Re: SSH and CVS

From: Nico Kadel-Garcia (nkadel_at_comcast.net)
Date: 06/22/04 

Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2004 08:29:19 -0400

Nikola Milutinovic wrote:
> 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

Should be as follows:

    export CVS_RSH="ssh -x"

This will get rid of the X11 forwarding complaints.

> 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

What in the? OK, first, try working with Putty instead of VanDyke's
SecureCRT, which is much more widely documented.

Second, I've had good success with using Putty to build an SSH tunnel to the
remote target, and using that tunnel to run a more common rsh command to
the target system. It avoids some of the fun and games of using
password-free SSH keys or of using ssh-agent to store your unlocked keys,
especially for folks who don't want to bother to install CygWin to get
ssh-agent.

> 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...

Work with Putty. There are many, many well-writen web pages documenting how
to do this with Putty, and far fewer for the very good but only commercially
available SecureCRT.

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