Working with Remote Machines

Logging in from a Unix Host to a Second Unix Host

To login to another Unix host the command is rlogin. Note, telnet may also be available.

rlogin machine-name

Depending on how the network is set up, the remote host will either ask for a username and password, or simply a password if it assumes the same username on both machines. To terminate an rlogin session, type ~. (tilde period).

Running Commands on a Second Unix System

Commands can be executed on a second system that you are registered on using the remote-shell commands, rsh or (on older System V Unix machines) remsh.

It may be necessary to set up a file called .rhosts in your login directory on the machine that you wish to run the remote commands. This file should contain lines like

your_home_machine_name your_home_machine_login_name

Note, only do this, if you have complete faith and trust in the security of your_home_machine_name. Never do this, if for example your_home_machine_name is a standalone machine or physically accessible to others.

To run a command on a remote machine, simply type

rsh machine-name unix-command

See rsh(1) for more details.

Copying Files between Two Unix Hosts on a TCP/IP Network

The remote-copy command rcp allows this.

rcp hostname1:file hostname2:destination_directory

The hostname of the local machine may be omitted. The option -r allows recursive copying of a directory and all its subdirectories.