Getting Connected

When your account is created you will be provided with details on how to connect to the Linux
server. You may be provided with some or all of the following information:
Username. This is also known as an account, login, or ID.
Password
SSH key
Server name or IP address
Port number
Connection protocol
The connection protocol will either be SSH (Secure Shell) or telnet. SSH and telnet provide ways
to connect to a server over the Internet or a local area network. In the vast majority of cases the
connection protocol will be SSH. Telnet is practically obsolete at this point, however you may run
into it if you need to access a legacy system.

Choosing an SSH Client

If you were given a specific SSH client to use, use that program and follow the documentation for
that product. If you are free to choose your own client or were not provided one, I suggest using
PuTTY for Windows or Terminal for Mac.
PuTTY can be downloaded from this website:
http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html. You only need putty.exe to
get started. Here's the direct link to putty.exe:
http://the.earth.li/~sgtatham/putty/latest/x86/putty.exe.
The Terminal application comes pre-installed on Macs and is located in the
/Applications/Utilities folder.
A list of other SSH clients is provided in the Deep Dive section at the end of this chapter.

Connecting via SSH with a Password from Windows

To connect to the Linux server using the SSH connection protocol, launch PuTTY.

Type the host name or IP address you were given into the Host Name (or IP address) box. If no
port was given to you, leave it at the default value of 22.

Enter your username by clicking on Data in the left pane. It is located directly below Connection .
Type your username into the Auto-login username field. If you skip this step you will be
prompted for your username when you connect to the server.

Save your session by typing in a name in the Saved Sessions box and clicking Save . This allows
you to speed up this process by simply double clicking on your saved session to connect to the
Linux server.

When you click Open a connection attempt will be made. The first time you connect to a particular
server, PuTTY will ask to cache that server's host key. You will not be prompted again on
subsequent connections. To add the server's SSH host key to PuTTY's cache, simply click Yes
when prompted.

Once you are successfully logged in, you will see something similar to this:

Connecting via SSH with a Password from Mac

The built-in SSH client on Mac is a command line program. Command line programs can be run
with the Terminal application that comes with the Mac operating system. It is located in the
/Applications/Utilities folder. The format of the ssh command is ssh -p port_number
username@servername . If you were not provided a port number, then the default port of 22 is
assumed and you can omit -p 22 from the ssh command. Similarly, the username only needs to
be specified if it is different on the server than it is on your Mac workstation. For example, if your
username on your Mac is bob and your username on linuxsvr is also bob , you can omit bob@
and simply type ssh linuxsvr . Once Terminal is running, type in the ssh command. Commands
are case-sensitive and the ssh command is lowercase. It should look like one of these three
options:
ssh linuxsvr
ssh bob@linuxsvr
ssh -p 2222 bob@linuxsvr

The first time you connect to a particular server you will be asked to verify that server's host key.
You will not be prompted again on subsequent connections. When you are asked Are you sure

type yes and press Enter . Once you have

established a connection, you will be prompted for your password.
you want to continue connecting (yes/no)?

Like Mac, Linux also comes with a terminal program and an SSH client. Once you are connected
to one Linux server you can use the ssh command to connect to another Linux server. You can
nest multiple connections and navigate through your network of Linux servers in this fashion.

General Information on Connecting via SSH with Keys

You may have not be given a password, but rather given an SSH key or even asked to generate
one. In the physical world a key unlocks a door. Similarly, an SSH key is used to unlock the
access to your account on a server. If you do not have a key, you cannot unlock the door.
Using account passwords or a combination of account passwords and SSH keys is a common
practice. With the growth of cloud computing in recent years, it is becoming more and more
popular to use SSH keys exclusively. Since cloud servers are often connected to the public
internet, they are prone to brute force attacks. A mischievous person could write a program that
repeatedly connects to your server trying a new username and password combination each time.
They can increase their odds of gaining entry by using a list of common usernames and
passwords. Configuring your cloud server to not accept account passwords and to only accept
SSH keys eliminates this threat.
You can further increase the security of your SSH key by giving it a passphrase. In this case it
takes something you have -- the key -- and something you know -- the passphrase -- to gain
access to your account. If you feel confident that your key will only be under your control, you can
forgo providing a passphrase for your key. This will allow you to log into servers without typing a
password at all. Having an SSH key without a passphrase can allow you to automate and
schedule tasks that require logging in to remote systems.

Importing SSH Keys on Windows

If you were given an SSH key that is not already in the PuTTY format, you will need to convert it.
PuTTYgen is required in order to convert an SSH key on a Windows system. Here is a direct
download link to puttygen.exe: http://the.earth.li/~sgtatham/putty/latest/x86/puttygen.exe.
Run PuTTYgen, click Load and navigate to the private SSH key you were given. The names of
the files are typically id_rsa or id_dsa for private keys, and id_rsa.pub or id_dsa.pub for public
keys.

Now you can save the public and private keys for later use with PuTTY.

Generating SSH Keys on Windows

In order to create an SSH key on a Windows system, you will need PuTTYgen. Here is a direct
download link to puttygen.exe: http://the.earth.li/~sgtatham/putty/latest/x86/puttygen.exe.

When you run PuTTYgen you will be asked to move the mouse around to create some random
data that will be used in the generation of the key.

You have the option to use a passphrase for your key. You can also change the comment to
something more meaningful like Bob's key .

Now, save the public and private keys buy pressing Save public key and then Save private
key . Give the public key to the system administrator so they can associate it with your account.
The private key is for your eyes only. Do not share your private key!
Next, export the key as an OpenSSH key by clicking on Conversions and then Export OpenSSH
Key . This OpenSSH key can later be used on Unix or Linux systems.

Connecting via SSH from Windows

Follow the "Connecting via SSH with a Password from Windows" instructions, but this time add
one additional step to specify your SSH private key file. You can do this by by clicking on the
plug sign ( + ) next to SSH in the left pane to reveal more options. Next click on Auth . In the right
pane select Browse under the Private key file for authentication field and locate your
private SSH key.

Generating SSH Keys on Mac

If you are asked to generate an SSH key, launch the Terminal application and use the command
line utility named ssh-keygen . You will be asked a series of questions. Accept all the defaults by
pressing Enter . Optionally enter a passphrase for your SSH key.
mac:~ bob$ ssh-keygen
Generating public/private rsa key pair.
Enter file in which to save the key (/Users/bob/.ssh/id_rsa):
Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):
Enter same passphrase again:
Your identification has been saved in /Users/bob/.ssh/id_rsa.
Your public key has been saved in /Users/bob/.ssh/id_rsa.pub.
The key fingerprint is:
0b:14:c5:85:5f:55:77:35:5f:9e:15:a9:b4:b0:54:05 bob@mac
The key's randomart image is:
+--[ RSA 2048]----+
|
.o.o. .E+=@|
|
.o o.. oO|
|
. ...+ o.o|
|
.
.. o
|
|
. S
|
|
. .
|
|
.
|
|
|
|
|
+-----------------+

Connecting via SSH with Keys from Mac

If you generated your keys, this part is already done for you. If you were given an SSH key, you
need to place it in a directory named .ssh underneath your home directory. Open the Terminal
application and type in the following commands. Press the Enter key at the end of each line.
mkdir ~/.ssh
chmod 700 ~/.ssh

You will gain a full understanding of what these commands do as you progress through this
book. In order to expedite the process of getting connected, the details will be saved for later.
Switch to the Finder to copy your keys into the .ssh folder. In the Finder menu click Go and then
Go to Folder... and type ~/.ssh when prompted. When you click go , the .ssh folder will be
displayed. Now you can drag your keys into place.

Back in the Terminal window, set the proper permissions on your key files. (Again, these
commands will be covered later.)
cd ~/.ssh
chmod 600 *

I highly recommend naming the keys in the following format: id_rsa and id_rsa.pub or id_dsa and
id_dsa.pub Otherwise, you will have to specify the location of your key when you use the ssh
command or perform some additional configuration to tell SSH that your keys are not named in
the standard way.
As a general rule it makes your life much easier if you follow the standard conventions and
common practices. I will point them out along the way. One of the things I love most about Linux
is the freedom and power it gives you to do things in a myriad of ways. There are cases were not
following the standard conventions will be the right thing to do.
If you still wish to name your key something else, you can tell SSH where to find it by adding -i
key_location to the ssh command. Remember, the format of the ssh command we used above
is ssh -p port_number username@servername . It can be expanded to ssh -i key_location -p
port_number username@servername . Here's an example:
ssh -i /Users/bob/.ssh/bobs_key bob@linuxsvr

Connecting via Telnet

Telnet used to be the de facto way to connect to a Unix or Linux server. Over the years telnet has
been replaced with Secure Shell, abbreviated SSH. SSH is, as its name implies, more secure
than telnet. Telnet sends your login credentials over the network in plain text. SSH encrypts the
communications between the client and the server, thus greatly improving security. If someone
were to be packet snooping or eavesdropping on your connection, they would see garbled text
and random characters. If you do have a need to telnet to a system you can use the SSH
instructions from above, but with a couple of minor changes.
Connecting via Telnet from Windows

Run PuTTY and select the Telnet radio button. If no port was given to you, leave it at the default
value of 23. You will be prompted for your username and password when you connect to the
server.

Connecting via Telnet from Mac

The built-in telnet client on Mac is a command line program. Command line programs can be run
with the Terminal application that comes with the Mac operating system. It is located in the
/Applications/Utilities folder. The format of the telnet command is telnet servername
port_number . You only need to include a port number if it is different than the default value of 23.
You will be prompted for your username and password when you connect to the server.
mac:~ bob$ telnet linuxsvr
Trying 10.0.0.7...
Connected to 10.0.0.7.
Escape character is '^]'.
Ubuntu 12.04.3 LTS
linuxsvr login: bob
Password:
Last login: Thu Nov 7 01:26:37 UTC 2013
Welcome to Ubuntu 12.04.3 LTS
* Documentation:

https://help.ubuntu.com/

System info as of Nov 7 01:26:52 UTC 2013

System load: 0.42
Usage of /:
3.1% of 40GB
Memory usage: 32%
Swap usage:
0%
Processes:
89
Users logged in:
0
IP address for eth0: 10.0.0.7
bob@linuxsvr:~$

Connecting Directly

If you are running Linux in VirtualBox as described in the previous chapter or you have dedicated
hardware with Linux installed on it, you can simply log in directly to the server. You will be
presented with a prompt requesting your username and password. If it is a graphical
environment, you will need to find a terminal application to use after you have logged in. In most
cases it will literally be "terminal", but you might see some slight variations like "gnome terminal",
"konsole", or "xterm."
Here is what opening the terminal application looks like in CentOS. You will find it in one of the
menus.

In some Linux graphical environments there may not be a traditional menuing system. In these
cases you will want to search for the terminal application. In this Ubuntu example, click the button
in the top left of the screen to bring up the dashboard. You can now start typing to find
applications that are installed on the system.

Deep Dive
20 Windows SSH Clients You Can Use to Connect to Your Linux Server - An article that
lists 20 of the most popular Windows SSH clients.
List of Mac SSH clients
List of SSH clients, all platforms
List of Terminal Emulators - Includes terminals for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
List of Telnet Clients
List of Windows SSH clients
OpenSSH.org - The official website for OpenSSH.
PuTTY
PuTTY Documentation
putty.exe
puttygen.exe
putty.zip - A zip file containing all of the PuTTY program files.
Watch Star Wars over a telnet connection.
telnet towel.blinkenlights.nl

To disconnect, hold down the Ctrl key and press the right bracket ( ] ). At the telnet
> prompt type quit and press Enter .
Using SSH Public Key Authentication

Thanks for Reading

If enjoyed this article, you might also enjoy Linux for Beginners.