[kwlug-disc] Using mosh

[Erik Schnetter]

I started, and then stopped using mosh several years ago. I find that mosh
has two disadvantages:

(1) After dropping the initial ssh connection, it doesn't keep
/var/log/wtmp updated (see "man who") to indicate that someone is logged
into the system. I ran afoul of this when using mosh on an HPC system,
where the administrators didn't know whether I was trying to hide the fact
that I was logged in, and disabled my account (until I explained). Their
usage policy now forbids using mosh.

(2) Mosh uses a unique session key. If I am logged into a remote system,
and e.g. need to reboot my laptop, then it is impossible to continue an
existing session. (That's by design, but still inconvenient for me.)

I have now switched to using autossh and tmux. autossh will try to
re-establish the connection when it drops (network outage, moving the
laptop to a different wireless network). When I need to reboot, I need to
run autossh manually, but that's a small price to pay. tmux will keep my
remote session alive and allow me to reconnect.

-erik



On Fri, Dec 21, 2018 at 12:39 AM Chamunks <chamunks at gmail.com> wrote:

> You need to have Mosh installed and a range of ports opened.
>
> On Thu, Dec 20, 2018 at 2:39 PM CrankyOldBugger <crankyoldbugger at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> I was interested in Mosh a year or so ago, but never actually got using
>> it.  However, you do need to install it on the server as well as the
>> client.  Any existing SSH keys or accounts will work with Mosh.
>>
>> I found an article that outlines the differences/similarities between SSH
>> and Mosh here:  http://linuxpitstop.com/ssh-vs-mosh/
>>
>> Keep in mind, though, that Mosh uses SSH in the background to do the
>> actual port listening, and for initiating the connection.  At some point
>> after establishing a connection Mosh will take over from SSH and starts the
>> Mosh server on the remote end.  SSH is in fact discarded and the Mosh
>> connection continues via UDP.
>>
>> More technical details are at https://lwn.net/Articles/722923/
>>
>>
>> On Thu, 20 Dec 2018 at 14:13, Paul Nijjar via kwlug-disc <
>> kwlug-disc at kwlug.org> wrote:
>>
>>> Newbie question: What needs to be installed on the server of an SSH
>>> host in order for me to use mosh? Does the server need to have mosh
>>> installed as well? Is this the "mosh" package?
>>>
>>> - Paul
>>> --
>>> http://pnijjar.freeshell.org
>>>
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-- 
Erik Schnetter <schnetter at gmail.com>
http://www.perimeterinstitute.ca/personal/eschnetter/
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