rsync client over ssh. How to save key?

[Pizza Napoletana]

I'm looking to configure an rsync task on a 9.2.1.6 FreeNAS host to have it pull from a remote Linux server via ssh, using key-based authentication. Because FreeNAS root user's home directory, /root, is in a read-only file system, I'm unable to save the ssh key for the remote server in the /root/.ssh directory.

What would be an elegant and safe approach to solving this issue?

The one thing I am not allowed to do is to flip the client-server relationship between FreeNAS and the Linux boxes. I can ssh to the Linux box, but I can't ssh to FreeNAS from the Linux box. I also can't do password authentication on the Linux box. It has to be key-based.

Thank you for your help.

 

[c32767a]

Either use command line options to SSH to tell it to get it's config/key from a writable location, or make root's home directory writable long enough to store the key.

 

[cyberjock]

Did you check out the FreeNAS documentation for ssh keys? Not sure what I'm missing but FreeNAS' manual include steps for setting up 2 FreeNAS boxes in a push->pull relationship so clearly FreeNAS documentation covers doing ssh keys for FreeNAS as a pull machine...

 

[Pizza Napoletana]

Sorry, I jumped the gun and posted the question here before reading the manual. I appreciate your help.
Yes, the manual says to open up the root file system for read-write and copy the necessary keys.

One thing I noticed was that the rsync command formed by FreeNAS based on the GUI input ignores the /root/.ssh/config for the remote username. It seems to always assume that the remote username is the same as the local username. So I ended up creating a FreeNAS cron task instead of rsync task and formed my own command.

Perhaps this is a minor bug in FreeNAS, but I am new around here. I don't feel confident about filing a bug report if indeed it is not a bug.

 

[dlavigne]

One thing I noticed was that the rsync command formed by FreeNAS based on the GUI input ignores the /root/.ssh/config for the remote username. It seems to always assume that the remote username is the same as the local username. So I ended up creating a FreeNAS cron task instead of rsync task and formed my own command.

That's interesting. Can you post both the FreeNAS command and your command?

 

[cyberjock]

Honestly, I find it better to file a bug and be told it's not a bug than to leave the bugs undocumented. I do believe that the usernames must match though because of how the actual communications work. So put that ticket in. ;)