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21 <!-- $Id: dnssec-keygen.docbook,v 1.36 2010/12/23 04:07:59 marka 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>
47 <holder>Internet Systems Consortium, Inc. ("ISC")</holder>
54 <holder>Internet Software Consortium.</holder>
60 <command>dnssec-keygen</command>
61 <arg><option>-a <replaceable class="parameter">algorithm</replaceable></option></arg>
62 <arg ><option>-b <replaceable class="parameter">keysize</replaceable></option></arg>
63 <arg><option>-n <replaceable class="parameter">nametype</replaceable></option></arg>
64 <arg><option>-3</option></arg>
65 <arg><option>-A <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></option></arg>
66 <arg><option>-C</option></arg>
67 <arg><option>-c <replaceable class="parameter">class</replaceable></option></arg>
68 <arg><option>-D <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></option></arg>
69 <arg><option>-E <replaceable class="parameter">engine</replaceable></option></arg>
70 <arg><option>-e</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>-k</option></arg>
79 <arg><option>-P <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></option></arg>
80 <arg><option>-p <replaceable class="parameter">protocol</replaceable></option></arg>
81 <arg><option>-q</option></arg>
82 <arg><option>-R <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></option></arg>
83 <arg><option>-r <replaceable class="parameter">randomdev</replaceable></option></arg>
84 <arg><option>-S <replaceable class="parameter">key</replaceable></option></arg>
85 <arg><option>-s <replaceable class="parameter">strength</replaceable></option></arg>
86 <arg><option>-t <replaceable class="parameter">type</replaceable></option></arg>
87 <arg><option>-v <replaceable class="parameter">level</replaceable></option></arg>
88 <arg><option>-z</option></arg>
89 <arg choice="req">name</arg>
94 <title>DESCRIPTION</title>
95 <para><command>dnssec-keygen</command>
96 generates keys for DNSSEC (Secure DNS), as defined in RFC 2535
97 and RFC 4034. It can also generate keys for use with
98 TSIG (Transaction Signatures) as defined in RFC 2845, or TKEY
99 (Transaction Key) as defined in RFC 2930.
102 The <option>name</option> of the key is specified on the command
103 line. For DNSSEC keys, this must match the name of the zone for
104 which the key is being generated.
109 <title>OPTIONS</title>
113 <term>-a <replaceable class="parameter">algorithm</replaceable></term>
116 Selects the cryptographic algorithm. For DNSSEC keys, the value
117 of <option>algorithm</option> must be one of RSAMD5, RSASHA1,
118 DSA, NSEC3RSASHA1, NSEC3DSA, RSASHA256, RSASHA512, ECCGOST,
119 ECDSAP256SHA256 or ECDSAP384SHA384.
120 For TSIG/TKEY, the value must
121 be DH (Diffie Hellman), HMAC-MD5, HMAC-SHA1, HMAC-SHA224,
122 HMAC-SHA256, HMAC-SHA384, or HMAC-SHA512. These values are
126 If no algorithm is specified, then RSASHA1 will be used by
127 default, unless the <option>-3</option> option is specified,
128 in which case NSEC3RSASHA1 will be used instead. (If
129 <option>-3</option> is used and an algorithm is specified,
130 that algorithm will be checked for compatibility with NSEC3.)
133 Note 1: that for DNSSEC, RSASHA1 is a mandatory to implement
134 algorithm, and DSA is recommended. For TSIG, HMAC-MD5 is
138 Note 2: DH, HMAC-MD5, and HMAC-SHA1 through HMAC-SHA512
139 automatically set the -T KEY option.
145 <term>-b <replaceable class="parameter">keysize</replaceable></term>
148 Specifies the number of bits in the key. The choice of key
149 size depends on the algorithm used. RSA keys must be
150 between 512 and 2048 bits. Diffie Hellman keys must be between
151 128 and 4096 bits. DSA keys must be between 512 and 1024
152 bits and an exact multiple of 64. HMAC keys must be
153 between 1 and 512 bits. Elliptic curve algorithms don't need
157 The key size does not need to be specified if using a default
158 algorithm. The default key size is 1024 bits for zone signing
159 keys (ZSK's) and 2048 bits for key signing keys (KSK's,
160 generated with <option>-f KSK</option>). However, if an
161 algorithm is explicitly specified with the <option>-a</option>,
162 then there is no default key size, and the <option>-b</option>
169 <term>-n <replaceable class="parameter">nametype</replaceable></term>
172 Specifies the owner type of the key. The value of
173 <option>nametype</option> must either be ZONE (for a DNSSEC
174 zone key (KEY/DNSKEY)), HOST or ENTITY (for a key associated with
176 USER (for a key associated with a user(KEY)) or OTHER (DNSKEY).
177 These values are case insensitive. Defaults to ZONE for DNSKEY
187 Use an NSEC3-capable algorithm to generate a DNSSEC key.
188 If this option is used and no algorithm is explicitly
189 set on the command line, NSEC3RSASHA1 will be used by
190 default. Note that RSASHA256, RSASHA512, ECCGOST,
191 ECDSAP256SHA256 and ECDSAP384SHA384 algorithms
201 Compatibility mode: generates an old-style key, without
202 any metadata. By default, <command>dnssec-keygen</command>
203 will include the key's creation date in the metadata stored
204 with the private key, and other dates may be set there as well
205 (publication date, activation date, etc). Keys that include
206 this data may be incompatible with older versions of BIND; the
207 <option>-C</option> option suppresses them.
213 <term>-c <replaceable class="parameter">class</replaceable></term>
216 Indicates that the DNS record containing the key should have
217 the specified class. If not specified, class IN is used.
223 <term>-E <replaceable class="parameter">engine</replaceable></term>
226 Uses a crypto hardware (OpenSSL engine) for random number
227 and, when supported, key generation. When compiled with PKCS#11
228 support it defaults to pkcs11; the empty name resets it to
238 If generating an RSAMD5/RSASHA1 key, use a large exponent.
244 <term>-f <replaceable class="parameter">flag</replaceable></term>
247 Set the specified flag in the flag field of the KEY/DNSKEY record.
248 The only recognized flags are KSK (Key Signing Key) and REVOKE.
257 Generate a key, but do not publish it or sign with it. This
258 option is incompatible with -P and -A.
264 <term>-g <replaceable class="parameter">generator</replaceable></term>
267 If generating a Diffie Hellman key, use this generator.
268 Allowed values are 2 and 5. If no generator
269 is specified, a known prime from RFC 2539 will be used
270 if possible; otherwise the default is 2.
279 Prints a short summary of the options and arguments to
280 <command>dnssec-keygen</command>.
286 <term>-K <replaceable class="parameter">directory</replaceable></term>
289 Sets the directory in which the key files are to be written.
298 Deprecated in favor of -T KEY.
304 <term>-p <replaceable class="parameter">protocol</replaceable></term>
307 Sets the protocol value for the generated key. The protocol
308 is a number between 0 and 255. The default is 3 (DNSSEC).
309 Other possible values for this argument are listed in
310 RFC 2535 and its successors.
319 Quiet mode: Suppresses unnecessary output, including
320 progress indication. Without this option, when
321 <command>dnssec-keygen</command> is run interactively
322 to generate an RSA or DSA key pair, it will print a string
323 of symbols to <filename>stderr</filename> indicating the
324 progress of the key generation. A '.' indicates that a
325 random number has been found which passed an initial
326 sieve test; '+' means a number has passed a single
327 round of the Miller-Rabin primality test; a space
328 means that the number has passed all the tests and is
335 <term>-r <replaceable class="parameter">randomdev</replaceable></term>
338 Specifies the source of randomness. If the operating
339 system does not provide a <filename>/dev/random</filename>
340 or equivalent device, the default source of randomness
341 is keyboard input. <filename>randomdev</filename>
343 the name of a character device or file containing random
344 data to be used instead of the default. The special value
345 <filename>keyboard</filename> indicates that keyboard
346 input should be used.
352 <term>-S <replaceable class="parameter">key</replaceable></term>
355 Create a new key which is an explicit successor to an
356 existing key. The name, algorithm, size, and type of the
357 key will be set to match the existing key. The activation
358 date of the new key will be set to the inactivation date of
359 the existing one. The publication date will be set to the
360 activation date minus the prepublication interval, which
367 <term>-s <replaceable class="parameter">strength</replaceable></term>
370 Specifies the strength value of the key. The strength is
371 a number between 0 and 15, and currently has no defined
378 <term>-T <replaceable class="parameter">rrtype</replaceable></term>
381 Specifies the resource record type to use for the key.
382 <option>rrtype</option> must be either DNSKEY or KEY. The
383 default is DNSKEY when using a DNSSEC algorithm, but it can be
384 overridden to KEY for use with SIG(0).
387 Using any TSIG algorithm (HMAC-* or DH) forces this option
394 <term>-t <replaceable class="parameter">type</replaceable></term>
397 Indicates the use of the key. <option>type</option> must be
398 one of AUTHCONF, NOAUTHCONF, NOAUTH, or NOCONF. The default
399 is AUTHCONF. AUTH refers to the ability to authenticate
400 data, and CONF the ability to encrypt data.
406 <term>-v <replaceable class="parameter">level</replaceable></term>
409 Sets the debugging level.
418 <title>TIMING OPTIONS</title>
421 Dates can be expressed in the format YYYYMMDD or YYYYMMDDHHMMSS.
422 If the argument begins with a '+' or '-', it is interpreted as
423 an offset from the present time. For convenience, if such an offset
424 is followed by one of the suffixes 'y', 'mo', 'w', 'd', 'h', or 'mi',
425 then the offset is computed in years (defined as 365 24-hour days,
426 ignoring leap years), months (defined as 30 24-hour days), weeks,
427 days, hours, or minutes, respectively. Without a suffix, the offset
428 is computed in seconds.
433 <term>-P <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></term>
436 Sets the date on which a key is to be published to the zone.
437 After that date, the key will be included in the zone but will
438 not be used to sign it. If not set, and if the -G option has
439 not been used, the default is "now".
445 <term>-A <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></term>
448 Sets the date on which the key is to be activated. After that
449 date, the key will be included in the zone and used to sign
450 it. If not set, and if the -G option has not been used, the
457 <term>-R <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></term>
460 Sets the date on which the key is to be revoked. After that
461 date, the key will be flagged as revoked. It will be included
462 in the zone and will be used to sign it.
468 <term>-I <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></term>
471 Sets the date on which the key is to be retired. After that
472 date, the key will still be included in the zone, but it
473 will not be used to sign it.
479 <term>-D <replaceable class="parameter">date/offset</replaceable></term>
482 Sets the date on which the key is to be deleted. After that
483 date, the key will no longer be included in the zone. (It
484 may remain in the key repository, however.)
490 <term>-i <replaceable class="parameter">interval</replaceable></term>
493 Sets the prepublication interval for a key. If set, then
494 the publication and activation dates must be separated by at least
495 this much time. If the activation date is specified but the
496 publication date isn't, then the publication date will default
497 to this much time before the activation date; conversely, if
498 the publication date is specified but activation date isn't,
499 then activation will be set to this much time after publication.
502 If the key is being created as an explicit successor to another
503 key, then the default prepublication interval is 30 days;
504 otherwise it is zero.
507 As with date offsets, if the argument is followed by one of
508 the suffixes 'y', 'mo', 'w', 'd', 'h', or 'mi', then the
509 interval is measured in years, months, weeks, days, hours,
510 or minutes, respectively. Without a suffix, the interval is
521 <title>GENERATED KEYS</title>
523 When <command>dnssec-keygen</command> completes
525 it prints a string of the form <filename>Knnnn.+aaa+iiiii</filename>
526 to the standard output. This is an identification string for
527 the key it has generated.
531 <para><filename>nnnn</filename> is the key name.
535 <para><filename>aaa</filename> is the numeric representation
541 <para><filename>iiiii</filename> is the key identifier (or
546 <para><command>dnssec-keygen</command>
547 creates two files, with names based
548 on the printed string. <filename>Knnnn.+aaa+iiiii.key</filename>
549 contains the public key, and
550 <filename>Knnnn.+aaa+iiiii.private</filename> contains the
555 The <filename>.key</filename> file contains a DNS KEY record
557 can be inserted into a zone file (directly or with a $INCLUDE
561 The <filename>.private</filename> file contains
563 fields. For obvious security reasons, this file does not have
564 general read permission.
567 Both <filename>.key</filename> and <filename>.private</filename>
568 files are generated for symmetric encryption algorithms such as
569 HMAC-MD5, even though the public and private key are equivalent.
574 <title>EXAMPLE</title>
576 To generate a 768-bit DSA key for the domain
577 <userinput>example.com</userinput>, the following command would be
580 <para><userinput>dnssec-keygen -a DSA -b 768 -n ZONE example.com</userinput>
583 The command would print a string of the form:
585 <para><userinput>Kexample.com.+003+26160</userinput>
588 In this example, <command>dnssec-keygen</command> creates
589 the files <filename>Kexample.com.+003+26160.key</filename>
591 <filename>Kexample.com.+003+26160.private</filename>.
596 <title>SEE ALSO</title>
598 <refentrytitle>dnssec-signzone</refentrytitle><manvolnum>8</manvolnum>
600 <citetitle>BIND 9 Administrator Reference Manual</citetitle>,
601 <citetitle>RFC 2539</citetitle>,
602 <citetitle>RFC 2845</citetitle>,
603 <citetitle>RFC 4034</citetitle>.
608 <title>AUTHOR</title>
609 <para><corpauthor>Internet Systems Consortium</corpauthor>