Please see the following instructions for creating a SSH key to use with GW HPC. Once you generate the keypair, please send the contents of your public key file or the file itself (the default name is id_rsa.pub) to the HPC support team rtshelp_at_gwu_dot_edu or as a response to an ongoing ticket. Make sure you do not send the private key (the default name is id_rsa) because that will compromise the security of your keypair. If you have difficulty, someone from the HPC support team can schedule a Webex meeting for troubleshooting.
Mac or Linux Users (or CygWin or GitBash on Windows):
- Open a terminal on your Mac or Linux computer.
- Check whether or not you already have an existing ssh key-pair by doing ls ~/.ssh and looking for files named id_rsa and id_rsa.pub.
If id_rsa and id_rsa.pub do not exist then complete the following steps:
- Run the following command: ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096
- Where it asks, "Enter file in which to save the key (/Users/<username>/.ssh/id_rsa):" Keep the default location for the key and please press the Enter key at this prompt.
- Be sure to use a strong passphrase to secure your ssh key-pair - this is very important!
- The private id_rsa key and the public id_rsa.pub key exist in your ~/.ssh directory
If id_rsa and id_rsa.pub do exist then continue on with the following steps:
- View the contents of the public key: cat ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub
- Copy and paste the results to a message to the HPC support team
Windows Users (Command Prompt or PowerShell):
- Open command prompt or PowerShell on your Windows computer.
- Check whether or not you already have an existing ssh key-pair by doing dir %userprofile%\.ssh and looking for files named id_rsa and id_rsa.pub.
If id_rsa and id_rsa.pub do not exist then complete the following steps:
- Run the following command: ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096
- Where it asks, "Enter file in which to save the key (C:\Users\<username>/.ssh/id_rsa):" Keep the default location for the key and please press the Enter key at this prompt.
- Be sure to use a strong passphrase to secure your ssh key-pair - this is very important!
- The private key id_rsa and the public key id_rsa.pub exist in your %userprofile%\.ssh directory
If id_rsa and id_rsa.pub do exist then continue on with the following steps:
- View the contents of the public key: notepad %userprofile%\.ssh\id_rsa.pub
- Copy and paste the results to a message to the HPC support team.
Windows Users (MobaXterm):
- In the Tools menu choose the MobaKeyGen (SSH key generator) option
- Select "Type of key to generate" making sure that "RSA" is selected. Use "4096" for "Number of bits in a generated key" and then click "Generate". You can move your pointer around to speed up the process of generating entropy.
- Be sure to use a strong passphrase to secure your ssh key-pair - this is very important!
- Click "Save private key" and choose a location to save your ppk file.
- Copy the text in the field labeled "Public key for pasting into OpenSSH authorized_keys file" and paste the contents in a message to the HPC support team.
Windows Users (PuTTY):
- PuTTY users will need to install the PuTTY Key Generator (PuTTYgen).
- Once installed you can search for puttygen and run it.
- Select "Type of key to generate" and make sure that "RSA" is selected. Use "4096" for "Number of bits in a generated key" and then click "Generate". You can move your pointer around to speed up the process of generating entropy.
- Be sure to use a strong passphrase to secure your ssh key-pair - this is very important!
- Click "Save private key" and choose a location to save your ppk file.
- Copy the text in the field labeled "Public key for pasting into OpenSSH authorized_keys file" and paste the contents in a message to the HPC support team.
