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Linux: Setup SSH

6 March 2023 by Korbin Brown

The SSH protocol allows Linux administrators to log in to any number of remote
systems from their own command line terminal. SSH is a client-server service
providing secure, encrypted connections over a network connection. This allows us
terminal access to other Linux systems or really any device that accepts SSH
connections, such as routers and �rewalls, and other operating systems.

A user can also set up an SSH server on their own computer if they want to allow
incoming connections. This can be useful if you want to access your computer when
away from your desk, or you have other users on your system that need to use the
computer. In this tutorial, we will go over the step by step instructions to setup SSH
as both a client and server on all major Linux distros.

DID YOU KNOW?

In addition to providing us with a secure and encrypted way to log in to
remote systems, the SSH protocol can also be used to for port forwarding,
which allows us to encrypt the tra�c between two systems for pretty much
any protocol.

In this tutorial you will learn:

• How to install SSH Client and Server on all major Linux distros

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• How to use the ssh command to log in to a remote server

• How to start, stop, enable, and disable the SSH service
• How to allow incoming SSH connections through the system �rewall
• Recommendations for SSH server con�guration and security

Linux: Setup SSH

So�ware Requirements and Linux Command Line Conventions

Category Requirements, Conventions or So�ware Version Used

System Any Linux distro

So�ware OpenSSH

Privileged access to your Linux system as root or via the sudo

Other
command.

# – requires given linux commands to be executed with root

privileges either directly as a root user or by use of sudo command
Conventions
$ – requires given linux commands to be executed as a regular non-
privileged user

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How to Install SSH on Linux

The �rst thing we need to do is install SSH. There are separate so�ware packages
available depending on if you want to install the client package, server package, or
both.

• The OpenSSH Client package will allow you to use SSH to log in or initiate
connections to remote systems.
• The OpenSSH Server package will allow you to setup the SSH service and
accept incoming connections. It is not necessary (or recommended) to install
this package if you only plan to use SSH as a client.

The SSH command is generally available by default on all Linux distributions, but if
your system does not have it, you can use the appropriate command below to install
the OpenSSH client package with your systemʼs package manager. The second
command in each example below will install the Server package (skip if you do not
need it).

To install OpenSSH Client and Server on Ubuntu, Debian, and Linux Mint:

$ sudo apt update

$ sudo apt install openssh-client
$ sudo apt install openssh-server

To install OpenSSH Client and Server on Fedora, CentOS, AlmaLinux, and Red Hat:

$ sudo dnf install openssh

$ sudo dnf install openssh-server

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To install OpenSSH Client and Server on Arch Linux and Manjaro:

$ sudo pacman -S openssh # all in one package

Using SSH Command

Example 1 Now that SSH is installed, we can use the ssh command to connect to
a remote server and login. The basic syntax is as follows, where user is the
username and linuxconfig.org is the remote server. You can also use the IP
address instead of hostname.

$ ssh user@linuxconfig.org

Example 2 The default port for SSH to listen on is 22. If the remote system is
running the SSH service on some non default port, you can specify that port with the
-p option in your command. The following example shows how you would SSH into
a remote system thatʼs running the service on port 2210.

$ ssh -p 2210 user@linuxconfig.org

Example 3 Having SSH installed also gives us access to the scp command. The scp
command in Linux is used to copy �les and directories to or from a remote system.
It works very similarly to the cp command, except that it copies �les to or from other
systems that are either on your local network or somewhere over the internet. Letʼs
look at a simple example where we use the scp command to copy a local �le named
file.txt to a remote server with hostname linuxconfig.org .

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$ scp file.txt user@linuxconfig:/path/to/dest

NOTE – PASSWORDLESS LOGIN

If you get tired of typing in your password every time, you can authenticate
using RSA keys instead.

How to Con�gure SSH Server

To allow users to login to your system via SSH, we will show you how to control the
service and allow the connections through your �rewall in the steps below.

Step 1 To begin accepting incoming SSH connections, we need to start the SSH
service with the systemctl command. To start or stop the SSH server:

$ sudo systemctl start sshd

AND
$ sudo systemctl stop sshd

Step 2 To enable (make SSH start automatically at system boot), or disable the SSH
server:

$ sudo systemctl enable ssh

OR
$ sudo systemctl disable ssh

Step 3 Check whether the SSH server is running by using the systemctl status
command.

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$ sudo systemctl status ssh

The sshd status indicates that the service is currently running

Step 4 In order to accept incoming connections, you will also need to allow the
service through your system �rewall. The commands for doing that may di�er
depending on your Linux distro. Use the appropriate ones below.
On Ubuntu and systems using ufw (uncomplicated �rewall):

$ sudo ufw allow ssh

On RHEL based distros or any others using �rewalld:

$ sudo firewall-cmd --zone=public --permanent --add-service=ssh

$ sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Or if you are just using iptables and no �rewall frontend:

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$ sudo iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport ssh -j ACCEPT

Thatʼs all there is to it. As long as there is no physical router or �rewall blocking
connections to the SSH server, it should be ready to accept incoming connections.

Further SSH Server Recommendations

With your SSH server ready to accept incoming connections, there are some
con�guration and security recommendations that you can apply. We have compiled
some of the most important ones below, and given you links to more in depth
tutorials for further reading:

• How to make the most of OpenSSH – Copying �les between machines with
scp , key based authentication, saved logins, mounting �le systems over SSH
• SSH remote login syntax and examples – Enabling root login, executing
commands over SSH, using tar over SSH, adding SSH aliases
• How to secure SSH best practices – Using SSH keys, changing default port,
allow speci�c users to log in

Closing Thoughts
In this tutorial, we saw how to setup SSH on a Linux system. This included using SSH
as a client package and ssh command, along with setting up SSH as a service that
listens for incoming connections. SSH is an essential protocol for most Linux
systems, as it allows you to open remote terminals to any number of systems, or to
manage your own system from over the internet. We can also do other handy things
like copy �les remotely, or create encrypted tunnels for other protocols.

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