SSH and CVS

From: Nikola Milutinovic (Nikola.Milutinovic_at_ev.co.yu)
Date: 06/22/04 

Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2004 09:32:07 +0200

Hi all.

I have a problem. I would like to use CVS (Concurent Versioning System)
in client/server mode, via SSH.

The "servers" are Tru64 UNIX machines (irrelevant, for this matter) with
either OpenSSH v3.8.1 or SSH2 v3.2.0 all with CVS 1.12.x installed.

The "clients" are WinXP machines with either PuTTY v0.53 or SecureCRT v4.1.6

The CVS can use RSH for remote repositories, but any other RSH-like
channel (SSH) can be used, as long as that user can login without being
prompted for pass. Truth be said, I've managed to run CVS from one UNIX
to another, with password prompting and it had no complaints.

So, running CVS between UNIX hosts works like a charm:

Papa-Legba:/# export CVS_RSH=ssh
Papa-Legba:/# cvs -d :ext:root@Uprava.ev.co.yu:/usr/users/uvid/cvs
checkout CVSROOT/modules
warning: Cannot connect to DISPLAY; X11 forwarding disabled.
U CVSROOT/modules

So, this slides smoothly, although there are some messages displayed. I
suspect they go to STDERR, so CVS pays no attention to them, since it is
listening to STDIN/STDOUT.

PROBLEM
-------

When I try to do the same from a WinXP machine, I run into trouble.

-------------------------------------------------------------------
D:\JBuilder9\bin> type ssh.cmd
@echo off

set VSH_PROG="D:\Program Files\SecureCRT-4.1\VSH.EXE"
set VSH_ID="D:\Documents and Settings\nikola\Application
Data\VanDyke\Nikola"
set VSH_USER="uvid"
set VSH_HOST="Uprava.ev.co.yu"

%VSH_PROG% -i %VSH_ID% -l %VSH_USER% -x -nopty %VSH_HOST%

D:\JBuilder9\bin> set CVS_RSH=ssh.cmd

D:\JBuilder9\bin> cvs -d :ext:uprava.ev.co.yu:/home/u/uvidd/cvs checkout
CVSROOT/modules
stty: tcgetattr: Not a typewriter
Not a terminal
zsh: command not found: Root
zsh: command not found: Valid-responses
zsh: command not found: valid-requests
cvs [checkout aborted]: received interrupt signal

D:\JBUILD~1\bin>^CThe process tried to write to a nonexistent pipe.
-------------------------------------------------------------------

All of this seams to be caused by VSH.EXE actually logging onto the
system, because the system displays greeting with MOTD upon logon. I
know, you'll say: "turn off MOTD", but the system is in C2 Security mode
and a part of the logon greeting cannot be turned off (because it is
required by the C2 standard). "ssh" both from "SSH2" and "OpenSSH" do
not exibit this behaviour when run in "command mode".

IOW, if I run "ssh -l uvid uprava.ev.co.yu ls", I will get output from
"ls", but no greeting message.

What can I do? Other than installing CygWin and OpenSSH...

Nix.

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