SSH Private Key Authentication

ThirdEye supports SSH private key authentication for connecting to network devices. This allows you to use key based authentication instead of (or in addition to) password based authentication for device backup, configuration management, and terminal sessions.

Overview

When SSH private key authentication is configured for a credential set, ThirdEye uses the private key to authenticate with devices during:

  • Backup and restore operations – configuration backups via SSH/SCP
  • Terminal proxy sessions – interactive SSH sessions through the ThirdEye web UI
  • Tool execution – adapter-based operations such as OS push scripts

If both a private key and a password are configured, ThirdEye attempts key based authentication first and falls back to password authentication if the key is rejected.

Note:

When using SSH key authentication, ensure that the corresponding public key is properly configured on the target devices (authorized_keys file) to allow successful authentication.

If the public key is not set up correctly on the device, authentication will fail and ThirdEye will fall back to password authentication if a password is configured.