Create an SSH key pair (2024)

To access your Microsoft Viva Glint (Secure File Transfer Protocol) SFTP account, create an SSH key pair, which includes a public and private key.

Understand SSH key pair requirements

To connect to your Viva Glint SFTP account, ensure that the SSH key pair:

• Has a key length of as least 2048, ideally 4096 bits.
• Is type RSA in OpenSSH format.

Create an SSH key pair on Microsoft Windows

To create a key pair on Microsoft Windows operating systems:

1. Download PuTTy Key Generator PuTTygen.exe file and run it.
2. In the Key menu, select SSH-2 RSA Key.
3. In Parameters, select the RSA option.
4. In Number of bits in generated key field, enter at least 2048, ideally 4096.
5. In Actions, select Generate.
6. A progress bar appears. In the blank area under the bar, move your pointer in a random pattern to complete key pair generation.
7. When generation completes, copy the contents of the Public key for pasting into OpenSSH authorized_keys file field and past into a text editor application (like Notepad).

   Important

   Copy the full text of the public key, including ssh-rsa, into the SSH Public Key field when you set up SFTP in General Settings.

8. Save your file as vivaglint-yyyymmdd.pub.
9. Key passphrase and Confirm passphrase fields aren't required. Leave blank for no passphrase.
10. Select Save private key to save the private key file. This key lets you connect to SFTP in a dedicated FTP application.

Create an SSH key pair on Macintosh or Linux

To create a key pair on Macintosh or Linux operating systems:

1. Open a Terminal window. in Macintosh operating systems, find Terminal in the Dock or in the Utilities folder.
2. Enter the following command: ssh-keygen -b 2048 -t rsa -C "your_username" -f filename.
   1. The length, determined by -b, should be at least 2048, ideally 4096.
   2. Update your_username and filename values.
   3. Example: ssh-keygen -b 2048 -t rsa -C "jsmith" -f vivaglint-yyyymmdd.
3. Select enter and follow prompts.
4. A passphrase isn't required. Supply a passphrase or leave blank and select enter to continue.
5. When successfully generated, you see these messages:
   1. Your identification has been saved in filename.
   2. Your public key has been saved in filename.pub.
6. Search for the public and private key files in Finder.
   1. The two key files are named based on what was specified in the Terminal command.
      1. Example: vivaglint-yyyymmdd and vivaglint-yyyymmdd.pub
   2. With no specified file name, the key files appear as: id_rsa and id_rsa.pub.
7. Open the .pub file (the SSH public key) in a text editor (like TextEdit) and copy the contents.

   Important

   Copy the full text of the public key, including ssh-rsa, into the SSH Public Key field when you set up SFTP in General Settings.