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dnssec-keygen

DNSSEC-KEYGEN(8)                                              DNSSEC-KEYGEN(8)



NAME
       dnssec-keygen - DNSSEC key generation tool

SYNOPSIS
       dnssec-keygen  -a algorithm -b keysize -n nametype [ -c class ]  [ -e ]
       [ -g generator ]  [ -h ]  [ -p protocol ]   [  -r  randomdev  ]   [  -s
       strength ]  [ -t type ]  [ -v level ]  name

DESCRIPTION
       dnssec-keygen generates keys for DNSSEC (Secure DNS), as defined in RFC
       2535. It can also generate keys for use with TSIG  (Transaction  Signa-
       tures), as defined in RFC 2845.

OPTIONS
       -a algorithm
              Selects the cryptographic algorithm. The value of algorithm must
              be one of RSAMD5 or RSA, DSA, DH (Diffie Hellman), or  HMAC-MD5.
              These values are case insensitive.

              Note that for DNSSEC, DSA is a mandatory to implement algorithm,
              and RSA is recommended. For TSIG, HMAC-MD5 is mandatory.

       -b keysize
              Specifies the number of bits in the key. The choice of key  size
              depends  on the algorithm used. RSA keys must be between 512 and
              2048 bits. Diffie Hellman keys must  be  between  128  and  4096
              bits.  DSA  keys  must be between 512 and 1024 bits and an exact
              multiple of 64. HMAC-MD5 keys must be between 1 and 512 bits.

       -n nametype
              Specifies the owner type of the key. The value of nametype  must
              either  be  ZONE  (for a DNSSEC zone key), HOST or ENTITY (for a
              key associated with a host), or USER (for a key associated  with
              a user). These values are case insensitive.

       -c class
              Indicates that the DNS record containing the key should have the
              specified class. If not specified, class IN is used.

       -e     If generating an RSA key, use a large exponent.

       -g generator
              If generating a Diffie Hellman key, use this generator.  Allowed
              values  are 2 and 5. If no generator is specified, a known prime
              from RFC 2539 will be used if possible; otherwise the default is
              2.

       -h     Prints  a  short summary of the options and arguments to dnssec-
              keygen.

       -p protocol
              Sets the protocol value for the generated key. The protocol is a
              number  between  0 and 255. The default is 2 (email) for keys of
              type USER and 3 (DNSSEC) for all other key types.  Other  possi-
              ble values for this argument are listed in RFC 2535 and its suc-
              cessors.

       -r randomdev
              Specifies the source of randomness. If the operating system does
              not  provide  a  /dev/random  or  equivalent device, the default
              source of randomness is keyboard input. randomdev specifies  the
              name  of a character device or file containing random data to be
              used instead of the default. The special  value  keyboard  indi-
              cates that keyboard input should be used.

       -s strength
              Specifies  the strength value of the key. The strength is a num-
              ber between 0 and 15, and currently has no  defined  purpose  in
              DNSSEC.

       -t type
              Indicates  the  use  of  the  key. type must be one of AUTHCONF,
              NOAUTHCONF, NOAUTH, or NOCONF. The  default  is  AUTHCONF.  AUTH
              refers to the ability to authenticate data, and CONF the ability
              to encrypt data.

       -v level
              Sets the debugging level.

GENERATED KEYS
       When dnssec-keygen completes successfully, it prints a  string  of  the
       form Knnnn.+aaa+iiiii to the standard output. This is an identification
       string for the key it has generated. These strings can be used as argu-
       ments to dnssec-makekeyset.

       o nnnn is the key name.

       o aaa is the numeric representation of the algorithm.

       o iiiii is the key identifier (or footprint).

       dnssec-keygen creates two file, with names based on the printed string.
       Knnnn.+aaa+iiiii.key contains the public key, and Knnnn.+aaa+iiiii.pri-
       vate contains the private key.


       The  .key  file  contains  a DNS KEY record that can be inserted into a
       zone file (directly or with a $INCLUDE statement).


       The .private file contains algorithm specific fields. For obvious secu-
       rity reasons, this file does not have general read permission.


       Both  .key  and  .private  files are generated for symmetric encryption
       algorithm such as HMAC-MD5, even though the public and private key  are
       equivalent.


EXAMPLE
       To generate a 768-bit DSA key for the domain example.com, the following
       command would be issued:

       dnssec-keygen -a DSA -b 768 -n ZONE example.com

       The command would print a string of the form:

       Kexample.com.+003+26160

       In   this   example,   dnssec-keygen   creates   the    files    Kexam-
       ple.com.+003+26160.key and Kexample.com.+003+26160.private

SEE ALSO
       dnssec-makekeyset(8),  dnssec-signkey(8),  dnssec-signzone(8),  BIND  9
       Administrator Reference Manual, RFC 2535, RFC 2845, RFC 2539.

AUTHOR
       Internet Software Consortium



BIND9                            June 30, 2000                DNSSEC-KEYGEN(8)