[ale] Looking for ssh key explanatory documentation

[Michael Still]

This is my take on ssh keys.  It may be slightly incorrect in some
details, but in general this is how they work.

ssh uses keys in a few different places.

First, there's host keys.  Each host will generate a public/private
keypair.  When you initially connect to a host and it asks that
question about storing a key, this is the host public key it is asking
about.  The host then uses its private key to initiate the encrypted
connection. This key is usually stored in /etc/ssh/ or some other
system directory.

Next there's ssh user keys.  Users have the option to generate and use
their own public/private keypair to use in order to authenticate
against an ssh host.  This is usually an optional configuration.  The
user key is nornally stored in $HOME/.ssh.

Third, there's session keys.  Session keys are symmetric keys and used
for the actual encryption of the ssh tunnel.  Session keys are
normally invisible to the end user.  These keys are not kept on disk
at any point in time.

On 4/19/06, David Corbin <dcorbin at machturtle.com> wrote:
> I understand, reasonably well, all the various keys involved in SSH. However,
> I've got a bunch of co-workers that I think would benefit from a clear
> explanation of them all, what goes where when and why.
>
> Can anyone point me at a good (medium to high level) descriptionof this? I
> kind of envision there being something with some good 'pictures' that would
> really make it clear.
>
> Thanks.
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>


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