Configuring shell access

By default, a new user doesn't have shell access. A properly configured shell account provides a way for the user to SSH to the physical nodes in your SC//Reliant™ platform environment. This page describes how to generate an SSH key, add a public key to an account (as an administrator or as the account owner), and what each shell account setting does.

For other account updates, such as changing the email address, password, or API access, see Updating a user.

Generating an SSH key

The way in which you generate your SSH key is going to be dependent on your operating system.

Windows

For Windows users, you can use PuTTY. For more information, see Using PuTTYgen on Windows to generate SSH key pairs.

macOS and Linux

On macOS or Linux, you can open Terminal or your command line utility and use the following command. Ensure you specify the email address associated with your SC//Reliant Platform Manager user account.

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C "your_email@example.com"

Adding an SSH public key to a user account (administrator)

This procedure is for administrators who need to add an SSH public key on behalf of another user. To add a key to your own account, see Adding your own SSH public key (self-service).

1. Access and log in to the SC//Reliant Platform Manager at https://platform.reliant.io/.
2. From the left navigation menu, under Administration, choose Users.
3. On the Users page, use the search function to locate the user you want to update.
4. On the users page, choose Edit.
5. From the edit page, for Shell Account, choose the Enabled radio button, then choose Save. This makes the Shell Account tab on the user management page visible.
6. From the Shell Account tab, choose Edit and do the following to add an SSH key.
   1. For Sudo, to enable sudo access for the user choose Enabled.
   2. For Groups, choose which groups to assign the user to.
   3. In the SSH keys section, choose Add new.
   4. On the New SSH Key page, do the following.
      1. For Name, specify pub_key.
      2. For Public Key, specify the public key portion of the user's SSH key.
      3. Choose Save to add the SSH key to the user account.
7. Verify all of the options and then choose Save to update the user account.

Adding your own SSH public key (self-service)

This procedure is for users who want to add an SSH public key to their own account. If shell access is already enabled for your account, you can add your own SSH public key directly, without administrator assistance. To add a key to another user's account as an administrator, see Adding an SSH public key to a user account (administrator).

1. Access and log in to the SC//Reliant Platform Manager at https://platform.reliant.io/.
2. In the top-right corner, choose your username, then choose Edit Account.
3. On your user page, choose the Shell Account tab.
4. In the SSH keys section, choose Add new.
5. On the New SSH Key page, do the following.
   1. For Name, specify a name to identify the key (for example, pub_key).
   2. For Public Key, paste the public key portion of your SSH key.
   3. Choose Save to add the SSH key to your account. A confirmation message, "SSH key was successfully created," appears and the new key is listed in the SSH keys section.

Understanding shell access settings

The following describes each of the settings for a shell account. These settings are available on the Shell Account tab when you choose Edit.

Related documentation

• Managing users
• Updating a user
• Managing user roles