Configure SSH on a Cisco router in less than 30 seconds!

Secure shell popularly known as SSH is a TCP application on port 22 that is used to access a router through the vty line. SSH just like Telnet allows a network engineer/administrator to administer a router from a remote location. The major difference between SSH and Telnet is in the security that the former provides over the latter. SSH provides an encryption mechanism that ensures that the communication between your computer and the router is encrypted unlike telnet. To configure ssh on a Cisco K9 router, simply do the follows, highlighted in texts and in the video below.

>> router(config)#hostname timigate –give the router a hostname. It”s a must if ssh is to be enabled

>>timigate(config)#ip domain-name yourdomain.com

>>timigate(config)#cypto key generate rsa —- hit the enter key and enter the modulus key in increment of 512. Lowest is 512. The higher the number, the better but consider the router’s processor. For me, I will use 1024

>>timigate(config)#ip ssh au 3 — the number of wrong passwords you can enter before you start over. It is used to guard against brute force attacks.

>>timigate(config)#ip ssh time 30 —maximum length of idle time allowed before you are logged off the router.

>>timigate(config)#username timigate password cisco

>>timigate(config)#enebale secrete cisco

>>timigate(config)#line vty 0 4

>>timigate(config-line)#login local

>>timigate(config-line)#transport input ssh

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See the video below for visual demonstration of how to set up ssh.