ssh-connect

Introduction

connect.bash is a shell script wrapper for SSH connections. It provides an in-terminal menu of connection choices that can be added by the user. The script has the ability to perform SSH tunneling (upon first connection to a given host). Succeeding connections to a host will then use the tunnel established in the first connection.

Connection options are stored in a colon-delimited config file ~/.sshconnectrc that has the following format:

number:"title":loginname:hostname:tunnelhostname:localport:usestoken

number = Connection number (ex. 1)

title = Connection menu title (ex. "Server A")

loginname = Remote login name (ex. John.Smith)

hostname = Hostname of remote system (ex. servera.com)

tunnelhostname = Hostname in which to establish a tunnel (ex. servera.com)

localport = Local port number for SSH tunnel (ex. 45678)

usestoken = Set to true or false if the connection requires an RSA Token Passcode.

Users can also create/modify ~/.sshconnectrc on their own with a text editor.

NOTE: SSH access to some remote systems require a bastion host login then the user is redirected to a host of their choice. In these situations, hostname would be the bastion host and tunnelhostname would be a destination host.

Supported Operating Systems

• Any operating system with bash and an SSH client.

Software Dependencies

• bash
• openssh
• stoken (OPTIONAL)

Installation Instructions

• Clone or download ssh-connect package
• Copy connect.bash to ~/bin or another directory that is in your $PATH
• Create symlink: ln -s connect.bash connect [OPTIONAL]

Leveraging SSH MasterControl

MasterControl is a feature of SSH that allows successive connections to a host to "piggyback" off of the initial connection. There are pros and cons to this described here. Insert the following text at the top in your SSH config file (~/.ssh/config)

ControlMaster auto
ControlPath ~/.ssh/tmp/%h_%p_%r

ControlPath file template %h = hostname; %p = port; %r = remote username

Usage

connect.bash or connect (if you use a symlink) will present the user with a menu in which the user selects the connection option by entering the connection number.

$ connect
...
****************************
*   SELECT HOST COMPUTER   *
*          ****            *
*  1) Server A             *
*  2) Server B             *
*                          *
*  A) Add Entry            *
****************************
Select option: