Private key authentication (PKA) allows you to connect to your Trading Partner's
remote server without exchanging your password over the Internet. PKA uses two keys: a
private key that only you have, and a public key placed on the accessing server, usually by
your Trading Partner's system administrator when the account is set up. In the
VersaLex application, the private key portion is maintained securely in a User Certificate
protected with the
Certificate Password. The
Certificate
Alias specifies the desired User Certificate to use for PKA.
Note: You must
provide your Trading Partner with the corresponding SSH Public Key using the Certificate
Manager. Using options Export >OpenPGP or SSH FTP
Keys select either the OpenSSH FTP Public Key or
SSH FTP Public Key (IETF) format. Do not select and send the
SSH FTP Private Key format to your Trading Partner.
Alternatively, you can use an existing private key file. This file should be
stored in a secure place and protected with a password. This feature is applicable only if
you have an existing SSH private key for authentication with your Trading Partner and you
are using JRE1.3. SSH private keys have no standard format. OpenSSH, SSH FTP Public Key
(IETF), PuTTY, and ssh.com all have different proprietary formats. A private key generated
with one cannot immediately be used with another. The VersaLex application supports both OpenSSH and SSH FTP Public Key (IETF) private key file formats.
If the private key is in a format not supported by the VersaLex application, you should export if from the application that created it in an OpenSSH
format. To determine the format of your key you can simply open it using a text editor and
compare it to the partial example formats listed below.
Table 1. Supported Private Key Formats
| Type |
Partial Example |
| IEFT (DSA) |
---- BEGIN SSHTOOLS ENCRYPTED PRIVATE KEY ----
Comment: 1024-bit DSA
Subject: John Doe
AAAACDNERVMtQ0JD3yrqcRRh1OwAAAFQof0uP52Ya5iOnuVm1+G+o9TpQwXrOQfjPp0w8+GQ9uJ7
|
| IETF (RSA) |
---- BEGIN SSHTOOLS ENCRYPTED PRIVATE KEY ----
Comment: 1024-bit RSS
Subject: Jonh Doe
AAAACDNERVMtQ0JDEOMMw0wR0TwAAAEoUYoVJjvLn7lEnvusvbovpjscf1EDkJOMLX7HUddw8k9f
|
| OpenSSH (RSA) |
-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----
MIICWwIBAAKBgQDzl7h/4lkzqSPR5GhpwYr5MmUL6IeiY9TAsA24dA3Xa45a0JIQ
|
| OpenSSH (DSA) |
-----BEGIN DSA PRIVATE KEY-----
MIIBuwIBAAKBgQD42waNRIv7eJQoTR1PSQt+A2o8F9P1pGKLaLyw/rAg8N4FEHIN
|
Table 2. Unsupported Private Key Formats
| Type |
Partial Example |
| PuTTY |
PuTTY-User-Key-File-2: ssh-rsa
Encryption: none
Comment: rsa-key-20070808
Public-Lines: 4
AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAABJQAAAIBw8VeSCq0goiOwWqrlMu7H+N1QXAcBPdmvYttw
|
| SSH.COM |
---- BEGIN SSH2 ENCRYPTED PRIVATE KEY ----
Comment: "rsa-key-20070808"
P2/56wAAAiwAAAA3aWYtbW9kbntzaWdue3JzYS1wa2NzMS1zaGExfSxlbmNyeXB0e3JzYS
|