Changing key-based authentication to password-based for SSH to Linux VM [Linux]
When creating a VM for Sisense installation in a cloud environment (such as AWS), it is deployed with the default key-based authentication method, meaning it will be required to provide the respective SSH key when performing an SSH connection to the instance. In some cases, you may want to change this authentication method to password-based so that an SSH connection can be established after the password is prompted, rather than after the SSH key is specified. Since Sisense allows both methods, it is useful to understand how to change the authentication method depending on the actual infrastructure needs.
When creating a VM for Sisense installation in a cloud environment (such as AWS), it is deployed with the default key-based authentication method, meaning it will be required to provide the respective SSH key when performing an SSH connection to the instance.
In some cases, you may want to change this authentication method to password-based so that an SSH connection can be established after the password is prompted, rather than after the SSH key is specified.
Since Sisense allows both methods, it is useful to understand how to change the authentication method depending on the actual infrastructure needs.
Step-by-Step Guide
First of all, you will need to set the password for the user - in this example user is “ubuntu”:
- Create a password for the “ubuntu” user:
sudo passwd ubuntu
^ You will be prompted to type the desired password twice
^ After typing it two times, you will see the following message: “passwd: password updated successfully”
- Then it will be required to check SSHD settings related to the authentication method and change them if needed:
Enter the sshd_config file:
sudo vim /etc/ssh/sshd_config
Search for the following line: “PasswordAuthentication”
^ In case it is set to “yes”, leave it as is
^ in case it is set to “no”, change it to “yes”
^ NOTE: In the Vim editor, you should type i to edit and:w to save changes or:wq to save and quit
Check the top lines of the file and verify whether an additional config file is included - if yes, you will see a line starting with “Included” as in the example below:
Include /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/*.conf
After closing the initial file, check the files present in the directory mentioned in the “Include” line (in our example, it is /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d):
ls -lth /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d
^ In our example, there is a file named 60-cloudimg-settings.conf, but it might be different on a different VM
Enter this file and verify that the “PasswordAuthentication” value is also set to “yes”:
sudo vim /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/60-cloudimg-settings.conf
- After “PasswordAuthentication” value is confirmed to be enabled in SSHD initial config and its additional config file(s), restart the sshd service to apply the changes:
sudo systemctl restart sshd
OR
sudo systemctl restart ssh
After that, you should be able to SSH to your machine with a password set in Step 1 instead of an SSH key.
Conclusion
This article describes how to change the authentication method from key-based to password-based while performing SSH connectivity to the Linux VM
References/Related Content
Disclaimer: This post outlines a potential custom workaround for a specific use case or provides instructions regarding a specific task. The solution may not work in all scenarios or Sisense versions, so we strongly recommend testing it in your environment before deployment. If you need further assistance with this, please let us know.
