Enabling security on an HP ProCurve 4200 series switch

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I had a chance to configure an HP ProCurve 4208vl switch the other day. The first impression was that the command line interface is heavily influenced by, if not directly copied from, the Cisco IOS command line interface. So if you have experience with IOS, you will probably feel almost at home on an HP switch. There are some differences, though.

The first thing I wanted to do was to enable ssh access and authentication, and disable telnet. Here’s a quick howto.


Connect to the switch using the console cable or telnet.

First thing to do is to enter the configuration mode and generate a key for ssh. Only after the key has been generated is it possible to enable ssh:

That is not enough, however. You must set the operator and manager passwords to actually authenticate to the switch.

After the above changes, the web interface will also require a password. For some reason, you must leave the username field empty and input either the manager or the operator password in the password field.

To disable the telnet server:

To create a key and a self-signed certificate for SSL web access:

Write your configuration changes:

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