Connecting MAC OS X to a Unix server

Introduction to this web page

I got temporary access to an I-Mac running MAC OS X version 10.4.1, and spent some time seeing how many different ways I could connect to a Unix server. This is a Unix server on which I am a normal user, and have a home directory. I have no administrative rights to the Unix server, so have to take it as it is.

MAC OS X comes equipped with a wide range of network protocols already installed, straight out of the box. So what follows is a description of the ways I have tried so far of attaching to the Unix server - there are more, which I haven`t tried yet.

I am using an admin account on the MAC with the username of "ron"

So far, all the successful connections have been achieved by working through the command line provided by Terminal. I haven`t managed to establish any connection by working through Finder - ie, Go / Connect to server.

Telnet

The original and very insecure Telnet works just fine -

     imac-123:~ ron$
     imac-123:~ ron$ telnet unix-1.domain.co.uk
     Trying 10.10.10.10...
     Connected to unix-1.domain.co.uk.
     login: username
     Password:
     unix-1$
     unix-1$

FTP

As with Telnet, the original and also insecure ftp protocol works fine as well -

     imac-123:~ ron$
     imac-123:~ ron$ ftp unix-1.domain.co.uk
     Connected to unix-1.domain.co.uk
     220 unix FTP server (SunOS x.x ) ready.
     Name (unix-1.domain.co.uk:ron): username
     331 Password required for username.
     Password:
     230 User username logged in.
     Remote system type is UNIX.
     Using binary mode to transfer files.
     ftp>
     ftp>

ssh

MAC OS X comes equipped with OpenSSH, which is a suite of secure networking protocols - ssh itself replaces Telnet, and works straight out of the box. The command line instructions vary, depending on usernames -

if you are logged on to the MAC with a username which is the same as the username on the Unix server, then there is no need to specify the username for the Unix server, and the command line instruction set is
```
     imac-123:~ ron$
     imac-123:~ ron$ ssh unix-1.domain.co.uk
     ron@unix-1.domain.co.uk`s password:
     unix-1$
     unix-1$  
```
is sufficient to start the communications.

however if you are logged onto the MAC with a different username from that on the Unix server, then an extended instruction line is required -

     imac-123:~ ron$
     imac-123:~ ron$ ssh username@unix-1.domain.co.uk
     username@unix-1.domain.co.uk`s password:
     unix-1$
     unix-1$

However this isn`t the whole story, the first time a MAC connects to the Unix server, there is some security handshaking between the MAC and the server. I didn`t record this dialogue, so can`t report its exact nature, however it looks approximately like :-

     The authenticity of host 'unix-1.domain.co.uk (10.10.10.10)' can't be established.

     RSA key fingerprint is xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx

     Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)?

At this point it is neccessary to type in the full word "yes", not just a "y"

You are then presented with the opportunity to login, as above.

sftp

sftp is part of the OpenSSH suite, and so works fine as well. The set up process is slicker than for legacy ftp, and is similar to using ssh :-

     imac-123:~ ron$
     imac-123:~ ron$ sftp username@unix-1.domain.co.uk
     Connecting to unix-1.domain.co.uk...
     username@unix-1.domain.co.uk`s password:
     sftp>
     sftp>

SMB

The Unix server I am trying to connect to runs Samba, so that Microsoft Windows users can connect to the Unix server through Windows Explorer. MAC OS X includes smb in the suite of network protocols supplied, so it should be possible to connect to the Unix server through Finder, and see it within the GUI. However I couldn`t achieve this.

Following some digging on the web, I found reference to there being a bug in MAC-OS-X 10.4.1, which prevents smb working as it should, the recommended cure is to upgrade to 10.4.2. I haven`t been able to do that.

However it is possible to connect using smb, by working through the command line. The instruction set is

     imac-123:~ ron$
     imac-123:~ ron$ smbclient //unix-1.domain.co.uk/homes -U username
     Password:
     DOMAIN=[MYGROUP] OS=[Unix] Server=[Samba x.x.x]
     smb: \>
     smb: \>

That`s it

That is as far as I have got so far, I`ll add some more if I can get more time on the MAC.

Return to the Index page