UNIX for Dummies Questions & Answers

Can someone show me the basics on configuring SSH on Unix so I can access my Unix account remotely from Windows 7. Basically, I want to fire some scripts remotely.

I've already posted a thread on the Windows forum thinking my configuration was wrong on the Windows side. But the more I read the SSH man the more I think I might have a configuration issue on the Unix side.

1) Do I need to setup a "known_hosts" file indicating who is allowed to access the Unix machine?

2) If so, what is the syntax to use in this file (userids, IP Addresses, SSH certificates...)

3) Are there other setups required?

I had our unix sys-admin turn on SSH on this server and was since able to remote access it with plink.exe (PuTTY), which I wasn't before. So, I'm assuming the SSH stuff is setup correctly but just needs configured to allow remote users to connect to Unix.

TIA

Do you have another unix box you can play with?
I mean by that, so you can see the procedure on how to configure already between unix boxes before to see about your PC, this will permit to clear your doubts about the HP-UX side

Yes I have another Unix server I can use.

I was able to remotely connect from one Unix server to the other, using the "ssh" command. It worked on the first try... I love Unix!

There is some conflicting information in here. Can you connect or not? Do you get any error messages? What about when you try with -v (verbose) ?

1) no, you don't have to tinker with known_hosts. This file gets populated automatically at first successful ssh connection
2) see 1)
3) not really. The default config works for most cases.

I can connect with the plink.exe utility, But the Windows "winrs" command doesn't work. The -v option is not valid with winrs. By default, verbose is tunred on. Here's the error message I get:

Winrs error:The client cannot connect to the destination specified in the request. Verify that the service on the destination is running and is accepting requests. Consult the logs and documentation for the WS-Management service running on the destination, most commonly IIS or WinRM. If the destination is the WinRM service, run the following command on the destination to analyze and configure the WinRM service: "winrm quickconfig".

Note: I ran the "winrm quickconfig" on my Windows PC but don't know what should be run, if anything, on the remote Unix server.

Tell us what "winrs dosen't work" means, please show us the error.

FWIW: winrs is a windows tool that comes with Vista I think. It is meant to connect to other windows boxes. I did not know it could connect to a UNIX tty via ssh.

You may well be right about this command being intended to be used against other Windows servers... I have quoted the error message in my previous post.

I am using Windows 7. I've remotely run Unix scripts before, with Windows XP. The command to do this was "rsh". It appears this command is no longer shipped with the newer Windows versions and Microsoft has replaced it by "winrm" and "winrs". I also understand the old rsh command established a telnet conection while the newer winrs uses the more secure SSH protocole. I think this is feasible but just haven't found the correct configuration on either computers to make them communicate...