Create ssh key pairs with ssh-keygen

In order to get access to advanced port forwarding functions in qbee-connect or to allow passwordless ssh login you need to create a public-private ssh key pair. Then the public part of the key needs to be distributed through the qbee ssh key distribution configuration.

For our less experienced users we show you how to do this here with ssh-keygen.

On the desktop machine running qbee-connect you need to generate a pair of authentication keys. On Linux and Mac just open a terminal, on Windows you use the "cmd" option to get to the Windows shell.

Then run ssh-keygen but do not enter a passphrase. We recommend using a ecdsa key with maximum keylength for best security and compatibility:

    user@my-machine~ % ssh-keygen -t ecdsa -b 521
    Generating public/private ecdsa key pair.
    Enter file in which to save the key (/Users/user/.ssh/id_ecdsa):
    Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase): 
    Enter same passphrase again: 
    Your identification has been saved in /Users/user/.ssh/id_ecdsa.
    Your public key has been saved in /Users/user/.ssh/id_ecdsa.pub.
    The key fingerprint is:
    XXXXXXXX-XXXXXXXX-YYYYYYYYYYYY-YYYYYYYYYYYY

Newer versions of macOS mandate a manual addition of the key to the keychain

For current macOS versions please add the key and follow this instruction to make it active also after a reboot.

Then copy the public key from your /Users/user/.ssh/id_ecdsa.pub. This key needs to be distributed to all edge devices that should be accessed with public/private key authentication. Open the "Configure->SSH Keys" menu. Then select the device or the group of devices this key should be distributed to. Add the user and the public key (any user can have multiple keys).