Create shortcut log-in command

It can be very tedious to have to type full command to log into a remote machine using the secure shell (ssh) when a remote machine is used often.

Add a custom command to the .bashrc

A simple solution is to add a custom command to the .basrc. Open the .bashrc (which is in the root of home directory) using any plain text editor. E.g.:

vi $HOME/.bashrc

Then, using the alias function, define a new function derived from the ssh command and your personal credentials:

alias lx7="ssh username@scomp1095.wurnet.nl"
alias hpc="ssh username@login.anunna.wur.nl"

The new function will be available from next login, therefore log out of the active terminal and log back in. From the freshly opened terminal, issuing the following command:

lx7

should give you direct access to scomp1095, for instance. If you do this in combination with a passwordless setup, you will not even be prompted for a password.

Using a ssh config file

Instead of using the alias function, it is possible to use a ssh config file. The ssh config file can be found at $HOME/.ssh/config . If the ssh config file does not exist, you can create it with, e.g.,:

touch $HOME/.ssh.config

If the ssh config file exists, you can add the different options you use to log in of the different servers/clusters. For example, for Anunna, you can add:

Host hpc
 Hostname login.anunna.wur.nl
 User username
 IdentityFile PATH_TO_PRIVATE_KEY (if applicable)
 ForwardX11 yes (if applicable)

After the addition to the ssh congig file, you can log in as follows:

ssh hpc

You may add to the ssh config file several configurations for the same or several clusters. For example, for the two aliases in the section Add a custom command to the .bashrc , you can add the following lines to your ssh config file:

Host scomp
 HostName scomp1095.wurnet.nl
 User username
Host hpc
 Hostname login.anunna.wur.nl
 User username

For more information on the possible different options for the ssh config file, you may consult the man page.

See also

• ssh without password
• Lx6 and Lx7 compute nodes
• Logging into cluster using ssh and file transfer