rkey

rkey is the PIKT encryption key utility for generating the keys.conf file. It takes the following command-line arguments:

Usage:  rkey [options] [+H hosts -H hosts ...]

      Options:
        -u[uid]          uid generation
        -g[gid]          gid generation
        -k[key]          key generation
        -l length        key length
        -a               equivalent for -u -g -k
        -Q               displays the randomness Quality evaluation
        -v               be verbose
        -V               show version info
        -G               debug mode
        -h               help

'+H hosts -H hosts' are like their piktc and piktx counterparts with one exception: It is possible to specify a host not registered in your systems.cfg. Indeed, it's even possible to run rkey without any systems.cfg at all!

-u[uid] specifies that rkey should generate a random uid field. If an integer is specified, no random generation will take place and that integer will be used instead. The uid is limited to the range from 0 to 2^31 - 1 (2,147,483,647).

-g[gid] specifies that rkey should generate a random gid field. If an integer is specified, no random generation will take place and that integer will be used instead. The gid is limited to the range from 0 to 2^31 - 1 (2,147,483,647).

-k[key] specifies that rkey should generate a random key. If a string is specified, no random generation will take place and that string will be used as the key instead.

-l length is the length of the random key in chars. The key length must be at least 16. The maximum key size is currently 56 chars, due to a BlowFish limitation. (BlowFish is currently the only PIKT-supported cipher.)

-a is a shortcut for -u -g -k, i.e. when you want to generate lines with the hostname, uid, gid, and key.

-Q displays the quality rating. This rating's purpose is to evaluate the randomness generation quality given the current environment. The results range from 0 to 6, where 0 it the worst and 6 the best achievable rating. The method used to calculate the rating is really simple, and is influenced by pseudo-random devices availability (/dev/urandom, for example), source lists, and installed modules.

-v gives a verbose display, and is especially useful with -Q.

-V shows the current version number.

-G activates debug mode. This can help you locate which randomness sources succeed, and which don't.

-h outputs the help and usage display. Using -v with -h gives detailed options help.

Unlike the other PIKT binaries (which are written using a combination of C, lex, and yacc), rkey (like piktf, pikth & piktx) is written in Perl.

Note that rkey will not generate data_encryption_type & auth_encryption_type, which are optional fields in keys.conf. See the keys.conf section of this Reference for more information.

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