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18 <!-- Converted by db4-upgrade version 1.0 -->
19 <refentry xmlns="http://docbook.org/ns/docbook" version="5.0" xml:id="man.dnssec-keygen">
21 <date>2014-02-07</date>
24 <corpname>ISC</corpname>
25 <corpauthor>Internet Systems Consortium, Inc.</corpauthor>
29 <refentrytitle><application>dnssec-keygen</application></refentrytitle>
30 <manvolnum>8</manvolnum>
31 <refmiscinfo>BIND9</refmiscinfo>
35 <refname><application>dnssec-keygen</application></refname>
36 <refpurpose>DNSSEC key generation tool</refpurpose>
51 <holder>Internet Systems Consortium, Inc. ("ISC")</holder>
58 <holder>Internet Software Consortium.</holder>
63 <cmdsynopsis sepchar=" ">
64 <command>dnssec-keygen</command>
65 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-a <replaceable class="parameter">algorithm</replaceable></option></arg>
66 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-b <replaceable class="parameter">keysize</replaceable></option></arg>
67 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-n <replaceable class="parameter">nametype</replaceable></option></arg>
68 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-3</option></arg>
69 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-A <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></option></arg>
70 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-C</option></arg>
71 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-c <replaceable class="parameter">class</replaceable></option></arg>
72 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-D <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></option></arg>
73 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-E <replaceable class="parameter">engine</replaceable></option></arg>
74 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-f <replaceable class="parameter">flag</replaceable></option></arg>
75 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-G</option></arg>
76 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-g <replaceable class="parameter">generator</replaceable></option></arg>
77 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-h</option></arg>
78 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-I <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></option></arg>
79 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-i <replaceable class="parameter">interval</replaceable></option></arg>
80 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-K <replaceable class="parameter">directory</replaceable></option></arg>
81 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-L <replaceable class="parameter">ttl</replaceable></option></arg>
82 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-k</option></arg>
83 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-P <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></option></arg>
84 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-p <replaceable class="parameter">protocol</replaceable></option></arg>
85 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-q</option></arg>
86 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-R <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></option></arg>
87 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-r <replaceable class="parameter">randomdev</replaceable></option></arg>
88 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-S <replaceable class="parameter">key</replaceable></option></arg>
89 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-s <replaceable class="parameter">strength</replaceable></option></arg>
90 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-t <replaceable class="parameter">type</replaceable></option></arg>
91 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-v <replaceable class="parameter">level</replaceable></option></arg>
92 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-V</option></arg>
93 <arg choice="opt" rep="norepeat"><option>-z</option></arg>
94 <arg choice="req" rep="norepeat">name</arg>
98 <refsection><info><title>DESCRIPTION</title></info>
100 <para><command>dnssec-keygen</command>
101 generates keys for DNSSEC (Secure DNS), as defined in RFC 2535
102 and RFC 4034. It can also generate keys for use with
103 TSIG (Transaction Signatures) as defined in RFC 2845, or TKEY
104 (Transaction Key) as defined in RFC 2930.
107 The <option>name</option> of the key is specified on the command
108 line. For DNSSEC keys, this must match the name of the zone for
109 which the key is being generated.
113 <refsection><info><title>OPTIONS</title></info>
118 <term>-a <replaceable class="parameter">algorithm</replaceable></term>
121 Selects the cryptographic algorithm. For DNSSEC keys, the value
122 of <option>algorithm</option> must be one of RSAMD5, RSASHA1,
123 DSA, NSEC3RSASHA1, NSEC3DSA, RSASHA256, RSASHA512, ECCGOST,
124 ECDSAP256SHA256 or ECDSAP384SHA384.
125 For TSIG/TKEY, the value must
126 be DH (Diffie Hellman), HMAC-MD5, HMAC-SHA1, HMAC-SHA224,
127 HMAC-SHA256, HMAC-SHA384, or HMAC-SHA512. These values are
131 If no algorithm is specified, then RSASHA1 will be used by
132 default, unless the <option>-3</option> option is specified,
133 in which case NSEC3RSASHA1 will be used instead. (If
134 <option>-3</option> is used and an algorithm is specified,
135 that algorithm will be checked for compatibility with NSEC3.)
138 Note 1: that for DNSSEC, RSASHA1 is a mandatory to implement
139 algorithm, and DSA is recommended. For TSIG, HMAC-MD5 is
143 Note 2: DH, HMAC-MD5, and HMAC-SHA1 through HMAC-SHA512
144 automatically set the -T KEY option.
150 <term>-b <replaceable class="parameter">keysize</replaceable></term>
153 Specifies the number of bits in the key. The choice of key
154 size depends on the algorithm used. RSA keys must be
155 between 512 and 2048 bits. Diffie Hellman keys must be between
156 128 and 4096 bits. DSA keys must be between 512 and 1024
157 bits and an exact multiple of 64. HMAC keys must be
158 between 1 and 512 bits. Elliptic curve algorithms don't need
162 The key size does not need to be specified if using a default
163 algorithm. The default key size is 1024 bits for zone signing
164 keys (ZSK's) and 2048 bits for key signing keys (KSK's,
165 generated with <option>-f KSK</option>). However, if an
166 algorithm is explicitly specified with the <option>-a</option>,
167 then there is no default key size, and the <option>-b</option>
174 <term>-n <replaceable class="parameter">nametype</replaceable></term>
177 Specifies the owner type of the key. The value of
178 <option>nametype</option> must either be ZONE (for a DNSSEC
179 zone key (KEY/DNSKEY)), HOST or ENTITY (for a key associated with
181 USER (for a key associated with a user(KEY)) or OTHER (DNSKEY).
182 These values are case insensitive. Defaults to ZONE for DNSKEY
192 Use an NSEC3-capable algorithm to generate a DNSSEC key.
193 If this option is used and no algorithm is explicitly
194 set on the command line, NSEC3RSASHA1 will be used by
195 default. Note that RSASHA256, RSASHA512, ECCGOST,
196 ECDSAP256SHA256 and ECDSAP384SHA384 algorithms
206 Compatibility mode: generates an old-style key, without
207 any metadata. By default, <command>dnssec-keygen</command>
208 will include the key's creation date in the metadata stored
209 with the private key, and other dates may be set there as well
210 (publication date, activation date, etc). Keys that include
211 this data may be incompatible with older versions of BIND; the
212 <option>-C</option> option suppresses them.
218 <term>-c <replaceable class="parameter">class</replaceable></term>
221 Indicates that the DNS record containing the key should have
222 the specified class. If not specified, class IN is used.
228 <term>-E <replaceable class="parameter">engine</replaceable></term>
231 Uses a crypto hardware (OpenSSL engine) for random number
232 and, when supported, key generation. When compiled with PKCS#11
233 support it defaults to pkcs11; the empty name resets it to
240 <term>-f <replaceable class="parameter">flag</replaceable></term>
243 Set the specified flag in the flag field of the KEY/DNSKEY record.
244 The only recognized flags are KSK (Key Signing Key) and REVOKE.
253 Generate a key, but do not publish it or sign with it. This
254 option is incompatible with -P and -A.
260 <term>-g <replaceable class="parameter">generator</replaceable></term>
263 If generating a Diffie Hellman key, use this generator.
264 Allowed values are 2 and 5. If no generator
265 is specified, a known prime from RFC 2539 will be used
266 if possible; otherwise the default is 2.
275 Prints a short summary of the options and arguments to
276 <command>dnssec-keygen</command>.
282 <term>-K <replaceable class="parameter">directory</replaceable></term>
285 Sets the directory in which the key files are to be written.
294 Deprecated in favor of -T KEY.
300 <term>-L <replaceable class="parameter">ttl</replaceable></term>
303 Sets the default TTL to use for this key when it is converted
304 into a DNSKEY RR. If the key is imported into a zone,
305 this is the TTL that will be used for it, unless there was
306 already a DNSKEY RRset in place, in which case the existing TTL
307 would take precedence. If this value is not set and there
308 is no existing DNSKEY RRset, the TTL will default to the
309 SOA TTL. Setting the default TTL to <literal>0</literal>
310 or <literal>none</literal> is the same as leaving it unset.
316 <term>-p <replaceable class="parameter">protocol</replaceable></term>
319 Sets the protocol value for the generated key. The protocol
320 is a number between 0 and 255. The default is 3 (DNSSEC).
321 Other possible values for this argument are listed in
322 RFC 2535 and its successors.
331 Quiet mode: Suppresses unnecessary output, including
332 progress indication. Without this option, when
333 <command>dnssec-keygen</command> is run interactively
334 to generate an RSA or DSA key pair, it will print a string
335 of symbols to <filename>stderr</filename> indicating the
336 progress of the key generation. A '.' indicates that a
337 random number has been found which passed an initial
338 sieve test; '+' means a number has passed a single
339 round of the Miller-Rabin primality test; a space
340 means that the number has passed all the tests and is
347 <term>-r <replaceable class="parameter">randomdev</replaceable></term>
350 Specifies the source of randomness. If the operating
351 system does not provide a <filename>/dev/random</filename>
352 or equivalent device, the default source of randomness
353 is keyboard input. <filename>randomdev</filename>
355 the name of a character device or file containing random
356 data to be used instead of the default. The special value
357 <filename>keyboard</filename> indicates that keyboard
358 input should be used.
364 <term>-S <replaceable class="parameter">key</replaceable></term>
367 Create a new key which is an explicit successor to an
368 existing key. The name, algorithm, size, and type of the
369 key will be set to match the existing key. The activation
370 date of the new key will be set to the inactivation date of
371 the existing one. The publication date will be set to the
372 activation date minus the prepublication interval, which
379 <term>-s <replaceable class="parameter">strength</replaceable></term>
382 Specifies the strength value of the key. The strength is
383 a number between 0 and 15, and currently has no defined
390 <term>-T <replaceable class="parameter">rrtype</replaceable></term>
393 Specifies the resource record type to use for the key.
394 <option>rrtype</option> must be either DNSKEY or KEY. The
395 default is DNSKEY when using a DNSSEC algorithm, but it can be
396 overridden to KEY for use with SIG(0).
399 Using any TSIG algorithm (HMAC-* or DH) forces this option
406 <term>-t <replaceable class="parameter">type</replaceable></term>
409 Indicates the use of the key. <option>type</option> must be
410 one of AUTHCONF, NOAUTHCONF, NOAUTH, or NOCONF. The default
411 is AUTHCONF. AUTH refers to the ability to authenticate
412 data, and CONF the ability to encrypt data.
418 <term>-v <replaceable class="parameter">level</replaceable></term>
421 Sets the debugging level.
430 Prints version information.
438 <refsection><info><title>TIMING OPTIONS</title></info>
442 Dates can be expressed in the format YYYYMMDD or YYYYMMDDHHMMSS.
443 If the argument begins with a '+' or '-', it is interpreted as
444 an offset from the present time. For convenience, if such an offset
445 is followed by one of the suffixes 'y', 'mo', 'w', 'd', 'h', or 'mi',
446 then the offset is computed in years (defined as 365 24-hour days,
447 ignoring leap years), months (defined as 30 24-hour days), weeks,
448 days, hours, or minutes, respectively. Without a suffix, the offset
449 is computed in seconds. To explicitly prevent a date from being
450 set, use 'none' or 'never'.
455 <term>-P <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></term>
458 Sets the date on which a key is to be published to the zone.
459 After that date, the key will be included in the zone but will
460 not be used to sign it. If not set, and if the -G option has
461 not been used, the default is "now".
467 <term>-A <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></term>
470 Sets the date on which the key is to be activated. After that
471 date, the key will be included in the zone and used to sign
472 it. If not set, and if the -G option has not been used, the
473 default is "now". If set, if and -P is not set, then
474 the publication date will be set to the activation date
475 minus the prepublication interval.
481 <term>-R <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></term>
484 Sets the date on which the key is to be revoked. After that
485 date, the key will be flagged as revoked. It will be included
486 in the zone and will be used to sign it.
492 <term>-I <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></term>
495 Sets the date on which the key is to be retired. After that
496 date, the key will still be included in the zone, but it
497 will not be used to sign it.
503 <term>-D <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></term>
506 Sets the date on which the key is to be deleted. After that
507 date, the key will no longer be included in the zone. (It
508 may remain in the key repository, however.)
514 <term>-i <replaceable class="parameter">interval</replaceable></term>
517 Sets the prepublication interval for a key. If set, then
518 the publication and activation dates must be separated by at least
519 this much time. If the activation date is specified but the
520 publication date isn't, then the publication date will default
521 to this much time before the activation date; conversely, if
522 the publication date is specified but activation date isn't,
523 then activation will be set to this much time after publication.
526 If the key is being created as an explicit successor to another
527 key, then the default prepublication interval is 30 days;
528 otherwise it is zero.
531 As with date offsets, if the argument is followed by one of
532 the suffixes 'y', 'mo', 'w', 'd', 'h', or 'mi', then the
533 interval is measured in years, months, weeks, days, hours,
534 or minutes, respectively. Without a suffix, the interval is
544 <refsection><info><title>GENERATED KEYS</title></info>
547 When <command>dnssec-keygen</command> completes
549 it prints a string of the form <filename>Knnnn.+aaa+iiiii</filename>
550 to the standard output. This is an identification string for
551 the key it has generated.
555 <para><filename>nnnn</filename> is the key name.
559 <para><filename>aaa</filename> is the numeric representation
565 <para><filename>iiiii</filename> is the key identifier (or
570 <para><command>dnssec-keygen</command>
571 creates two files, with names based
572 on the printed string. <filename>Knnnn.+aaa+iiiii.key</filename>
573 contains the public key, and
574 <filename>Knnnn.+aaa+iiiii.private</filename> contains the
579 The <filename>.key</filename> file contains a DNS KEY record
581 can be inserted into a zone file (directly or with a $INCLUDE
585 The <filename>.private</filename> file contains
587 fields. For obvious security reasons, this file does not have
588 general read permission.
591 Both <filename>.key</filename> and <filename>.private</filename>
592 files are generated for symmetric encryption algorithms such as
593 HMAC-MD5, even though the public and private key are equivalent.
597 <refsection><info><title>EXAMPLE</title></info>
600 To generate a 768-bit DSA key for the domain
601 <userinput>example.com</userinput>, the following command would be
604 <para><userinput>dnssec-keygen -a DSA -b 768 -n ZONE example.com</userinput>
607 The command would print a string of the form:
609 <para><userinput>Kexample.com.+003+26160</userinput>
612 In this example, <command>dnssec-keygen</command> creates
613 the files <filename>Kexample.com.+003+26160.key</filename>
615 <filename>Kexample.com.+003+26160.private</filename>.
619 <refsection><info><title>SEE ALSO</title></info>
622 <refentrytitle>dnssec-signzone</refentrytitle><manvolnum>8</manvolnum>
624 <citetitle>BIND 9 Administrator Reference Manual</citetitle>,
625 <citetitle>RFC 2539</citetitle>,
626 <citetitle>RFC 2845</citetitle>,
627 <citetitle>RFC 4034</citetitle>.