Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Portecle VS Smallstep SSH

Compare Portecle VS Smallstep SSH and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Portecle logo Portecle

Portecle is a user friendly GUI application for creating, managing and examining keystores, keys...

Smallstep SSH logo Smallstep SSH

Single Sign-on SSH
  • Portecle Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-09-06
  • Smallstep SSH Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-04

Portecle features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Portecle provides a graphical user interface which makes it accessible for users who prefer not to work with command-line tools.
  • Comprehensive Functionality
    It supports a wide range of functionalities such as creating, examining, and modifying keystores, keys, certificates, certificate requests, and more.
  • Open Source
    Being an open-source tool, Portecle is free to use and allows users to modify and improve the software according to their needs.
  • Cross-Platform
    Portecle is a Java application, making it operable on any platform that supports Java, such as Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Possible disadvantages of Portecle

  • Limited Advanced Features
    Portecle may lack some advanced features and integrations that enterprise users might expect from more sophisticated key management tools.
  • Outdated Interface
    The user interface might feel outdated compared to more modern software, which can be less appealing to users who prioritize aesthetics.
  • Requires Java
    As Portecle is a Java application, users must have Java installed on their system, which could be seen as a downside for those wishing to avoid Java.
  • Maintenance and Support
    Being a community-driven open-source project, official support is limited, and updates might be less frequent compared to commercial software.

Smallstep SSH features and specs

  • Enhanced Security
    Smallstep SSH enables strong authentication practices by integrating with identity providers, reducing the chances of compromised passwords and ensuring secure connections.
  • Centralized Access Management
    The platform centralizes user access management, allowing admins to easily manage and revoke user access across multiple servers and services from a single point of control.
  • Ease of Integration
    Smallstep SSH integrates seamlessly with existing infrastructure and identity providers like Okta and Google Workspace, simplifying the onboarding process for enterprises.
  • Improved Compliance
    With detailed logging and custom policies, Smallstep SSH helps organizations meet various compliance requirements by offering traceability and accountability for user actions.
  • Scalability
    Designed with scalability in mind, Smallstep SSH can efficiently handle growing organizational needs without sacrificing performance or security.

Possible disadvantages of Smallstep SSH

  • Complexity of Setup
    For organizations unfamiliar with identity provider integrations or certificate-based authentication, the initial setup can be complex and may require specialized knowledge.
  • Dependence on External Identity Providers
    Reliance on external identity providers for authentication means that downtime or disruptions with these services can impact Smallstep SSH functionality.
  • Limited Offline Access
    Because the solution is designed to work with identity providers, offline mode functionality is limited, which might be a concern for systems that require constant availability.
  • Cost Considerations
    For small organizations or startups, the cost of implementing and maintaining an enterprise-level authentication system like Smallstep SSH might be prohibitive.
  • Learning Curve
    There is a learning curve associated with transitioning from traditional SSH management to Smallstep SSH's certificate-based approach, which might necessitate training for IT staff.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Portecle and Smallstep SSH)
Digital Signage
100 100%
0% 0
Identity And Access Management
Web Development Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Productivity
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Portecle should be more popular than Smallstep SSH. It has been mentiond 2 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Portecle mentions (2)

  • How to install trusted CA certificate on Android device?
    Android stores CA certificates in its Java keystore in /system/etc/security/cacerts.bks. I copied the file to my computer, added my certificate using portecle 1.5 and pushed it back to the device. Source: about 2 years ago
  • IT Pro Tuesday #196 - Certificate Tool, Video Capture, Network Diagrams & More
    Portecle provides a user-friendly GUI for creating, managing and examining key- and certificate-related information. Allows you to easily interact with and keep track of you keystores, keys, certificates, certificate requests, certificate revocation lists and more. Appreciation for the recommendation goes to peanutbuttersmack. Source: about 3 years ago

Smallstep SSH mentions (1)

  • SSH With SSO
    Through a combination of the properties that are in an SSH certificate and configuration on the hosts, you'll be able to realize RBAC. If you're using the open source step-ca, this will require you to configure things yourself on the hosts. We also have an offering where this capability and management/auditing of the rules is hosted for you, which makes that specific part easier: https://smallstep.com/sso-ssh/. Source: almost 2 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Portecle and Smallstep SSH, you can also consider the following products

OpenXPKI - OpenXPKI is a software stack that provides all necessary components to manage keys and certificates...

Keystash.io - Centralized Linux user and SSH key management software

EJBCA - EJBCA® is a PKI Certificate Authority software, built using Java (JEE) technology.

strongDM - Trust strongDM to manage an engineers access to everything

TinyCA - TinyCA is a simple graphical userinterface written in Perl/Gtk to manage a small CA (Certification...

OneLogin - On-demand SSO, directory integration, user provisioning and more