Re: SFTP Questions

Hello,

On 1/18/2012 3:23 PM, Jeff Young wrote:

1. When I get the public key from the server, what do I do to install it?

This sounds backward to me. Typically, the client generates the public/private key, and the public key gets installed on the server.

If you want the server to generate the key, that's fine (if unconventional), but then you'll need to install the *private* key on the client system, not the public one.

2. I will be sending multiple files to the server and would like to
automate the process. What is the best way to do this?

Secure Copy (scp) is the easiest way, as long as all you're doing is sending (and not needing to do things like delete, rename, etc). If you need the additional functionality, use sftp with the -b (batch) switch. There are examples of both in the presentation and articles that I've written.

3. The member name of the files being sent will vary with each
transmission. How can I do this in an automated envrionment?

You can use wildcards, or you can generate the sftp/scp commands on-the-fly by writing the script from a program.

4. Does it matter what user profile runs the job?

Errr.. tricky question. By default, keys are located in the user's home directory. So, if another user runs the same automated transfer, the keys wouldn't be found.

However, you can specify an alternate key location on the scp/sftp command line. Or, you can simply install the keys in multiple user's home directories.

So technically, it doesn't matter which user runs the job. But, you might run into problems if you didn't design your automated job with "cross-user-ness" in mind.

5. What OS Level security restrictions are there on using the required
commands?

The only restrictions I'm aware of are in the authorities to the key files (which is something you control.) SSH will complain if you try to use a key that can be read or modified by *PUBLIC, considering that to be a security hole.

6. If the client has a firewall that restricts outbound transmissions to
known ports, what ports need to be opened for SFTP?

All SSH applications (including 'ssh', 'sshd', 'scp' and 'sftp') use port 22, unless you specifically override it to something else.