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24 <body bgcolor="white" text="black" link="#0000FF" vlink="#840084" alink="#0000FF"><div class="refentry" lang="en">
25 <a name="man.dnssec-keygen"></a><div class="titlepage"></div>
26 <div class="refnamediv">
28 <p><span class="application">dnssec-keygen</span> — DNSSEC key generation tool</p>
30 <div class="refsynopsisdiv">
32 <div class="cmdsynopsis"><p><code class="command">dnssec-keygen</code> [<code class="option">-a <em class="replaceable"><code>algorithm</code></em></code>] [<code class="option">-b <em class="replaceable"><code>keysize</code></em></code>] [<code class="option">-n <em class="replaceable"><code>nametype</code></em></code>] [<code class="option">-3</code>] [<code class="option">-A <em class="replaceable"><code>date/offset</code></em></code>] [<code class="option">-C</code>] [<code class="option">-c <em class="replaceable"><code>class</code></em></code>] [<code class="option">-D <em class="replaceable"><code>date/offset</code></em></code>] [<code class="option">-E <em class="replaceable"><code>engine</code></em></code>] [<code class="option">-e</code>] [<code class="option">-f <em class="replaceable"><code>flag</code></em></code>] [<code class="option">-G</code>] [<code class="option">-g <em class="replaceable"><code>generator</code></em></code>] [<code class="option">-h</code>] [<code class="option">-I <em class="replaceable"><code>date/offset</code></em></code>] [<code class="option">-i <em class="replaceable"><code>interval</code></em></code>] [<code class="option">-K <em class="replaceable"><code>directory</code></em></code>] [<code class="option">-k</code>] [<code class="option">-P <em class="replaceable"><code>date/offset</code></em></code>] [<code class="option">-p <em class="replaceable"><code>protocol</code></em></code>] [<code class="option">-q</code>] [<code class="option">-R <em class="replaceable"><code>date/offset</code></em></code>] [<code class="option">-r <em class="replaceable"><code>randomdev</code></em></code>] [<code class="option">-S <em class="replaceable"><code>key</code></em></code>] [<code class="option">-s <em class="replaceable"><code>strength</code></em></code>] [<code class="option">-t <em class="replaceable"><code>type</code></em></code>] [<code class="option">-v <em class="replaceable"><code>level</code></em></code>] [<code class="option">-z</code>] {name}</p></div>
34 <div class="refsect1" lang="en">
35 <a name="id2543579"></a><h2>DESCRIPTION</h2>
36 <p><span><strong class="command">dnssec-keygen</strong></span>
37 generates keys for DNSSEC (Secure DNS), as defined in RFC 2535
38 and RFC 4034. It can also generate keys for use with
39 TSIG (Transaction Signatures) as defined in RFC 2845, or TKEY
40 (Transaction Key) as defined in RFC 2930.
43 The <code class="option">name</code> of the key is specified on the command
44 line. For DNSSEC keys, this must match the name of the zone for
45 which the key is being generated.
48 <div class="refsect1" lang="en">
49 <a name="id2543597"></a><h2>OPTIONS</h2>
50 <div class="variablelist"><dl>
51 <dt><span class="term">-a <em class="replaceable"><code>algorithm</code></em></span></dt>
54 Selects the cryptographic algorithm. For DNSSEC keys, the value
55 of <code class="option">algorithm</code> must be one of RSAMD5, RSASHA1,
56 DSA, NSEC3RSASHA1, NSEC3DSA, RSASHA256, RSASHA512 or ECCGOST.
57 For TSIG/TKEY, the value must
58 be DH (Diffie Hellman), HMAC-MD5, HMAC-SHA1, HMAC-SHA224,
59 HMAC-SHA256, HMAC-SHA384, or HMAC-SHA512. These values are
63 If no algorithm is specified, then RSASHA1 will be used by
64 default, unless the <code class="option">-3</code> option is specified,
65 in which case NSEC3RSASHA1 will be used instead. (If
66 <code class="option">-3</code> is used and an algorithm is specified,
67 that algorithm will be checked for compatibility with NSEC3.)
70 Note 1: that for DNSSEC, RSASHA1 is a mandatory to implement
71 algorithm, and DSA is recommended. For TSIG, HMAC-MD5 is
75 Note 2: DH, HMAC-MD5, and HMAC-SHA1 through HMAC-SHA512
76 automatically set the -T KEY option.
79 <dt><span class="term">-b <em class="replaceable"><code>keysize</code></em></span></dt>
82 Specifies the number of bits in the key. The choice of key
83 size depends on the algorithm used. RSA keys must be
84 between 512 and 2048 bits. Diffie Hellman keys must be between
85 128 and 4096 bits. DSA keys must be between 512 and 1024
86 bits and an exact multiple of 64. HMAC keys must be
87 between 1 and 512 bits.
90 The key size does not need to be specified if using a default
91 algorithm. The default key size is 1024 bits for zone signing
92 keys (ZSK's) and 2048 bits for key signing keys (KSK's,
93 generated with <code class="option">-f KSK</code>). However, if an
94 algorithm is explicitly specified with the <code class="option">-a</code>,
95 then there is no default key size, and the <code class="option">-b</code>
99 <dt><span class="term">-n <em class="replaceable"><code>nametype</code></em></span></dt>
101 Specifies the owner type of the key. The value of
102 <code class="option">nametype</code> must either be ZONE (for a DNSSEC
103 zone key (KEY/DNSKEY)), HOST or ENTITY (for a key associated with
105 USER (for a key associated with a user(KEY)) or OTHER (DNSKEY).
106 These values are case insensitive. Defaults to ZONE for DNSKEY
109 <dt><span class="term">-3</span></dt>
111 Use an NSEC3-capable algorithm to generate a DNSSEC key.
112 If this option is used and no algorithm is explicitly
113 set on the command line, NSEC3RSASHA1 will be used by
114 default. Note that RSASHA256, RSASHA512 and ECCGOST algorithms
117 <dt><span class="term">-C</span></dt>
119 Compatibility mode: generates an old-style key, without
120 any metadata. By default, <span><strong class="command">dnssec-keygen</strong></span>
121 will include the key's creation date in the metadata stored
122 with the private key, and other dates may be set there as well
123 (publication date, activation date, etc). Keys that include
124 this data may be incompatible with older versions of BIND; the
125 <code class="option">-C</code> option suppresses them.
127 <dt><span class="term">-c <em class="replaceable"><code>class</code></em></span></dt>
129 Indicates that the DNS record containing the key should have
130 the specified class. If not specified, class IN is used.
132 <dt><span class="term">-E <em class="replaceable"><code>engine</code></em></span></dt>
134 Uses a crypto hardware (OpenSSL engine) for random number
135 and, when supported, key generation. When compiled with PKCS#11
136 support it defaults to pkcs11; the empty name resets it to
139 <dt><span class="term">-e</span></dt>
141 If generating an RSAMD5/RSASHA1 key, use a large exponent.
143 <dt><span class="term">-f <em class="replaceable"><code>flag</code></em></span></dt>
145 Set the specified flag in the flag field of the KEY/DNSKEY record.
146 The only recognized flags are KSK (Key Signing Key) and REVOKE.
148 <dt><span class="term">-G</span></dt>
150 Generate a key, but do not publish it or sign with it. This
151 option is incompatible with -P and -A.
153 <dt><span class="term">-g <em class="replaceable"><code>generator</code></em></span></dt>
155 If generating a Diffie Hellman key, use this generator.
156 Allowed values are 2 and 5. If no generator
157 is specified, a known prime from RFC 2539 will be used
158 if possible; otherwise the default is 2.
160 <dt><span class="term">-h</span></dt>
162 Prints a short summary of the options and arguments to
163 <span><strong class="command">dnssec-keygen</strong></span>.
165 <dt><span class="term">-K <em class="replaceable"><code>directory</code></em></span></dt>
167 Sets the directory in which the key files are to be written.
169 <dt><span class="term">-k</span></dt>
171 Deprecated in favor of -T KEY.
173 <dt><span class="term">-p <em class="replaceable"><code>protocol</code></em></span></dt>
175 Sets the protocol value for the generated key. The protocol
176 is a number between 0 and 255. The default is 3 (DNSSEC).
177 Other possible values for this argument are listed in
178 RFC 2535 and its successors.
180 <dt><span class="term">-q</span></dt>
182 Quiet mode: Suppresses unnecessary output, including
183 progress indication. Without this option, when
184 <span><strong class="command">dnssec-keygen</strong></span> is run interactively
185 to generate an RSA or DSA key pair, it will print a string
186 of symbols to <code class="filename">stderr</code> indicating the
187 progress of the key generation. A '.' indicates that a
188 random number has been found which passed an initial
189 sieve test; '+' means a number has passed a single
190 round of the Miller-Rabin primality test; a space
191 means that the number has passed all the tests and is
194 <dt><span class="term">-r <em class="replaceable"><code>randomdev</code></em></span></dt>
196 Specifies the source of randomness. If the operating
197 system does not provide a <code class="filename">/dev/random</code>
198 or equivalent device, the default source of randomness
199 is keyboard input. <code class="filename">randomdev</code>
201 the name of a character device or file containing random
202 data to be used instead of the default. The special value
203 <code class="filename">keyboard</code> indicates that keyboard
204 input should be used.
206 <dt><span class="term">-S <em class="replaceable"><code>key</code></em></span></dt>
208 Create a new key which is an explicit successor to an
209 existing key. The name, algorithm, size, and type of the
210 key will be set to match the existing key. The activation
211 date of the new key will be set to the inactivation date of
212 the existing one. The publication date will be set to the
213 activation date minus the prepublication interval, which
216 <dt><span class="term">-s <em class="replaceable"><code>strength</code></em></span></dt>
218 Specifies the strength value of the key. The strength is
219 a number between 0 and 15, and currently has no defined
222 <dt><span class="term">-T <em class="replaceable"><code>rrtype</code></em></span></dt>
225 Specifies the resource record type to use for the key.
226 <code class="option">rrtype</code> must be either DNSKEY or KEY. The
227 default is DNSKEY when using a DNSSEC algorithm, but it can be
228 overridden to KEY for use with SIG(0).
233 Using any TSIG algorithm (HMAC-* or DH) forces this option
237 <dt><span class="term">-t <em class="replaceable"><code>type</code></em></span></dt>
239 Indicates the use of the key. <code class="option">type</code> must be
240 one of AUTHCONF, NOAUTHCONF, NOAUTH, or NOCONF. The default
241 is AUTHCONF. AUTH refers to the ability to authenticate
242 data, and CONF the ability to encrypt data.
244 <dt><span class="term">-v <em class="replaceable"><code>level</code></em></span></dt>
246 Sets the debugging level.
250 <div class="refsect1" lang="en">
251 <a name="id2544166"></a><h2>TIMING OPTIONS</h2>
253 Dates can be expressed in the format YYYYMMDD or YYYYMMDDHHMMSS.
254 If the argument begins with a '+' or '-', it is interpreted as
255 an offset from the present time. For convenience, if such an offset
256 is followed by one of the suffixes 'y', 'mo', 'w', 'd', 'h', or 'mi',
257 then the offset is computed in years (defined as 365 24-hour days,
258 ignoring leap years), months (defined as 30 24-hour days), weeks,
259 days, hours, or minutes, respectively. Without a suffix, the offset
260 is computed in seconds.
262 <div class="variablelist"><dl>
263 <dt><span class="term">-P <em class="replaceable"><code>date/offset</code></em></span></dt>
265 Sets the date on which a key is to be published to the zone.
266 After that date, the key will be included in the zone but will
267 not be used to sign it. If not set, and if the -G option has
268 not been used, the default is "now".
270 <dt><span class="term">-A <em class="replaceable"><code>date/offset</code></em></span></dt>
272 Sets the date on which the key is to be activated. After that
273 date, the key will be included in the zone and used to sign
274 it. If not set, and if the -G option has not been used, the
277 <dt><span class="term">-R <em class="replaceable"><code>date/offset</code></em></span></dt>
279 Sets the date on which the key is to be revoked. After that
280 date, the key will be flagged as revoked. It will be included
281 in the zone and will be used to sign it.
283 <dt><span class="term">-I <em class="replaceable"><code>date/offset</code></em></span></dt>
285 Sets the date on which the key is to be retired. After that
286 date, the key will still be included in the zone, but it
287 will not be used to sign it.
289 <dt><span class="term">-D <em class="replaceable"><code>date/offset</code></em></span></dt>
291 Sets the date on which the key is to be deleted. After that
292 date, the key will no longer be included in the zone. (It
293 may remain in the key repository, however.)
295 <dt><span class="term">-i <em class="replaceable"><code>interval</code></em></span></dt>
298 Sets the prepublication interval for a key. If set, then
299 the publication and activation dates must be separated by at least
300 this much time. If the activation date is specified but the
301 publication date isn't, then the publication date will default
302 to this much time before the activation date; conversely, if
303 the publication date is specified but activation date isn't,
304 then activation will be set to this much time after publication.
307 If the key is being created as an explicit successor to another
308 key, then the default prepublication interval is 30 days;
309 otherwise it is zero.
312 As with date offsets, if the argument is followed by one of
313 the suffixes 'y', 'mo', 'w', 'd', 'h', or 'mi', then the
314 interval is measured in years, months, weeks, days, hours,
315 or minutes, respectively. Without a suffix, the interval is
321 <div class="refsect1" lang="en">
322 <a name="id2544356"></a><h2>GENERATED KEYS</h2>
324 When <span><strong class="command">dnssec-keygen</strong></span> completes
326 it prints a string of the form <code class="filename">Knnnn.+aaa+iiiii</code>
327 to the standard output. This is an identification string for
328 the key it has generated.
330 <div class="itemizedlist"><ul type="disc">
331 <li><p><code class="filename">nnnn</code> is the key name.
333 <li><p><code class="filename">aaa</code> is the numeric representation
337 <li><p><code class="filename">iiiii</code> is the key identifier (or
341 <p><span><strong class="command">dnssec-keygen</strong></span>
342 creates two files, with names based
343 on the printed string. <code class="filename">Knnnn.+aaa+iiiii.key</code>
344 contains the public key, and
345 <code class="filename">Knnnn.+aaa+iiiii.private</code> contains the
350 The <code class="filename">.key</code> file contains a DNS KEY record
352 can be inserted into a zone file (directly or with a $INCLUDE
356 The <code class="filename">.private</code> file contains
358 fields. For obvious security reasons, this file does not have
359 general read permission.
362 Both <code class="filename">.key</code> and <code class="filename">.private</code>
363 files are generated for symmetric encryption algorithms such as
364 HMAC-MD5, even though the public and private key are equivalent.
367 <div class="refsect1" lang="en">
368 <a name="id2544506"></a><h2>EXAMPLE</h2>
370 To generate a 768-bit DSA key for the domain
371 <strong class="userinput"><code>example.com</code></strong>, the following command would be
374 <p><strong class="userinput"><code>dnssec-keygen -a DSA -b 768 -n ZONE example.com</code></strong>
377 The command would print a string of the form:
379 <p><strong class="userinput"><code>Kexample.com.+003+26160</code></strong>
382 In this example, <span><strong class="command">dnssec-keygen</strong></span> creates
383 the files <code class="filename">Kexample.com.+003+26160.key</code>
385 <code class="filename">Kexample.com.+003+26160.private</code>.
388 <div class="refsect1" lang="en">
389 <a name="id2544550"></a><h2>SEE ALSO</h2>
390 <p><span class="citerefentry"><span class="refentrytitle">dnssec-signzone</span>(8)</span>,
391 <em class="citetitle">BIND 9 Administrator Reference Manual</em>,
392 <em class="citetitle">RFC 2539</em>,
393 <em class="citetitle">RFC 2845</em>,
394 <em class="citetitle">RFC 4034</em>.
397 <div class="refsect1" lang="en">
398 <a name="id2544581"></a><h2>AUTHOR</h2>
399 <p><span class="corpauthor">Internet Systems Consortium</span>