Remote Access

Remote Access

You may access your LIONS account in any number of ways. While there are several systems in the LIONS architecture, the preferred system to use for remote access is called sol-login.lions.odu.edu (This could change in the future.) Sol-login.lions.odu.edu consist of three Sun 280R machines running the Sun Solaris 8 operating system. If you have access to departmental LIONS clients, you may access them as well.

There are four supported methods of logging in remotely to LIONS, namely, SSH, FTP, X-Win32, and Telnet. Please note that users are not normally allowed to log directly in to any HPC machine (this include Helios, Hydra, and Norfolk), or FTP directly to any UNIX server or workstation.

SSH

SSH, the secure shell, is a program for logging into a remote machine and for executing commands on a remote machine. SSH features encrypted communication between the local and remote login host. It also supports forwarding of X connections between hosts using encrypted communcation protocols. Because of its security features, SSH is the recommended method of remote login.

OpenSSH is the SSH software installed on all UNIX systems that are a part of LIONS. OpenSSH supports both SSH-1 and SSH-2 protocols. However, unlike previous installs of SSH, the ability to forward X connections is not enabled by default. When you ssh to a remote host, use the -X flag (ex. ssh -X sol-login.lions.odu.edu) to enable X connection forwarding.

Currently, OCCS does not officially support a particular SSH product for the Microsoft Windows platform. However, the UNIX Support Group has used the PuTTY program with some success in our environment - Just make sure you download and use the latest version of the package.

FTP

The LIONS enviroment features anonymous as well as authenticated FTP. As previously explained, users are NOT allowed to ftp to a particular UNIX system (ex. ftping to sol-login.lions.odu.edu or helios.lions.odu.edu). Instead there is a dedicated FTP server called ftp.lions.odu.edu. Your LIONS username and password are all you need to start transferring files back and forth to your home directory or any other directores you have access to.

X-Win32

X-Win32 by Startnet Inc. is a PC X server (X is the graphical user interface protocol for UNIX systems.) for connecting Windows PCs with UNIX systems. With X-Win32 a user can log into a remote UNIX system and have that system display locally on the Windows Desktop.

X-Win32 is the current standard supported by OCCS for a Windows-based X-server. If you are a PC user and need access to a UNIX system and don't have X-Win32 installed, please click HERE (a new browser window will open) and you will be prompted for your ODU Lotus Notes web password. Otherwise, please call the Customer Service Center at 757-683-3192.

Please note that as of this time, version 6.13sf (or newer) is recommended by our group for access to LIONS. For instructions on how to set it up, go to this document.

Telnet

Telnet is a standard Internet protocol for remote login. The use of telnet is somewhat deprecated for security reasons, but it is made available for those who do not have SSH.

Note: It is the University's intention to drop support for the telnet protocol at some future date.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. I am trying to use FTP to login to from my PC using WS-FTP (or other PC FTP software) software, but it says connection refused? why?

A. You can use FTP to access your home directory (and sub directories) by going through the machine ftp.lions.odu.edu. This is a special machine to handle the FTP services. All of the LIONS hosts as well as "ftp.lions.odu.edu" have access to the same LIONS AFS space.

Q. I am trying to connect using a Windows machine, and I don't have any SSH program installed. How do I connect?

A. For the time being, the Telnet protocol may be used to connect from a Microsoft Windows machine, tho is it not recommended, as your password goes to our systems in 'clear text'. The free PuTTY program is a much better substitute.

To run Telnet, you would click on the Start button, select Run..., and type telnet in the 'Run' window and press Enter. When the prompt comes up (depending upon the version of the Microsoft Telnet client), type

open sol-login.lions.odu.edu

After a few moments, you will see an 'Authorized Use Only' statement, followed by a login: prompt. At that point, enter your LIONS user name. When the Password: prompt appears, enter your LIONS password.