SSH key for connecting to equipment

Connection to the equipment through the graphical interface is performed via SSH. Authorization can occur either by password or by using a key — the latter method is more secure.
In this section, we will cover the key-based authorization process.

Connection must be made under a user with sudo privileges or as root (not recommended). Add a sudo user on the equipment: Sudo user.

sshd configuration

The configuration file is located at /etc/ssh/sshd_config. We recommend checking the PubkeyAuthentication property — if it is missing, commented out, or set to no, change the property value to yes.

After any changes to the /etc/ssh/sshd_config file, the sshd service must be restarted with the command sudo systemctl restart sshd

Step 1. Creating a key

Navigate to the Administrator → SSH Keys section

Click on the + at the top of the screen to add a new key

Enter the key name

Upload the public and private key files

If you already have ready-made keys, you can upload them by clicking the appropriate buttons

If the necessary ssh files are missing, they can be generated by clicking on the key icon. Optionally, you can add a passphrase. Then click Generate
After generating the ssh files, download the public key to add it to the server.
If necessary, you can also download the private key — this is only possible at this stage.

If the private key is encrypted, provide the passphrase set during key creation
If no passphrase was set, leave the field blank

Click Save

Step 2. Adding the ssh key to the equipment

Navigate to Administrator → Equipment

Open the equipment settings. The ssh key can be added to new or existing equipment.

Create new equipment: click on the + at the top of the screen

Edit existing equipment: click the edit icon to the left of the equipment

When creating new equipment, fill in all fields with the necessary information. More details in the Equipment management section.

Select the Key-based authorization type

In the SSH Key field, select the previously created key. Or by clicking on the + create a new SSH key, the process is identical to that described in Step 1. Creating a key (starting from point 4)

Click Save

Step 3. Adding the ssh key to the server

Under the root user, navigate to the /root/ folder
Under a regular user, navigate to the /home/<username>/ folder

Go to the hidden directory /.ssh/

Open the authorized_keys file

Add the public key content to the file

After completing these steps, check the connection by clicking on the Hardware State button in the Administrator → Equipment section.
If all properties are in the “Ok” state, the connection was successful.