Cisco IOS

SSH Setup Generator

Generate complete SSH configuration for Cisco devices

What is SSH?

Secure Shell (SSH) gives encrypted remote CLI access to your devices. It replaces Telnet, which sends usernames and passwords in clear text.

Always use SSH version 2 only.
Routers and switches need an RSA key pair to accept SSH connections.
Use local users or AAA (RADIUS/TACACS+) instead of simple line passwords.

SSH Building Blocks

Component	Example	Purpose
Hostname	hostname SW-CORE-01	Used in the device identity and prompts.
Domain	ip domain-name lab.local	Required for RSA key generation.
Keys	crypto key generate rsa modulus 2048	Creates SSH server keys.
User	username admin secret Str0ngP@ss!	Login account with encrypted password.
VTY lines	line vty 0 15	Enable SSH and choose login method.

SSH Hardening Tips

Disable Telnet: transport input ssh only on VTY lines.
Use exec-timeout to log out idle sessions automatically.
Restrict source IPs with an ACL applied to management lines.

Hostname

Domain Name

Username

Password

RSA Key Size

VTY Lines

conf t
hostname SW-CORE-01
ip domain-name mynetwork.local
crypto key generate rsa modulus 2048
!
username admin privilege 15 secret Str0ngP@ss!
!
ip ssh version 2
ip ssh time-out 60
ip ssh authentication-retries 3
!
line vty 0 15
 transport input ssh
 login local
 exec-timeout 5
!
line con 0
 exec-timeout 5
 logging synchronous
!
end
copy running-config startup-config