Modify SSH Settings

Secure Shell (SSH) is a program and protocol that provides strong authentication and secure communications for logging onto a remote computer. You can connect to the PacketShaper using any SSH client, such as SecureCRT for Windows or OpenSSH for UNIX operating systems. If your Packeteer unit has at least 256 MB of RAM, you can have four concurrent SSH sessions. With less than 256 MB, two concurrent sessions are allowed.

PacketWise is automatically configured to run SSH on port 22, but you can select a different listening port if necessary. In addition, if you believe the key's security was compromised, you can generate new SSH key pairs.

Note: To change port numbers from PolicyCenter, you must first select a configuration from the Editing Configuration drop-down list at the top of the page.

PacketWise supports SSH v1 and SSH v2 protocols. Not all ciphers and MAC (Message Authentication Code) algorithms are supported for these two protocol versions.

Changing the SSH Port Number

PacketWise is automatically configured to run SSH on port 22, but you can select a different listening port if necessary.

To change the SSH port number:

1. Click the setup tab.

2. From the Choose Setup Page list, select SSH. The Secure Shell settings appear on the Setup screen.  show screen

3. Enter the new port number in the SSH Port field.

4. Click apply changes to update the settings.

Generating New Key Pairs

If you believe the key's security was compromised, you can generate new SSH key pairs.

To generate new key pairs:

1. In the Secure Shell Settings screen, click generate ssh key pairs. The Secure Shell Keys window appears.  Show screen

2. From the New Key Size list, select the key size (512, 768, or 1024 bits; 1024 is the default size).

If you are using SSHv1, you should choose 512 or 1024. If you are using SSHv2, select either 768 or 1024.

3. Click generate keys.

4. Click OK to confirm. After a moment, the output of the encryption algorithm appears next to DSA Fingerprint, RSA Fingerprint, and RSA1 Fingerprint. Each fingerprint appears as a sequence of 16 bytes in hexadecimal, separated by colons.

See also:

Secure Logins