CCC PC Cluster

Using SSH Keys to easily log into the Cluster

It can be convienent to be able to log on to Zuul without having to type your password each time. You can do this through the use of a SSH key that you generate. Follow the steps below to do this:

1. Run ssh-keygen on your workstation to generate a DSA key for you. When asked for a passphrase just hit enter.

   computer(username)% ssh-keygen -t dsa
   Generating public/private dsa key pair.
   Enter file in which to save the key (/home/username/.ssh/id_dsa):
   Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):
   Enter same passphrase again:
   Your identification has been saved in /home/username/.ssh/id_dsa.
   Your public key has been saved in /home/username/.ssh/id_dsa.pub.
   The key fingerprint is:
   xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx username@computer.ccqc.uga.edu
   

2. It is important that you change the permissions of the files generated in your .ssh directory so that only you can read and write to them.
3. Copy the contents of your generated id_dsa.pub file to a file named authorized_keys2 located in your .ssh directory on Zuul. Again make sure NO other users can gain access to your .ssh directory or to your authorized_keys2 file.