Microsens MS453490M Management Guide User Manual

Page 611

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C

HAPTER

24

| Authentication Commands

Secure Shell

– 611 –

4.

Set the Optional Parameters – Set other optional parameters, including
the authentication timeout, the number of retries, and the server key

size.

5.

Enable SSH Service – Use the

ip ssh server

command to enable the

SSH server on the switch.

6.

Authentication – One of the following authentication methods is
employed:

Password Authentication (for SSH v1.5 or V2 Clients)

a.

The client sends its password to the server.

b.

The switch compares the client's password to those stored in
memory.

c.

If a match is found, the connection is allowed.

N

OTE

:

To use SSH with only password authentication, the host public key

must still be given to the client, either during initial connection or manually

entered into the known host file. However, you do not need to configure

the client's keys.

Public Key Authentication – When an SSH client attempts to contact the

switch, the SSH server uses the host key pair to negotiate a session

key and encryption method. Only clients that have a private key

corresponding to the public keys stored on the switch can access it. The

following exchanges take place during this process:

Authenticating SSH v1.5 Clients

a.

The client sends its RSA public key to the switch.

b.

The switch compares the client's public key to those stored in
memory.

c.

If a match is found, the switch uses its secret key to generate
a random 256-bit string as a challenge, encrypts this string

with the user’s public key, and sends it to the client.

d.

The client uses its private key to decrypt the challenge string,
computes the MD5 checksum, and sends the checksum back

to the switch.

e.

The switch compares the checksum sent from the client
against that computed for the original string it sent. If the two

checksums match, this means that the client's private key

corresponds to an authorized public key, and the client is

authenticated.

Authenticating SSH v2 Clients

a.

The client first queries the switch to determine if DSA public
key authentication using a preferred algorithm is acceptable.

b.

If the specified algorithm is supported by the switch, it notifies
the client to proceed with the authentication process.

Otherwise, it rejects the request.

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