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Setting Up SSH Server on Ubuntu

· 2 min read
Zephyr
Zephyr
Engineer

SSH is a network protocol that allows users to securely access and manage remote servers. This time, we will set up passwordless login.

Installing the OpenSSH Server​

Open the terminal.

Enter the following commands to install the OpenSSH server:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install openssh-server

Check SSH Server Status​

Use the following command to check the status of the SSH server:

sudo systemctl status ssh

If you see “Active: active (running),” then the SSH server has started successfully.

SSH Passwordless Login Setup:​

Generate SSH Key Pair on the Client Side​

Open the terminal.

Enter the following command to generate an SSH key pair:

ssh-keygen

Follow the prompts. The default settings are usually sufficient. When prompted for a passphrase, you can simply press Enter to create a key pair without a password.

Copy the Public Key to the Server​

Use the ssh-copy-id command to copy the public key to the server. Replace [username] and [server-ip] with your server details.

ssh-copy-id [username]@[server-ip]

For example:

ssh-copy-id john@192.168.0.100

If your server uses a non-default SSH port (e.g., 2222), use the -p parameter:

ssh-copy-id -p 2222 john@192.168.0.100

This command will prompt you to enter the server password.

Once authentication is successful, your public key will be added to the server’s ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file.

Test Passwordless Login​

Try SSH-ing into the server:

ssh [username]@[server-ip]

If everything is set up correctly, you should be able to log in to the server without a password.

Disable Password Authentication​

With SSH keys configured, you may consider disabling password authentication for added security.

This can be set in the server’s /etc/ssh/sshd_config file:

sudo vim /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Find the PasswordAuthentication option in the file and set it to no.

After completing these steps, you’re ready to enjoy using SSH!