Question

SFTP connection without password prompt?

Asked by: ewessel

I am trying to connect our server to another via SFTP to send files securely, and I would like to automate this connection.  Whenever I connect to the remote server with the username assigned to us by the remote administrators, it always asks for a password to log in, which the user must enter manually.  Is there a way to set up the connection so we do not have to put in a password all the time?  I have read some of the documentation on ssh and sftp, and tried generating a public key based on a private key we already use for one trading partner, then placing this public key in a .ssh directory on the remote server as a 'authorized_keys' file, but it still asks for the password, even if I use a -o 'IdentityFile _filename_' in the sftp command.  any help would be appreciated..

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Asked On
2006-11-15 at 13:44:21ID22062177
Tags

sftp

,

password

,

without

,

prompt

Topic

Linux Network Security

Participating Experts
1
Points
300
Comments
4

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Answers

 

by: slyongPosted on 2006-11-15 at 13:59:02ID: 17951012

You can setup ssh without password: http://www.astro.caltech.edu/~mbonati/WIRC/manual/DATARED/setting_up_no-password_ssh.html, if you google "ssh no password" you should get a lot of examples.

If you have tried generating the ssh-key, the main thing is that when you use ssh-keygen, it will ask for a passphrase, just press enter without typing any passphrase so that it won't ask for a passphrase when you use sftp.

 

by: ewesselPosted on 2006-11-16 at 04:04:31ID: 17955034

I didn't put a passphrase in when generating the key, so that's not the issue.  I'm not sure what version of ssh the server is using, I know our side should be using OpenSSH, being a RHEL3 server..  Should I find that out first?  I originally just generated a RSA key..

 

by: ewesselPosted on 2006-11-16 at 06:45:39ID: 17956086

Ok, If found out that it will allow a passwordless sftp connection if I am logged in as root and use the 'IdentityFile _filename_' option, but if I am looged in as a user and use the same thing it asks for a password.  Any other ideas?

 

by: slyongPosted on 2006-11-16 at 11:04:17ID: 17958700

Did you generate the ssh key using root account?  You have to generate the key using the account that you intend to login.

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