Configuring Secure Shell on Routers and Switches Running Cisco IOS

Set Up an IOS Router or Switch as SSH Client

There are four steps required to enable SSH support on an IOS router:

1. Configure the hostname command.
2. Configure the DNS domain.
3. Generate the SSH key to be used.
4. Enable SSH transport support for the virtual type terminal (vtys).

If you want to have one device act as an SSH client to the other, you can add SSH to a second device called Reed. These devices are then in a client-server arrangement, where Carter acts as the server, and Reed acts as the client. The IOS SSH client configuration on Reed is the same as required for the SSH server configuration on Carter.


!--- Step 1: Configure the hostname if you have not previously done so.

hostname carter

!--- The aaa new-model command causes the local username and password on the router
!--- to be used in the absence of other AAA statements.

aaa new-model
username cisco password 0 cisco

!--- Step 2: Configure the DNS domain of the router.

ip domain-name rtp.cisco.com

!--- Step 3: Generate an SSH key to be used with SSH.

cry key generate rsa
ip ssh time-out 60
ip ssh authentication-retries 2

!--- Step 4: By default the vtys' transport is Telnet. In this case,
!--- Telnet is disabled and only SSH is supported.

line vty 0 4
transport input SSH

!--- Instead of aaa new-model, you can use the login local command.

Link: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/tech/tk583/tk617/technologies_tech_note09186a00800949e2.shtml