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21 <!-- $Id: dnssec-keygen.docbook,v 1.38 2011/03/17 23:47:29 tbox Exp $ -->
22 <refentry id="man.dnssec-keygen">
24 <date>June 30, 2000</date>
28 <refentrytitle><application>dnssec-keygen</application></refentrytitle>
29 <manvolnum>8</manvolnum>
30 <refmiscinfo>BIND9</refmiscinfo>
34 <refname><application>dnssec-keygen</application></refname>
35 <refpurpose>DNSSEC key generation tool</refpurpose>
48 <holder>Internet Systems Consortium, Inc. ("ISC")</holder>
55 <holder>Internet Software Consortium.</holder>
61 <command>dnssec-keygen</command>
62 <arg><option>-a <replaceable class="parameter">algorithm</replaceable></option></arg>
63 <arg ><option>-b <replaceable class="parameter">keysize</replaceable></option></arg>
64 <arg><option>-n <replaceable class="parameter">nametype</replaceable></option></arg>
65 <arg><option>-3</option></arg>
66 <arg><option>-A <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></option></arg>
67 <arg><option>-C</option></arg>
68 <arg><option>-c <replaceable class="parameter">class</replaceable></option></arg>
69 <arg><option>-D <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></option></arg>
70 <arg><option>-E <replaceable class="parameter">engine</replaceable></option></arg>
71 <arg><option>-f <replaceable class="parameter">flag</replaceable></option></arg>
72 <arg><option>-G</option></arg>
73 <arg><option>-g <replaceable class="parameter">generator</replaceable></option></arg>
74 <arg><option>-h</option></arg>
75 <arg><option>-I <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></option></arg>
76 <arg><option>-i <replaceable class="parameter">interval</replaceable></option></arg>
77 <arg><option>-K <replaceable class="parameter">directory</replaceable></option></arg>
78 <arg><option>-L <replaceable class="parameter">ttl</replaceable></option></arg>
79 <arg><option>-k</option></arg>
80 <arg><option>-P <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></option></arg>
81 <arg><option>-p <replaceable class="parameter">protocol</replaceable></option></arg>
82 <arg><option>-q</option></arg>
83 <arg><option>-R <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></option></arg>
84 <arg><option>-r <replaceable class="parameter">randomdev</replaceable></option></arg>
85 <arg><option>-S <replaceable class="parameter">key</replaceable></option></arg>
86 <arg><option>-s <replaceable class="parameter">strength</replaceable></option></arg>
87 <arg><option>-t <replaceable class="parameter">type</replaceable></option></arg>
88 <arg><option>-v <replaceable class="parameter">level</replaceable></option></arg>
89 <arg><option>-z</option></arg>
90 <arg choice="req">name</arg>
95 <title>DESCRIPTION</title>
96 <para><command>dnssec-keygen</command>
97 generates keys for DNSSEC (Secure DNS), as defined in RFC 2535
98 and RFC 4034. It can also generate keys for use with
99 TSIG (Transaction Signatures) as defined in RFC 2845, or TKEY
100 (Transaction Key) as defined in RFC 2930.
103 The <option>name</option> of the key is specified on the command
104 line. For DNSSEC keys, this must match the name of the zone for
105 which the key is being generated.
110 <title>OPTIONS</title>
114 <term>-a <replaceable class="parameter">algorithm</replaceable></term>
117 Selects the cryptographic algorithm. For DNSSEC keys, the value
118 of <option>algorithm</option> must be one of RSAMD5, RSASHA1,
119 DSA, NSEC3RSASHA1, NSEC3DSA, RSASHA256, RSASHA512, ECCGOST,
120 ECDSAP256SHA256 or ECDSAP384SHA384.
121 For TSIG/TKEY, the value must
122 be DH (Diffie Hellman), HMAC-MD5, HMAC-SHA1, HMAC-SHA224,
123 HMAC-SHA256, HMAC-SHA384, or HMAC-SHA512. These values are
127 If no algorithm is specified, then RSASHA1 will be used by
128 default, unless the <option>-3</option> option is specified,
129 in which case NSEC3RSASHA1 will be used instead. (If
130 <option>-3</option> is used and an algorithm is specified,
131 that algorithm will be checked for compatibility with NSEC3.)
134 Note 1: that for DNSSEC, RSASHA1 is a mandatory to implement
135 algorithm, and DSA is recommended. For TSIG, HMAC-MD5 is
139 Note 2: DH, HMAC-MD5, and HMAC-SHA1 through HMAC-SHA512
140 automatically set the -T KEY option.
146 <term>-b <replaceable class="parameter">keysize</replaceable></term>
149 Specifies the number of bits in the key. The choice of key
150 size depends on the algorithm used. RSA keys must be
151 between 512 and 2048 bits. Diffie Hellman keys must be between
152 128 and 4096 bits. DSA keys must be between 512 and 1024
153 bits and an exact multiple of 64. HMAC keys must be
154 between 1 and 512 bits. Elliptic curve algorithms don't need
158 The key size does not need to be specified if using a default
159 algorithm. The default key size is 1024 bits for zone signing
160 keys (ZSK's) and 2048 bits for key signing keys (KSK's,
161 generated with <option>-f KSK</option>). However, if an
162 algorithm is explicitly specified with the <option>-a</option>,
163 then there is no default key size, and the <option>-b</option>
170 <term>-n <replaceable class="parameter">nametype</replaceable></term>
173 Specifies the owner type of the key. The value of
174 <option>nametype</option> must either be ZONE (for a DNSSEC
175 zone key (KEY/DNSKEY)), HOST or ENTITY (for a key associated with
177 USER (for a key associated with a user(KEY)) or OTHER (DNSKEY).
178 These values are case insensitive. Defaults to ZONE for DNSKEY
188 Use an NSEC3-capable algorithm to generate a DNSSEC key.
189 If this option is used and no algorithm is explicitly
190 set on the command line, NSEC3RSASHA1 will be used by
191 default. Note that RSASHA256, RSASHA512, ECCGOST,
192 ECDSAP256SHA256 and ECDSAP384SHA384 algorithms
202 Compatibility mode: generates an old-style key, without
203 any metadata. By default, <command>dnssec-keygen</command>
204 will include the key's creation date in the metadata stored
205 with the private key, and other dates may be set there as well
206 (publication date, activation date, etc). Keys that include
207 this data may be incompatible with older versions of BIND; the
208 <option>-C</option> option suppresses them.
214 <term>-c <replaceable class="parameter">class</replaceable></term>
217 Indicates that the DNS record containing the key should have
218 the specified class. If not specified, class IN is used.
224 <term>-E <replaceable class="parameter">engine</replaceable></term>
227 Uses a crypto hardware (OpenSSL engine) for random number
228 and, when supported, key generation. When compiled with PKCS#11
229 support it defaults to pkcs11; the empty name resets it to
236 <term>-f <replaceable class="parameter">flag</replaceable></term>
239 Set the specified flag in the flag field of the KEY/DNSKEY record.
240 The only recognized flags are KSK (Key Signing Key) and REVOKE.
249 Generate a key, but do not publish it or sign with it. This
250 option is incompatible with -P and -A.
256 <term>-g <replaceable class="parameter">generator</replaceable></term>
259 If generating a Diffie Hellman key, use this generator.
260 Allowed values are 2 and 5. If no generator
261 is specified, a known prime from RFC 2539 will be used
262 if possible; otherwise the default is 2.
271 Prints a short summary of the options and arguments to
272 <command>dnssec-keygen</command>.
278 <term>-K <replaceable class="parameter">directory</replaceable></term>
281 Sets the directory in which the key files are to be written.
290 Deprecated in favor of -T KEY.
296 <term>-L <replaceable class="parameter">ttl</replaceable></term>
299 Sets the default TTL to use for this key when it is converted
300 into a DNSKEY RR. If the key is imported into a zone,
301 this is the TTL that will be used for it, unless there was
302 already a DNSKEY RRset in place, in which case the existing TTL
303 would take precedence. Setting the default TTL to
304 <literal>0</literal> or <literal>none</literal> removes it.
310 <term>-p <replaceable class="parameter">protocol</replaceable></term>
313 Sets the protocol value for the generated key. The protocol
314 is a number between 0 and 255. The default is 3 (DNSSEC).
315 Other possible values for this argument are listed in
316 RFC 2535 and its successors.
325 Quiet mode: Suppresses unnecessary output, including
326 progress indication. Without this option, when
327 <command>dnssec-keygen</command> is run interactively
328 to generate an RSA or DSA key pair, it will print a string
329 of symbols to <filename>stderr</filename> indicating the
330 progress of the key generation. A '.' indicates that a
331 random number has been found which passed an initial
332 sieve test; '+' means a number has passed a single
333 round of the Miller-Rabin primality test; a space
334 means that the number has passed all the tests and is
341 <term>-r <replaceable class="parameter">randomdev</replaceable></term>
344 Specifies the source of randomness. If the operating
345 system does not provide a <filename>/dev/random</filename>
346 or equivalent device, the default source of randomness
347 is keyboard input. <filename>randomdev</filename>
349 the name of a character device or file containing random
350 data to be used instead of the default. The special value
351 <filename>keyboard</filename> indicates that keyboard
352 input should be used.
358 <term>-S <replaceable class="parameter">key</replaceable></term>
361 Create a new key which is an explicit successor to an
362 existing key. The name, algorithm, size, and type of the
363 key will be set to match the existing key. The activation
364 date of the new key will be set to the inactivation date of
365 the existing one. The publication date will be set to the
366 activation date minus the prepublication interval, which
373 <term>-s <replaceable class="parameter">strength</replaceable></term>
376 Specifies the strength value of the key. The strength is
377 a number between 0 and 15, and currently has no defined
384 <term>-T <replaceable class="parameter">rrtype</replaceable></term>
387 Specifies the resource record type to use for the key.
388 <option>rrtype</option> must be either DNSKEY or KEY. The
389 default is DNSKEY when using a DNSSEC algorithm, but it can be
390 overridden to KEY for use with SIG(0).
393 Using any TSIG algorithm (HMAC-* or DH) forces this option
400 <term>-t <replaceable class="parameter">type</replaceable></term>
403 Indicates the use of the key. <option>type</option> must be
404 one of AUTHCONF, NOAUTHCONF, NOAUTH, or NOCONF. The default
405 is AUTHCONF. AUTH refers to the ability to authenticate
406 data, and CONF the ability to encrypt data.
412 <term>-v <replaceable class="parameter">level</replaceable></term>
415 Sets the debugging level.
424 <title>TIMING OPTIONS</title>
427 Dates can be expressed in the format YYYYMMDD or YYYYMMDDHHMMSS.
428 If the argument begins with a '+' or '-', it is interpreted as
429 an offset from the present time. For convenience, if such an offset
430 is followed by one of the suffixes 'y', 'mo', 'w', 'd', 'h', or 'mi',
431 then the offset is computed in years (defined as 365 24-hour days,
432 ignoring leap years), months (defined as 30 24-hour days), weeks,
433 days, hours, or minutes, respectively. Without a suffix, the offset
434 is computed in seconds.
439 <term>-P <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></term>
442 Sets the date on which a key is to be published to the zone.
443 After that date, the key will be included in the zone but will
444 not be used to sign it. If not set, and if the -G option has
445 not been used, the default is "now".
451 <term>-A <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></term>
454 Sets the date on which the key is to be activated. After that
455 date, the key will be included in the zone and used to sign
456 it. If not set, and if the -G option has not been used, the
463 <term>-R <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></term>
466 Sets the date on which the key is to be revoked. After that
467 date, the key will be flagged as revoked. It will be included
468 in the zone and will be used to sign it.
474 <term>-I <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></term>
477 Sets the date on which the key is to be retired. After that
478 date, the key will still be included in the zone, but it
479 will not be used to sign it.
485 <term>-D <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></term>
488 Sets the date on which the key is to be deleted. After that
489 date, the key will no longer be included in the zone. (It
490 may remain in the key repository, however.)
496 <term>-i <replaceable class="parameter">interval</replaceable></term>
499 Sets the prepublication interval for a key. If set, then
500 the publication and activation dates must be separated by at least
501 this much time. If the activation date is specified but the
502 publication date isn't, then the publication date will default
503 to this much time before the activation date; conversely, if
504 the publication date is specified but activation date isn't,
505 then activation will be set to this much time after publication.
508 If the key is being created as an explicit successor to another
509 key, then the default prepublication interval is 30 days;
510 otherwise it is zero.
513 As with date offsets, if the argument is followed by one of
514 the suffixes 'y', 'mo', 'w', 'd', 'h', or 'mi', then the
515 interval is measured in years, months, weeks, days, hours,
516 or minutes, respectively. Without a suffix, the interval is
527 <title>GENERATED KEYS</title>
529 When <command>dnssec-keygen</command> completes
531 it prints a string of the form <filename>Knnnn.+aaa+iiiii</filename>
532 to the standard output. This is an identification string for
533 the key it has generated.
537 <para><filename>nnnn</filename> is the key name.
541 <para><filename>aaa</filename> is the numeric representation
547 <para><filename>iiiii</filename> is the key identifier (or
552 <para><command>dnssec-keygen</command>
553 creates two files, with names based
554 on the printed string. <filename>Knnnn.+aaa+iiiii.key</filename>
555 contains the public key, and
556 <filename>Knnnn.+aaa+iiiii.private</filename> contains the
561 The <filename>.key</filename> file contains a DNS KEY record
563 can be inserted into a zone file (directly or with a $INCLUDE
567 The <filename>.private</filename> file contains
569 fields. For obvious security reasons, this file does not have
570 general read permission.
573 Both <filename>.key</filename> and <filename>.private</filename>
574 files are generated for symmetric encryption algorithms such as
575 HMAC-MD5, even though the public and private key are equivalent.
580 <title>EXAMPLE</title>
582 To generate a 768-bit DSA key for the domain
583 <userinput>example.com</userinput>, the following command would be
586 <para><userinput>dnssec-keygen -a DSA -b 768 -n ZONE example.com</userinput>
589 The command would print a string of the form:
591 <para><userinput>Kexample.com.+003+26160</userinput>
594 In this example, <command>dnssec-keygen</command> creates
595 the files <filename>Kexample.com.+003+26160.key</filename>
597 <filename>Kexample.com.+003+26160.private</filename>.
602 <title>SEE ALSO</title>
604 <refentrytitle>dnssec-signzone</refentrytitle><manvolnum>8</manvolnum>
606 <citetitle>BIND 9 Administrator Reference Manual</citetitle>,
607 <citetitle>RFC 2539</citetitle>,
608 <citetitle>RFC 2845</citetitle>,
609 <citetitle>RFC 4034</citetitle>.
614 <title>AUTHOR</title>
615 <para><corpauthor>Internet Systems Consortium</corpauthor>