You can connect to the servers using the SSH protocol without the need to insert the password every time you connect. The trick is to generate a encripted key that can be used by the systems to recognize yourself and allow your access to local resources. This behaviour can be used when you are using the Servers from the Epfl Network, but also when you connect to the server from outside the Epfl.

• Login in your workstation and open a Terminal Windows (if you are using the Graphical interface)
• Execute this command

$ ssh-keygen -t dsa

• When the system ask a name for the file id_dsa just press enter
• Do the same for the id_dsa.pub file

• cd in your .ssh directory with

$ cd ~/.ssh

• Execute this command

$ cat id_dsa.pub >> authorized_keys

From now, every time you connet to a server, the server will recognize your workstation automatically (it read the ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file everytime you connect) and you can login without bothering with the password.

• Open a terminal emulation window
• Execute the command

$ ssh-keygen -t dsa

• When the system ask a name for the file id_dsa just press enter
• Do the same for the id_dsa.pub file
• cd in your .ssh directory with

$ cd ~/.ssh

• Execute this command

$ cat id_dsa.pub

• Open another window and from this connect to the public access server lth.epfl.ch. login as usual
• cd in .ssh directory with

$ cd ~/.ssh

• Execute the command

$ cat » authorized_keys

• Now copy & paste with the mouse the key you have in the first window (something that start with sh-dss AAAAB3NzaC1k….) to the second window.
• press the “Ctrl+d” key combination to close the cat command
• Try to connect to lth.epfl.ch, this time you can login without inserting the password. If you can't, something is wrong, so you have to recheck all the steps.