Summary of DE1-SoC: Using SSH keys
The article explains how to configure a DE1-SoC Linux system for passwordless SSH access using SSH keys and how to assign a static IP address to ease remote connections. It guides on modifying the network interface settings to set a fixed IP and details generating RSA key pairs on the host machine for secure, password-free authentication. These steps are applicable to any Linux system running an SSH server, not just the DE1-SoC.
Parts used in the DE1-SoC SSH and network configuration project:
- DE1-SoC Board
- Linux SD-Card Image
- Ethernet Cable
- Host Computer (Unix or Cygwin environment)
- ssh-keygen program
- /etc/network/interfaces configuration file
The standard Linux SD-Card images that you can get for the DE1-SoC board from the Terasic website have the SSH daemon enabled by default. Through this SSH connection it is possible to log in from a remote terminal or upload files SCP. However, by default you always have to enter a password. This short guide will show how to configure the systems to use SSH keys so no passwords are needed anymore. Furthermore, we will assign a static IP to the board.
This guide is not really specific to the DE1-SoC board. The same steps can be used on any Linux running an SSH server.
Static IP
Before we start on setting up the SSH keys we want to assign a static IP to the DE1-SoC. This way we don’t have to look up it’s IP every time the IP changes.
Assigning a static IP is just a matter of altering the configuration in /etc/network/interface. The DE1-SoC is connected via the ethernet jack to the network. However, the default configuration file also contains configurations for other interfaces such as a second ethernet interface and a WiFi card. We can throw out all configurations but the one for the lo and the eth0 interfaces.
The following configuration file sets the IP of the DE1-SoC to 192.168.1.100:
Setting up the SSH keys
The following guide assumes that your host (desktop computer) is a Unix machine. However, everything works perfectly fine within a Cygwin environment on Windows.
Generating keys
First we have to generate an RSA public and private key pair on our host computer. This is done by using the ssh-keygen program:
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