From a Unix account, how do I connect to another shared computer?

You can use two different programs to connect to another shared Unix computer: telnet and SSH. Since telnet transfers all data unencrypted over the network (including passwords), UITS recommends that you use SSH if it is supported by the host to which you are connecting. At Indiana University, the central research systems at IU do not allow incoming telnet connections, so you will need to use an SSH client.

To connect using telnet, at the Unix prompt, enter:

Replace hostname with the name of the shared computer to which you are connecting.

To connect using SSH, at the Unix prompt, enter:

Replace hostname with the name of the shared computer to which you are connecting (e.g., quarry.uits.indiana.edu ).

In SSH, the first time two computers connect, the computer to which your computer is connecting (the "remote host") must supply the computer making the connection (the "local host") with its SSH host key. In this case, you will get a message from the local host saying that the host key was not found in the local database, and asking if you wish to accept the key and continue the connection. Enter yes . To continue the login process, the remote host will then prompt you for your password.

To connect via SSH to a remote host on which your username is different from your local username, enter one of the following commands:

Replace remotename with your username on the remote host, and remotehost with the name of the remote host.

For more, see What is telnet? or What are SSH and SSH2?

Note: When you log out of the remote host, you will still be logged into your local host, so do not leave the local session unattended.

At Indiana University, for personal or departmental Linux or Unix systems support, see At IU, how do I get support for Linux or Unix?