Learning to leverage SSH is an essential Linux sysadmin skill. This article covers basic SSH configurations, password-based authentication, and general security settings.

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Secure Shell (SSH) is a critical remote administration tool for Linux systems. This post discusses how to configure basic SSH and key-based authentication, which enhances security and simplifies remote server management. Key-based authentication is emphasized for its automation benefits, eliminating the need for manual password entry. Additional configurations are provided to further secure SSH connections, including modifying firewall settings and logging. SSH is crucial in CI/CD and orchestration pipelines, providing secure remote connectivity across various platforms.

Linux: SSH and Key-Based Authentication

Establish an SSH Connection Using a Password

Configure Key-Based Authentication for SSH

Configure Additional SSH Security Settings

🔒 I totally agree on using passphrases with SSH keys - it adds an extra layer of security, but I also set up <code>ssh-agent</code> to manage my keys so I don’t have to enter the passphrase every time I connect to a server.

In short showing how to use
<pre><code>$ sudo ssh-keygen
$ sudo ssh-copy-id admin03@server07
$ sudo ssh admin03@server07
</code></pre>
Simply creating a key file copying to server and after that you don’t really need to provide the password any more, it is safe until your home folder hacked and keys are stolen from client machine, which is really not easily happen.
Article talks about firewall configuration, but I also suggest to use fail2ban and change the ssh port to something else from 22 to 22222 at least to stay away from those brute forcer <code>lamers</code>, do we have new word for lamers ? That is a very old term now 😄