Connecting to UNIX/Linux from MS Windows-based Systems

Although these course notes are for UNIX/Linux, many people use PCs running a Microsoft-based operating system such as Windows 95/98/2000/NT to access their UNIX/Linux servers. Traditionally they have relied on "stock" programs like telnet and ftp to access their systems. They have also used tools like Eudora or Outlook to read their UNIX mail.

Since the spring of 2001, all communication done with UNIX/Linux must be done through a secure channel. Between UNIX/Linux systems, that secure channel is created when using ssh and scp.

The Research Computing Support Group (RCSG) has put together a series of tools people can install on their PCs, to access the UNIX/Linux systems both within NRC, and from the NRC dial-up access.

The tools covered include putty and WinSCP:

• putty is a SSH-based telnet-like client. It allows for secure communication between Windows and UNIX/linux, much the same way ssh does on the UNIX/linux platforms.

  It has a wide range of configuration for fonts, colours, behaviour. If you run X on your PC, putty allows the tunnelling of X applications (option must be enabled within putty).

  Its basic installation requirement is the download of one executable .exe file, but the full package includes command and batch capable utilities.

• WinSCP is the UNIX/linux equivalent of scp. Graphical-based, it allows for the safe/encrypted transfer of files to/from Windows and UNIX/linux platforms.

More details about those tools, as well as downloadeable modules may be found at

http://www.nrc.ca/imsb/rcsg/ras/ssh-clients.html

That web page also explains how GUI-based PC FTP tools, how mail tools like Eudora and Outlook, may be safely used, through the secure channel created by SSH.