dhparam(1ssl)
NAME
dhparam - DH parameter manipulation and generation
SYNOPSIS
openssl dhparam [-inform DER|PEM] [-outform DER|PEM] [-in filename] [-out filename] [-dsaparam] [-check] [-noout] [-text] [-C] [-2] [-5] [-rand file(s)] [-engine id] [numbits]
DESCRIPTION
This command is used to manipulate DH parameter files.
OPTIONS
-inform DER|PEM
This specifies the input format. The DER option uses an ASN1 DER
encoded form compatible with the PKCS#3 DHparameter structure. The
PEM form is the default format: it consists of the DER format
base64 encoded with additional header and footer lines.
-outform DER|PEM
This specifies the output format, the options have the same meaning
as the -inform option.
-in filename
This specifies the input filename to read parameters from or
standard input if this option is not specified.
-out filename
This specifies the output filename parameters to. Standard output
is used if this option is not present. The output filename should
not be the same as the input filename.
-dsaparam
If this option is used, DSA rather than DH parameters are read or
created; they are converted to DH format. Otherwise, "strong"
primes (such that (p-1)/2 is also prime) will be used for DH
parameter generation.
DH parameter generation with the -dsaparam option is much faster,
and the recommended exponent length is shorter, which makes DH key
exchange more efficient. Beware that with such DSA-style DH
parameters, a fresh DH key should be created for each use to avoid
small-subgroup attacks that may be possible otherwise.
-check
check if the parameters are valid primes and generator.
-2, -5
The generator to use, either 2 or 5. If present then the input file
is ignored and parameters are generated instead. If not present but
numbits is present, parameters are generated with the default
generator 2.
-rand file(s)
a file or files containing random data used to seed the random
number generator, or an EGD socket (see RAND_egd(3)). Multiple
files can be specified separated by a OS-dependent character. The
separator is ; for MS-Windows, , for OpenVMS, and : for all others.
numbits
this option specifies that a parameter set should be generated of
size numbits. It must be the last option. If this option is present
then the input file is ignored and parameters are generated
instead. If this option is not present but a generator (-2 or -5)
is present, parameters are generated with a default length of 2048
bits.
-noout
this option inhibits the output of the encoded version of the
parameters.
-text
this option prints out the DH parameters in human readable form.
-C this option converts the parameters into C code. The parameters can
then be loaded by calling the get_dhnumbits() function.
-engine id
specifying an engine (by its unique id string) will cause dhparam
to attempt to obtain a functional reference to the specified
engine, thus initialising it if needed. The engine will then be set
as the default for all available algorithms.
WARNINGS
The program dhparam combines the functionality of the programs dh and gendh in previous versions of OpenSSL and SSLeay. The dh and gendh programs are retained for now but may have different purposes in future versions of OpenSSL.
NOTES
PEM format DH parameters use the header and footer lines:
-----BEGIN DH PARAMETERS-----
-----END DH PARAMETERS-----
OpenSSL currently only supports the older PKCS#3 DH, not the newer
X9.42 DH.
This program manipulates DH parameters not keys.
BUGS
There should be a way to generate and manipulate DH keys.
SEE ALSO
dsaparam(1)
HISTORY
The dhparam command was added in OpenSSL 0.9.5. The -dsaparam option was added in OpenSSL 0.9.6.
Opportunity
Personal Opportunity - Free software gives you access to billions of dollars of software at no cost. Use this software for your business, personal use or to develop a profitable skill. Access to source code provides access to a level of capabilities/information that companies protect though copyrights. Open source is a core component of the Internet and it is available to you. Leverage the billions of dollars in resources and capabilities to build a career, establish a business or change the world. The potential is endless for those who understand the opportunity.
Business Opportunity - Goldman Sachs, IBM and countless large corporations are leveraging open source to reduce costs, develop products and increase their bottom lines. Learn what these companies know about open source and how open source can give you the advantage.
Free Software
Free Software provides computer programs and capabilities at no cost but more importantly, it provides the freedom to run, edit, contribute to, and share the software. The importance of free software is a matter of access, not price. Software at no cost is a benefit but ownership rights to the software and source code is far more significant.
Free Office Software - The Libre Office suite provides top desktop productivity tools for free. This includes, a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation engine, drawing and flowcharting, database and math applications. Libre Office is available for Linux or Windows.
Free Books
The Free Books Library is a collection of thousands of the most popular public domain books in an online readable format. The collection includes great classical literature and more recent works where the U.S. copyright has expired. These books are yours to read and use without restrictions.
Source Code - Want to change a program or know how it works? Open Source provides the source code for its programs so that anyone can use, modify or learn how to write those programs themselves. Visit the GNU source code repositories to download the source.
Education
Study at Harvard, Stanford or MIT - Open edX provides free online courses from Harvard, MIT, Columbia, UC Berkeley and other top Universities. Hundreds of courses for almost all major subjects and course levels. Open edx also offers some paid courses and selected certifications.
Linux Manual Pages - A man or manual page is a form of software documentation found on Linux/Unix operating systems. Topics covered include computer programs (including library and system calls), formal standards and conventions, and even abstract concepts.
