NAME¶
SKS - Synchronizing Key Server
SYNOPSIS¶
sks [options] -debug
DESCRIPTION¶
SKS is a OpenPGP keyserver whose goal is to provide easy to deploy,
decentralized, and highly reliable synchronization. That means that a key
submitted to one SKS server will quickly be distributed to all key servers,
and even wildly out-of-date servers, or servers that experience spotty
connectivity, can fully synchronize with rest of the system.
The design of SKS is deliberately simple. The server consists of two
single-threaded processes. The first, "sks db", fulfills the normal
jobs associated with a public key server, such as answering web requests. The
only special functionality of "sks db" is that it keeps a log
summarizing the changes to the key database. "sks recon" does all
the work with respect to reconciling hosts databases. "sks recon"
keeps track of specialized summary information about the database, and can use
that information to efficiently determine the differences between its database
and that of another host.
FEATURES¶
Highly efficient and reliable reconciliation algorithm
Follows RFC2440 and RFC2440bis carefully - unlike PKS, SKS supports new and old
style packets, photoID packets, multiple subkeys, and pretty much everything
allowed by the RFCs.
Fully compatible with PKS system - can both send and receive syncs from PKS
servers, ensuring seamless connectivity.
Simple configuration: each host just needs a (partial) list of the other
participating key servers. Gossip is used to distribute information without
putting a heavy load an any one host.
Supports HKP/web-based querying, and soon-to-be-standard machine readable
indices
OPTIONS¶
SKS binary command options are as follows:
- db
-
Initiates database server.
- recon
- Initiates reconciliation server.
- cleandb
- Apply filters to all keys in database, fixing some common
problems.
- build
- Build key database, including body of keys directly in
database.
- fastbuild -n [size] -cache [mbytes]
- Build key database, doesn't include keys directly in
database, faster than build. -n specifies the number of keydump files to
read per pass when used with build and the multiple of 15,000 keys to be
read per pass when used with fastbuild. -cache specifies the database
cache to use in megabytes.
- pbuild -cache [mbytes] -ptree_cache [mbytes]
- Build prefix-tree database, used by reconciliation server,
from key database. Allows for specification of cache for key database and
for ptree database.
- dump numkeys dumpdir <filename-prefix>
- Create a raw dump of the keys in the database. The dump is
split into multiple files; the numkeys parameter determines the number of
keys dumped in each file. The optional filename-prefix is prepended to the
dump file names. Without it the dump files are named 0000.pgp,
0001.pgp,...
- merge
- Adds key from key files to existing database.
- drop
- Drops key from database.
- update_subkeys [-n # of updates / 1000]
- Updates subkey keyid index to include all current keys.
Only useful when upgrading versions 1.0.4 or before of SKS.
- version
- prints SKS version and linked version of Berkeley DB to
stdout
- help
- Prints the help message.
ADDITIONAL OPTIONS¶
You won't need most of the options below for normal operation. These options can
be given in basedir/sksconf or as command line option for the sks binary.
- -debug
- Debugging mode.
- -debuglevel
- Debugging level -- sets verbosity of logging.
- -q
-
Number of bits defining a bin.
- -mbar
- Number of errors that can be corrected in one shot.
- -seed
- Seed used by RNG.
- -hostname
- Current hostname.
- -nodename
- Current nodename.
- -d
-
Number of keys to drop at random when synchronizing.
- -n
-
Number of keydump files to load at once.
- -max_internal_matches
- Maximum number of matches for most specific word in a
multi-word search.
- -max_matches
- Maximum number of matches that will be returned from a
query.
- -max_uid_fetches
- Maximum number of uid fetches performed in a verbose index
query.
- -pagesize
- Pagesize in 512 byte chucks for key db.
- -keyid_pagesize
- Pagesize in 512 byte chucks for keyid db.
- -meta_pagesize
- Pagesize in 512 byte chucks for metadata db.
- -subkeyid_pagesize
- Pagesize in 512 byte chucks for subkeyid db.
- -time_pagesize
- Pagesize in 512 byte chucks for time db.
- -tqueue_pagesize
- Pagesize in 512 byte chucks for tqueue db.
- -word_pagesize
- Pagesize in 512 byte chunks for word db.
- -cache
- Cache size in megs for key db.
- -ptree_pagesize
- Pagesize in 512 byte chunks for prefix tree db.
- -ptree_cache
- Cache size in megs for prefix tree db.
- -baseport
- Set base port number.
- -recon_port
- Set recon port number.
- -recon_address
- Set recon binding addresses. Can be a list of whitespace
separated IP addresses or domain names.
- -hkp_port
- Set hkp port number.
- -hkp_address
- Set hkp binding addresses. Can be a list of whitespace
separated IP addresses or domain names.
- -use_port_80
- Have the HKP interface listen on port 80, as well as the
hkp_port.
- -basedir
- Set base directory.
- -stdoutlog
- Send log messages to stdout instead of log file.
- -diskptree
- Use a disk-based ptree implementation. Slower, but requires
far less memory.
- -nodiskptree
- Use in-mem ptree.
- -max_ptree_nodes
- Maximum number of allowed ptree nodes. Only meaningful if
-diskptree is set.
- -prob
- Set probability. Used for testing code only.
- -recon_sync_interval
- Set sync interval for reconserver.
- -gossip_interval
- Set time between gossips in minutes.
- -dontgossip
- Don't gossip automatically. Host will still respond to
requests from other hosts.
- -db_sync_interval
- Set sync interval for dbserver.
- -checkpoint_interval
- Time period between checkpoints.
- -recon_checkpoint_interval
- Time period between checkpoints for reconserver.
- -ptree_thresh_mult
- Multiple of thresh which specifies minimum node size in
prefix tree.
- -recon_thresh_mult
- Multiple of thresh which specifies minimum node size that
is included in reconciliation.
- -max_recover
- Maximum number of differences to recover in one round.
- -http_fetch_size
- Number of keys for reconserver to fetch from dbserver in
one go.
- -wserver_timeout
- Timeout in seconds for webserver requests.
- -reconciliation_timeout
- Timeout for reconciliation runs in minutes.
- -stat_hour
- Hour at which to run database statistics.
- -initial_stat
- Runs database statistics calculation on boot.
- -reconciliation_config_timeout
- Set timeout in seconds for initial exchange of config info
in reconciliation.
- -missing_keys_timeout
- Timeout in seconds for get_missing_keys.
- -command_timeout
- Timeout in seconds for commands set over command
socket.
- -sendmail_cmd
- Command used for sending mail.
- -from_addr
- From address used in synchronization emails used to
communicate with PKS.
- -dump_new_only
- When doing a database dump, only dump new keys, not keys
already contained in a keydump file.
- -max_outstanding_recon_requests
- Maximum number of outstanding requests in
reconciliation.
- -membership_reload_interval
- Maximum interval (in hours) at which membership file is
reloaded.
- -disable_mailsync
- Disable sending of PKS mailsync messages. ONLY FOR
STANDALONE SERVERS! THIS IS THE MECHANIASM FOR SENDING UPDATES TO NON-SKS
SERVERS.
- -disable_log_diffs
- Disable logging of recent hashset diffs.
- -server_contact
- Set OpenPGP KeyID of the server contact
- --help, -help
- -stdin
- Read keyids from stdin (sksclient only)
Displays list of options.
FILES¶
Information about important files located in your SKS basedir.
- bin/sks
- The main SKS executable.
- bin/sks_add_mail
- The executable responsible for parsing incoming mails from
PKS key servers.
- bin/sks_build.sh
- Script to generate an initial database.
- mailsync
- The mailsync should contains a list of email addresses of
PKS keyservers. This file is important, because it ensures that keys
submitted directly to an SKS keyserver are also forwarded to PKS
keyservers. IMPORTANT : don't add someone to your mailsync file without
getting their permission first!
- membership
- With SKS, two hosts can efficiently compare their databases
then repair whatever differences are found. In order to set up
reconciliation, you first need to find other SKS servers that will agree
to gossip with you. The hostname and port of the server that has agreed to
do so should be added to this file.
- sksconf
- The configuration file for your SKS server.
EXAMPLES¶
- membership
-
keyserver.ahost.org 11370 # Comments are allowed
keyserver.foo.org 11370 # Another host with default ports
- sksconf
-
membership_reload_interval: 1
initial_stat:
hostname: keyserver.example.com
from_addr: pgp-public-keys@keyserver.example.com
- Procmail
-
PATH=/path/of/sks/exectuables
:0
* ^Subject: incremental
| /path/of/sks_add_mail /path/to/sks/directory
- /etc/aliases
-
pgp-public-keys: "|/path/of/sks_add_mail /path/to/sks/directory"
SEE ALSO¶
The SKS website is located at https://bitbucket.org/skskeyserver/sks-keyserver/.
AUTHOR¶
The first draft was written by Thomas Sjogren
<thomas@northernsecurity.net>.