rc.uab.edu and login again. You shouldn't see a prompt for password and be directly logged in.

Note: You need to perform these steps just for the first time access, you should be able to directly run ssh blazerid@cheaha.rc.uab.edu from next time.

Linux
ssh-keygen -t rsa
 * On your linux machine open Terminal application.
 * Run the following command on your '''terminal:
 * You can put a passphrase for your SSH key ( Not mandatory but highly recommended)
 * A id_rsa.pub file would have been created.
 * Open the file by running less .ssh/id_rsa.pub and copy the content.
 * Press q to exit out of the file.
 * Now SSH to your cheaha.rc.uab.edu account, and paste the content in ~/.ssh/authorized_keys using your favorite editor.
 * Now log out from cheaha.rc.uab.edu and login again. You shouldn't see a prompt for password and be directly logged in.

Note: You need to perform these steps just for the first time access, you should be able to directly run ssh blazerid@cheaha.rc.uab.edu from next time.

Putty
You will require a tool called puttygen, to generate SSH keys for the pairing purpose. You can download it here. Once you have downloaded and installed putty and puttygen, follow these instructions:


 * Launch PuTTY Key Generator.
 * Click the Generate button and press a series of random keystrokes to aid in generating the key.
 * Enter a unique key passphrase in the Key passphrase and Confirm passphrase fields.
 * Save the public and private keys by clicking the Save public key and Save private key buttons.
 * Right click the filed Public key for pasting into OpenSSH authorized_keys file, choose Select All, right click again and select Copy
 * Now open application Putty.
 * Set up your session for cheaha.rc.uab.edu in PuTTy. (If you don't know how, follow these instructions).
 * Login to your Cheaha account.
 * Paste the content of the Public key that you previously copied to the clip board in Puttygen into the ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file using your favorite editor.
 * Now select your saved session for cheaha.rc.uab.edu.
 * Click Connection > SSH > Auth in the left-hand navigation pane and configure the private key to use by clicking Browse under Private key file for authentication.
 * Navigate to the location where you saved your private key earlier, select the file, and click Open.
 * The private key path is now displayed in the Private key file for authentication field.
 * Click Session in the left-hand navigation pane and click Save in the Load, save or delete a stored session section.
 * Click Open to begin your session with the server. You shouldn't see a prompt for password and be directly logged in.

Note: You need to perform these steps just for the first time access, you should be able to directly run your cheaha.rc.uab.edu profile from next time.

SSH Secure Shell Client

 * In SSH Secure Shell, from the Edit menu, select Settings...
 * In the window that opens, select Global Settings, then User Authentication, and then Keys.
 * Under "Key pair management", click Generate New.... In the window that appears, click Next.
 * In the Key Generation window that appears:
 * From the drop-down list next to Key Type:, select from the following:
 * If you want to take less time to initially generate the key, select DSA.
 * If you want to take less time during each connection for the server to verify your key, select RSA.
 * From the the drop-down list next to Key Length:, select at least 1024. You may choose a greater key length, but the time it takes to generate the key, as well as the time it takes to authenticate using it, will go up.
 * Click Next. The key generation process will start. When it's complete, click Next again.
 * In the File Name: field, enter a name for the file where SSH Secure Shell will store your private key. Your public key will be stored in a file with the same name, plus a .pub extension.
 * Important: You can put a passphrase for your SSH key ( Not mandatory but highly recommended)
 * To complete the key generation process, click Next, and then Finish.
 * At the Settings screen, click OK.
 * Copy the content of .pub file generated.
 * Now SSH to your cheaha.rc.uab.edu account, following the instructions here, and paste the content in ~/.ssh/authorized_keys using your favorite editor.
 * Now exit/logout from your account on cheaha.uabgrid.uab.edu and login again. You shouldn't see a prompt for password and be directly logged in.

Note: You need to perform these steps just for the first time access, you should be able to directly run your cheaha.rc.uab.edu profile from next time.