One of the beauties of Linux is the ability to work on the machine without being at the console. This is accomplished via an ssh session.
For a detailed definition of ssh, see Wikipedia’s definition of Secure Shell
In order to login to a UNIX machine remotely, you will need a username and password. ECE students, please see our Academic Labs Overview section on Linux accounts for more information about your ECE Linux account. For a list of the machines available for student use, please see our web page listing Linux machine names.
On a Windows machine
For ssh, there is no built-in program, but there are several you can download. A common one used is called putty, and OIT provides SecureCRT or X-Win32 for GA Tech faculty, staff, and students. You can request it on OIT’s software page. For security purposes, access to Linux machines from off-campus (including RESNET) is only allowed via ssh. Please read our Remote Access Policy for more information.
On a Macintosh
For ssh, on Mac OSX, just open your terminal program and ssh is already installed for you. For security purposes, access to UNIX machines from off-campus (including RESNET) is only allowed via ssh. Please read our Remote Access Policy for more information.
How to Login
To ssh to a machine, type the following command at the prompt:
>ssh machine_name
or
>ssh username@machine_name
Then it will ask for your password. (Your password will not show on the screen.) Linux is case sensitive, so make sure you do not have the “Caps Lock” key on while typing your password. After you type your password, hit the “Enter” key.
After you are logged onto an ECE UNIX machine, you are automatically “dropped” in your Linux home directory.
How To Logout
At the command line, type one of the following commands
>exit
>logout
Continue to Lesson 2 – Permissions.
Return to index of lessons.
Last revised November 7, 2008.