Guide to Installing, Configuring, and Using SSH from Home

update by Steve July 23 2021

SSH, also known as Secure Shell, is a terminal emulation protocol over TCP/IP. An ssh client will connect to any computer on the Internet that is running an ssh daemon. Campus machines that support the ssh protocol include: 

Department         Domain Name
Computer Science   odin.cs.csub.edu
Computer Science   sleipnir.cs.csub.edu
Computer Science   tux.cs.csub.edu
Computer Science   delphi.cs.csub.edu

For UNIX/Linux or Mac Users:
If you have a PC running UNIX/Linux or a Mac at home, simply start up a terminal session. The ssh program is already installed. If you are running Windows 10 with WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux), this will also work. 

ssh -Y username@odin.cs.csub.edu
Use the "-Y" flag if you want to run graphical applications from odin. If not, you can leave that off.

Downloading PuTTY for Windows
Putty supports telnet and ssh. All of our current servers are running ssh daemons. Click here to download the PuTTY installer.

General Information

SSH handles a remote login to another Internet computer. The host (the computer you are using) negotiates a login with the remote host). During the behind-the-scenes negotiation process, the two computers agree on the parameters governing the session. One of the first things they settle is the terminal type to be used, such as vt100 or vt220. A virtual terminal, in this context, refers to a set of terminal characteristics and sequences that both sides of a network connection agree to use to transmit data from terminals across the network, regardless of the terminal used.

Setting up PuTTY

Open PuTTy and
  1. Add Unix hostname( e.g. odin.cs.csub.edu)
  2. Switch Protocol to SSH
  3. Type name of session in saved sessions (e.g. odin)
  4. Click 'Save'
If you wish to open graphical applications from odin, follow the settings from the email attachment guide to set up an XServer on your Windows computer. All ssh applications require you to connect or open a session. From ssh, enter the domain name (e.g. odin.cs.csub.edu). If you have trouble connecting (possibly because DNS cannot resolve the domain name try using the IP address). In general, it is a bad idea to get in the habit of using IP addresses -- that address could change and you would end up in the wrong place. After a successful connection you will be asked to enter your username: and password: (under Unix these are case sensitive).

You should ALWAYS logout of your session on the remote machine (on Unix machines type 'exit'). If you simply close the window from your local machine, you may leave files open on the remote machine. If you ever have trouble opening your mail in alpine, this is probably what happened. Type "fixpine" at the terminal to clean up these open files.