> I am a bit confused. If ssh-agent, ssh-add and ssh-keygen are client side
> apps, why are the binaries generated on Linux? Why does the ssh-agent man
> page suggest that ssh-agent be started during the Xsession?
Because the standard SSH "package" provides both server and client programs.
Server: "sshd", "ssh-keygen" (for host keys, generated during installation)
Client: "ssh", "slogin", "scp", "ssh-agent", "ssh-add", "ssh-keygen"
Linux (or any other *NIX) can be either. I run FreeBSD on all my PCs because
I prefer to run an operating system on any computer I use ;-)
> The couple of SSH client's, I have found for NT and 95 are TeraTermPro and Putty.
> None of the packages have the binaries ssh-agent, ssh-keygen and ssh-add.
They don't: "ssh-add" because it's no use without "ssh-agent" (and vice versa).
None of these are *necessary* at the client end although you need "ssh-keygen"
*somewhere*. You can generate keys somewhere else and move them to the Windoze
box. You don't *need* keys if you are going to use password authentication instead
of RSA (user) authentication. If you're not using RSA keys you don't *need*
"ssh-agent" (and "ssh-add") at all; if you are using RSA keys you can type
the passphrase to unlock the "identity" file each time you use it: the agent
is only to avoid having to do this multiple times.
The TTSSH documentation does note that "ssh-keygen" is missing and tells you
where to put an "identity" file you have generated elsewhere.
--
David Pick
