Types of RSA Key Pairs on Cisco Routers

A.

RSA (Rivest-Shamir-Adleman) is a widely-used public-key cryptosystem for secure communication. In Cisco routers, there are two types of RSA key pairs: special-usage keys and general-purpose keys. The following are the correct statements regarding these two types of RSA keys:

A. If you generate special-usage keys, two pairs of RSA keys are generated. One pair is used with any IKE (Internet Key Exchange) policy that specifies RSA signatures as the authentication method. The other pair is used with any IKE policy that specifies RSA encrypted keys as the authentication method. This means that the special-usage key pair is tailored for specific purposes and is not intended for general use.

B. If you generate a named key pair, only one pair of RSA keys is generated. This pair is used with IKE policies that specify either RSA signatures or RSA encrypted keys. Therefore, a general-purpose key pair might be used more frequently than a special-usage key pair. A named key pair allows you to assign a unique name to the RSA key pair, making it easier to manage and use.

C. If you generate general-purpose keys, you must also specify the usage-key keyword or the general-key keyword. Named key pairs allow you to have multiple RSA key pairs, enabling the Cisco IOS Software to maintain a different key pair for each identity certificate. This means that general-purpose keys are not tied to any specific purpose and can be used for a variety of functions.

D. There is no default RSA key pair in Cisco IOS. You must generate a key pair and specify its type (special-usage or general-purpose) before you can use it.

In summary, special-usage RSA key pairs are designed for specific purposes, while general-purpose RSA key pairs can be used for a variety of functions. Named key pairs allow you to manage multiple RSA key pairs more easily. Finally, there is no default RSA key pair in Cisco IOS, so you must generate and specify the type of RSA key pair you wish to use.