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xStack® DES-3200 Series Layer 2 Ethernet Managed Switch CLI Reference Guide
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SSL COMMANDS
Secure Sockets Layer or SSL is a security feature that will provide a secure communication path between a host and client through
the use of authentication, digital signatures and encryption. These security functions are implemented through the use of a
ciphersuite, which is a security string that determines the exact cryptographic parameters, specific encryption algorithms and key
sizes to be used for an authentication session and consists of three levels:
Key Exchange: The first part of the cyphersuite string specifies the public key algorithm to be used. This Switch utilizes the
Rivest Shamir Adleman (RSA) public key algorithm and the Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA), specified here as the DHE_DSS
Diffie-Hellman (DHE) public key algorithm. This is the first authentication process between client and host as they “exchange
keys” in looking for a match and therefore authentication to be accepted to negotiate encryptions on the following level.
Encryption: The second part of the ciphersuite that includes the encryption used for encrypting the messages sent between client
and host. The Switch supports two types of cryptology algorithms:
Stream Ciphers – There are two types of stream ciphers on the Switch, RC4 with 40-bit keys and RC4 with 128-bit keys. These
keys are used to encrypt messages and need to be consistent between client and host for optimal use.
CBC Block Ciphers – CBC refers to Cipher Block Chaining, which means that a portion of the previously encrypted block of
encrypted text is used in the encryption of the current block. The Switch supports the 3DES_EDE encryption code defined by the
Data Encryption Standard (DES) to create the encrypted text.
Hash Algorithm: This part of the ciphersuite allows the user to choose a message digest function which will determine a Message
Authentication Code. This Message Authentication Code will be encrypted with a sent message to provide integrity and prevent
against replay attacks. The Switch supports two hash algorithms, MD5 (Message Digest 5) and SHA (Secure Hash Algorithm).
These three parameters are uniquely assembled in four choices on the Switch to create a three layered encryption code for secure
communication between the server and the host. The user may implement any one or combination of the ciphersuites available,
yet different ciphersuites will affect the security level and the performance of the secured connection. The information included in
the ciphersuites is not included with the Switch and requires downloading from a third source in a file form called a certificate.
This function of the Switch cannot be executed without the presence and implementation of the certificate file and can be
downloaded to the Switch by utilizing a TFTP server. The Switch supports SSLv3 and TLSv1. Other versions of SSL may not be
compatible with this Switch and may cause problems upon authentication and transfer of messages from client to host.
The SSL commands in the Command Line Interface (CLI) are listed (along with the appropriate parameters) in the following
table:
Command Parameters
enable ssl {ciphersuite {RSA_with_RC4_128_MD5 |
RSA_with_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA |
DHE_DSS_with_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA |
RSA_EXPORT_with_RC4_40_MD5} (1) }
disable ssl {ciphersuite {RSA_with_RC4_128_MD5 |
RSA_with_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA |
DHE_DSS_with_3DES_EDE_CBC_SHA |
RSA_EXPORT_with_RC4_40_MD5} (1) }
config ssl cachetimeout timeout <value 60-86400>
show ssl
show ssl certificate
show ssl cachetimeout
download ssl certificate <ipaddr> certfilename <path_filename 64> keyfilename
<path_filename 64>
Each command is listed, in detail, in the following sections.