Using SSH Keys

To access the various FutureSystem resources, you need to provide a public ssh key to FutureSystem. We explain how to generate a ssh key, upload it to the FutureSystem portal and log onto the resources. This manual covers UNIX, Mac OS X, and Windows Users.

Using SSH from Windows

Hint

info-image For Linux users, please skip to the section Generate a SSH key

Hint

info-image For Mac users, please skip to the section Using SSH on Mac OS X

Windows users need to have some special software to be able to use the SSH commands. If you have one that you are comfortable with and know how to setup key pairs and access the contents of your public key, please feel free to use it. The most popular software making ssh clients available to Windows users include

Putty is a single file to run. It does not require installation. You simply download a file and run it to open a SSH session. Cygwin provides Linux-like environment for Windows and both Putty or Cygwin will ease your experience with FutureSystems.

Using SSH on Mac OS X

Mac OS X comes with an ssh client. In order to use it you need to open the Terminal.app application. Go to Finder, then click Go in the menu bar at the top of the screen. Now click Utilities and then open the Terminal application.

Generate a SSH key

First we must generate a ssh key with the tool ssh-keygen. This program is commonly available on most UNIX systems. It will ask you for the location and name of the new key. It will also ask you for a passphrase, which you MUST provide. Also, please use a strong passphrase to protect it appropriately.

If you already have a ssh key in your machine, you can reuse it and skip this section.

To generate the key, please type:

Example:

ssh-keygen -t rsa -C localname@indiana.edu

This command requires a user input like:

Enter file in which to save the key (/home/localname/.ssh/id_rsa):

We recommend using the default location ~/.ssh/ and the default name id_rsa. To do so, just press the enter key.

The second and third questions are to protect your ssh key with a passphrase. This passphrase will protect your key because you need to type it when your key is used. You can skip these if you want not to have passphrase. To avoid security problems, however, you MUST choose a passphrase. Make sure not to just type return for an empty passphrase:

Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):

and:

Enter same passphrase again:

If you executed correctly, some output messages will be displayed similar to:

Generating public/private rsa key pair.
Enter file in which to save the key (/home/localname/.ssh/id_rsa):
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):
Enter same passphrase again:
Your identification has been saved in /home/localname/.ssh/id_rsa.
Your public key has been saved in /home/localname/.ssh/id_rsa.pub.
The key fingerprint is:
34:87:67:ea:c2:49:ee:c2:81:d2:10:84:b1:3e:05:59 localname@indiana.edu
The key's random art image is::

+--[ RSA 2048]----+
|.+...Eo= .       |
| ..=.o + o +o    |
|O.  o o +.o      |
| = .   . .       |
+-----------------+

Once, you have generated a new key, you should have them in the .ssh directory. You can check it by

$ ls -al $HOME/.ssh/

To confirm a public key with a default name id_rsa.pub, run:

$ cat $HOME/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

If everything is normal, you will see something like:

ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAABAQCXJH2iG2FMHqC6T/U7uB8kt6KlRh4kUOjgw9sc4Uu+Uwe/EwD0wk6CBQMB+HKb9upvCRW/851UyRUagtlhgythkoamyi0VvhTVZhj61pTdhyl1t8hlkoL19JVnVBPP5kIN3wVyNAJjYBrAUNW4dXKXtmfkXp98T3OW4mxAtTH434MaT+QcPTcxims/hwsUeDAVKZY7UgZhEbiExxkejtnRBHTipi0W03W05TOUGRW7EuKf/4ftNVPilCO4DpfY44NFG1xPwHeimUk+t9h48pBQj16FrUCp0rS02Pj+4/9dNeS1kmNJu5ZYS8HVRhvuoTXuAY/UVcynEPUegkp+qYnR user@myemail.edu

Add or Replace Passphrase for an existing Key

In case you need to change your change passphrase, you can simply run “ssh-keygen -p” command. Then specify the location of your current key, and input (old and) new passphrases. There is no need to re-generate a key:

ssh-keygen -p

You will see the following output once you have completed

Enter file in which the key is (/home/localname/.ssh/id_rsa):
Enter old passphrase:
Key has comment '/home/localname/.ssh/id_rsa'
Enter new passphrase (empty for no passphrase):
Enter same passphrase again:
Your identification has been saved with the new passphrase.

Upload Publick Key to FutureSystems (portal.futuresystems.org)

Next you need to upload the key to the portal. You must sign in the portal to do so.

Step Description Supporting Screenshot
Step 1 Log into the portal image25
Step 2 Click in the “ssh key” button. or go directly to https://portal.futuresystems.org/my/ssh-keys image26
Step 3 Click in the “add a public key” link. image27
Step 4 Paste your ssh key into the box marked Key. Use a text editor to open the “id_rsa.pub”. Copy the entire contents of this file into the ssh key field as part of your profile information. Many errors are introduced by users in this step as they do not paste and copy correctly. image28
Step 5 Click the submit button. IMPORTANT: Leave the Title field blank. Make sure that when you paste your key, it does not contain newlines or carriage returns that may have been introduced by incorrect pasting and copying. If so, please remove them.  

At this point you have uploaded your key. However you may wait till the key is activated. You will receive notification emails once there are progress. You can also check the status at the portal and see if the boxes in your account status information are all greens. Contact course team or issue a ticket at FutureSystems if you think there is an error.

Login FutureSystems with New SSH Key

If you are a first time user on FutureSystems, you may wait one-two business days until your account is activated. Otherwise, using your new key is almost instantaneous on india.futuresystems.org. For other clusters e.g. juliet it can take upto 30 minutes to apply your new ssh keys.

To log into india simply type the usual ssh command such as:

$ ssh portalname@india.futuresystems.org

The first time you ssh into a machine you will see a message like this:

The authenticity of host 'india.futuresystems.org (192.165.148.5)' can't be established.
RSA key fingerprint is 11:96:de:b7:21:eb:64:92:ab:de:e0:79:f3:fb:86:dd.
Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)?

You have to type yes to confirm host key verification. Then you will be logging into india. Other FutureSystem machines can be reached in a same fashion. Just replace the name india, with the appropriate FutureSystems resource name e.g. juliet.