SSH Public Keys#

SSH public key management was added in SynergyCP 5.5. Your installation must be running 5.5 or newer for the pages in this section to apply.

Starting with SynergyCP 5.5, your users can store SSH public keys on their account and have those keys installed for root when they reload a server’s operating system. Instead of receiving a generated root password, a user can choose to log in with their key, with a password and their key, or with no root SSH login at all. The same stored keys also authenticate ISO uploads into a Containerized Console.

Only public keys are ever stored. SynergyCP never asks for, accepts, or stores a private key, and every place a key is shown in the application labels it an SSH Public Key to make that clear.

What you get#

  • A key store per user. Each user manages their own named list of public keys under SSH Public Keys in the client portal. Keys are validated on entry, fingerprinted, and encrypted at rest.
  • A Root SSH Login Mode on every OS reload. The reload confirmation now asks how root should log in: with a password, with an SSH public key, with both, or not over SSH at all. Users pick keys from their store or paste extra ones for a single install.
  • Admins reload with the user’s keys. When an administrator reloads a server, the same selector offers the stored keys of the user assigned to that server, so support staff can rebuild a customer’s server without handling the customer’s password.
  • Template variables for your own OS templates. The chosen mode and the key list are exposed to preseed and kickstart templates as {$login_type} and {$ssh_keys}. All of SynergyCP’s stock Linux templates already use them.
  • ISO uploads into Containerized Consoles. A user’s stored keys are shipped to the console container when they launch it, which is what authenticates the upload-only SFTP endpoint.

In this section#

  • Managing SSH Public Keys — adding, viewing and deleting keys in the client portal, which key types are accepted, how keys are stored and logged, and the API.
  • Using SSH Keys on OS Reloads — the Root SSH Login Mode options, selecting and pasting keys, what each mode configures on the installed server, admin reloads, template support, and troubleshooting.
Backward Upgrading Managing SSH Public Keys Forward