DNSSEC-KEYGEN(8)              BIND9              DNSSEC-KEYGEN(8)



NAME
       dnssec-keygen - DNSSEC key generation tool

SYNOPSIS
       dnssec-keygen {-a algorithm} {-b keysize} {-n nametype}
                     [-c class] [-e] [-f flag] [-g generator]
                     [-h] [-k] [-p protocol] [-r randomdev]
                     [-s strength] [-t type] [-v level] {name}

DESCRIPTION
       dnssec-keygen generates keys for DNSSEC (Secure DNS), as
       defined in RFC 2535 and RFC . It can also generate
       keys for use with TSIG (Transaction Signatures), as
       defined in RFC 2845.

OPTIONS
       -a algorithm
              Selects the cryptographic algorithm. The value of
              algorithm must be one of RSAMD5 (RSA) or RSASHA1,
              DSA, DH (Diffie Hellman), or HMAC-MD5. These values
              are case insensitive.

              Note 1: that for DNSSEC, RSASHA1 is a mandatory to
              implement algorithm, and DSA is recommended. For
              TSIG, HMAC-MD5 is mandatory.

              Note 2: HMAC-MD5 and DH automatically set the -k
              flag.

       -b keysize
              Specifies the number of bits in the key. The choice
              of key size depends on the algorithm used. RSAMD5 /
              RSASHA1 keys must be between 512 and 2048 bits.
              Diffie Hellman keys must be between 128 and 4096
              bits. DSA keys must be between 512 and 1024 bits
              and an exact multiple of 64. HMAC-MD5 keys must be
              between 1 and 512 bits.

       -n nametype
              Specifies the owner type of the key. The value of
              nametype must either be ZONE (for a DNSSEC zone key
              (KEY/DNSKEY)), HOST or ENTITY (for a key associated
              with a host (KEY)), USER (for a key associated with
              a user(KEY)) or OTHER (DNSKEY). These values are
              case insensitive.

       -c class
              Indicates that the DNS record containing the key
              should have the specified class. If not specified,
              class IN is used.

       -e     If generating an RSAMD5/RSASHA1 key, use a large
              exponent.

       -f flag
              Set the specified flag in the flag field of the
              KEY/DNSKEY record. The only recognized flag is KSK
              (Key Signing Key) DNSKEY.

       -g generator
              If generating a Diffie Hellman key, use this
              generator. Allowed values are 2 and 5. If no
              generator is specified, a known prime from RFC 2539
              will be used if possible; otherwise the default is
              2.

       -h     Prints a short summary of the options and arguments
              to dnssec-keygen.

       -k     Generate KEY records rather than DNSKEY records.

       -p protocol
              Sets the protocol value for the generated key. The
              protocol is a number between 0 and 255. The default
              is 3 (DNSSEC). Other possible values for this
              argument are listed in RFC 2535 and its successors.

       -r randomdev
              Specifies the source of randomness. If the
              operating system does not provide a /dev/random or
              equivalent device, the default source of randomness
              is keyboard input.  randomdev specifies the name of
              a character device or file containing random data
              to be used instead of the default. The special
              value keyboard indicates that keyboard input should
              be used.

       -s strength
              Specifies the strength value of the key. The
              strength is a number between 0 and 15, and
              currently has no defined purpose in DNSSEC.

       -t type
              Indicates the use of the key.  type must be one of
              AUTHCONF, NOAUTHCONF, NOAUTH, or NOCONF. The
              default is AUTHCONF. AUTH refers to the ability to
              authenticate data, and CONF the ability to encrypt
              data.

       -v level
              Sets the debugging level.

GENERATED KEYS
       When dnssec-keygen completes successfully, it prints a
       string of the form Knnnn.+aaa+iiiii to the standard
       output. This is an identification string for the key it
       has generated.

       o  nnnn is the key name.

       o  aaa is the numeric representation of the algorithm.

       o  iiiii is the key identifier (or footprint).

       dnssec-keygen creates two file, with names based on the
       printed string.  Knnnn.+aaa+iiiii.key contains the public
       key, and Knnnn.+aaa+iiiii.private contains the private
       key.

       The file contains a DNS KEY record that can be inserted
       into a zone file (directly or with a $INCLUDE statement).

       The file contains algorithm specific fields. For obvious
       security reasons, this file does not have general read
       permission.

       Both and files are generated for symmetric encryption
       algorithm such as HMAC-MD5, even though the public and
       private key are equivalent.

EXAMPLE
       To generate a 768-bit DSA key for the domain example.com,
       the following command would be issued:

       dnssec-keygen -a DSA -b 768 -n ZONE example.com

       The command would print a string of the form:

       Kexample.com.+003+26160

       In this example, dnssec-keygen creates the files
       Kexample.com.+003+26160.key and
       Kexample.com.+003+26160.private

SEE ALSO
       dnssec-signzone(8), BIND 9 Administrator Reference Manual,
       RFC 2535, RFC 2845, RFC 2539.

AUTHOR
       Internet Systems Consortium



BIND9                     June 30, 2000          DNSSEC-KEYGEN(8)