Configure key-based SSH authentication

IMPORTANT: Before following the steps below, ensure that your application server is running.

To configure the SSH server to support key-based authentication, follow these steps:

• Log in to the server console as the bitnami user.

• Create a key pair, consisting of a public and private key, as shown below. Set a long passphrase when prompted.

    $ ssh-keygen
    Generating public/private rsa key pair.
    Enter file in which to save the key (/home/bitnami/.ssh/id_rsa):
    Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):
    Enter same passphrase again:
    Your identification has been saved in /home/bitnami/.ssh/id_rsa.
    Your public key has been saved in /home/bitnami/.ssh/id_rsa.pub.
    The key fingerprint is:
    XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX bitnami@linux
  

  This command should create two files named id_rsa and id_rsa.pub in the /home/bitnami/.ssh directory.

• Copy the private key file named id_rsa to a secure location. Do not share this private key file.

• Transfer the contents of the public key file to the /home/bitnami/.ssh/authorized_keys file:

    $ cd /home/bitnami/.ssh
    $ cat id_rsa.pub >> /home/bitnami/.ssh/authorized_keys
  

• Edit the /etc/ssh/sshd_config and uncomment (or add if not already present) the following lines:

    RSAAuthentication yes
    PubkeyAuthentication yes
  

• In the same file, disable basic password authentication (if not already disabled). Uncomment or add the following lines:

    ChallengeResponseAuthentication no
    PasswordAuthentication no
    UsePAM no
  

• Restart the SSH server for the new configuration to take effect:

    $ sudo /etc/init.d/ssh force-reload
    $ sudo /etc/init.d/ssh restart
  

You can now use the private key file to connect to the virtual machine using SSH.