cssh
(1)
Name
cssh - Cluster administration tool
Synopsis
cssh [options] [[user@]<server>[:port]|<tag>] [...]
crsh [options] [[user@]<server>[:port]|<tag>] [...]
ctel [options] [<server>[:port]|<tag>] [...]
Description
User Contributed Perl Documentation CSSH(1)
NAME
cssh, crsh, ctel - Cluster administration tool
SYNOPSIS
cssh [options] [[user@]<server>[:port]|<tag>] [...]
crsh [options] [[user@]<server>[:port]|<tag>] [...]
ctel [options] [<server>[:port]|<tag>] [...]
DESCRIPTION
The command opens an administration console and an xterm to
all specified hosts. Any text typed into the administration
console is replicated to all windows. All windows may also
be typed into directly.
This tool is intended for (but not limited to) cluster
administration where the same configuration or commands must
be run on each node within the cluster. Performing these
commands all at once via this tool ensures all nodes are
kept in sync.
Connections are opened via ssh so a correctly installed and
configured ssh installation is required. If, however, the
program is called by "crsh" then the rsh protocol is used
(and the communications channel is insecure), or by "ctel"
then telnet is used.
Extra caution should be taken when editing system files such
as /etc/inet/hosts as lines may not necessarily be in the
same order. Assuming line 5 is the same across all servers
and modifying that is dangerous. Better to search for the
specific line to be changed and double-check before changes
are committed.
Further Notes
Please also see "KNOWN BUGS".
o The dotted line on any sub-menu is a tear-off, i.e.
click on it and the sub-menu is turned into its own
window.
o Unchecking a hostname on the Hosts sub-menu will unplug
the host from the cluster control window, so any text
typed into the console is not sent to that host. Re-
selecting it will plug it back in.
o If your window manager menu bars are obscured by
terminal windows see the "screen_reserve_XXXXX" options
in the $HOME/.clusterssh/config file (see "FILES").
o If the terminals overlap too much see the
"terminal_reserve_XXXXX" options in the
$HOME/.clusterssh/config file (see "FILES").
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o If the code is called as crsh instead of cssh (i.e. a
symlink called crsh points to the cssh file or the file
is renamed) rsh is used as the communications protocol
instead of ssh.
o If the code is called as ctel instead of cssh (i.e. a
symlink called ctel points to the cssh file or the file
is renamed) telnet is used as the communications
protocol instead of ssh.
o When using cssh on a large number of systems to connect
back to a single system (e.g. you issue a command to the
cluster to scp a file from a given location) and when
these connections require authentication (i.e. you are
going to authenticate with a password), the sshd daemon
at that location may refuse connects after the number
specified by MaxStartups in sshd_config is exceeded.
(If this value is not set, it defaults to 10.) This is
expected behavior; sshd uses this mechanism to prevent
DoS attacks from unauthenticated sources. Please tune
sshd_config and reload the SSH daemon, or consider using
the ~/.ssh/authorized_keys mechanism for authentication
if you encounter this problem.
o If client windows fail to open, try running:
"cssh -e {single host name}"
This will test the mechanisms used to open windows to
hosts. This could be due to either the "-xrm" terminal
option which enables "AllowSendEvents" (some terminal do
not require this option, other terminals have another
method for enabling it - see your terminal documention)
or the "ConnectTimeout" ssh option (see the
configuration option "-o" or file
"$HOME/.clusterssh/config" below to resolve this).
OPTIONS
Some of these options may also be defined within the
configuration file. Default options are shown as
appropriate.
--action,-a '<command>'
Run the command in each session, i.e. "-a 'vi
/etc/hosts'" to drop straight into a vi session. NOTE:
not all communications methods support this (ssh and rsh
should, telnet and console will not).
--autoclose,-A <seconds>
Number of seconds to wait before closing finished
terminal windows.
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--autoquit,-q|--no-autoquit,-Q
Enable|Disable automatically quiting after the last
client window has closed (overriding the config file)
--cluster-file,-c <file>
Use supplied file as additional cluster file (see also
"FILES")
--config-file,-C <file>
Use supplied file as additional configuration file (see
also "FILES")
-d DEPRECATED. See '--debug'.
-D DEPRECATED. See '--debug'.
--debug [number].
Enable debugging. Either a level can be provided or the
option can be repeated multiple times. Maximum level is
4.
--evaluate,-e [user@]<hostname>[:port]
Display and evaluate the terminal and connection
arguments so display any potential errors. The
<hostname> is required to aid the evaluation.
--font,-f "5x8"
Specify the font to use in the terminal windows. Use
standard X font notation.
--help,-h|-?
Show basic help text, and exit
--list, -L
List available cluster tags.
--man,-H
Show full help test (the man page), and exit
--master,-M <master>
The console client program polls master as the primary
server, rather than the default set at compile time
(typically ``console'').
--options,-o "-x -o ConnectTimeout=10" - for ssh connections
--options,-o "" - for rsh connections
Specify arguments to be passed to ssh or rsh when making
the connection.
NOTE: any "generic" change to the method (i.e.
specifying the ssh port to use) should be done in the
medium's own config file (see "ssh_config" and
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$HOME/.ssh/config).
--output-config,-u
Output the current configuration in the same format used
by the $HOME/.clusterssh/config file.
--port,-p <port>
Specify an alternate port for connections.
--show-history,-s
IN BETA: Show history within console window. This code
is still being worked upon, but may help some users.
--tag-file,-c <file>
Use supplied file as additional tag file (see also
"FILES")
--term-args,-t ""
Specify arguments to be passed to terminals being used
--tile,-g|--no-tile,-G
Enable|Disable window tiling (overriding the config
file)
--title,-T "CSSH"
Specify the initial part of the title used in the
console and client windows
--unique-servers,-m
Connect to each host only once
--use_all_a_records,-A
If a hostname resolves to multiple IP addresses, toggle
whether or not to connect to all of them, or just the
first one (see also config file entry)
--username,-l $LOGNAME
Specify the default username to use for connections (if
different from the currently logged in user). NOTE:
will be overridden by <user>@<host>
--version,-v
Show version information and exit
ARGUMENTS
The following arguments are support:
[user@]<hostname>[:port] ...
Open an xterm to the given hostname and connect to the
administration console. An optional port number can be
used if sshd is not listening on standard port (e.g not
listening on port 22) and ssh_config cannot be used.
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<tag> ...
Open a series of xterms defined by <tag> in one of the
suplimentary configuration files (see "FILES").
Note: specifying a username on a cluster tag will
override any usernames defined in the cluster
KEY SHORTCUTS
The following key shortcuts are available within the console
window, and all of them may be changed via the configuration
files.
Control-q
Quit the program and close all connections and windows
Control-+
Open the 'Add Host(s) or Cluster(s)' dialogue box.
Mutiple host or cluster names can be entered, separated
by spaces.
Alt-n
Paste in the hostname part of the specific connection
string to each client, minus any username or port, i.e.
"scp /etc/hosts server:files/<Alt-n>.hosts"
would replace the <Alt-n> with the client's name in each
window
Alt-r
Retile all the client windows
EXAMPLES
Open up a session to 3 servers
$ cssh server1 server2 server3
'farm1' and give the controlling window a specific title, where
the cluster is defined in one of the default configuration files
Open up a session to a cluster of servers identified by the
tag
$ cssh -T 'Web Farm Cluster 1' farm1
this can also be achieved by setting up appropriate options in
the .ssh/config file. Do not close cssh when last terminal exits.
Connect to different servers using different login names.
NOTE:
$ cssh -Q user1@server1 admin@server2
Open up a cluster defined in a non-default configuration
file
$ cssh -c $HOME/cssh.config db_cluster
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Use telnet on port 2022 instead of ssh
$ ctel -p 2022 server1 server2
Use rsh instead of ssh
$ crsh server1 server2
FILES
/etc/clusters, $HOME/.clusterssh/clusters
These files contain a list of tags to server names
mappings. When any name is used on the command line it
is checked to see if it is a tag. If it is a tag, then
the tag is replaced with the list of servers. The
formated is as follows:
<tag> [user@]<server> [user@]<server> [...]
i.e.
# List of servers in live
live admin1@server1 admin2@server2 server3 server4
All comments (marked by a #) and blank lines are
ignored. Tags may be nested, but be aware of using
recursive tags as they are not checked for.
Extra cluster files may also be specified either as an
option on the command line (see "cluster-file") or in
the users $HOME/.clusterssh/config file (see
"extra_cluster_file" configuration option).
NOTE: the last tag read overwrites any pre-existing tag
of that name
NOTE: there is a special cluster tag called "default" -
any tags or hosts included within this tag will be
automatically opened if no other tags are specified on
the command line.
/etc/tags, $HOME/.clusterssh/tags
Very similar to cluster files but the definition is
reversed. The format is:
<host> <tag> [...]
This allows one host to be specified as a member of a
number of tags. This format can be clearer than using
clusters files.
Extra tag files may be spcieid either an an option (see
"tag-file") or within the users $HOME/.clusterssh/config
file (see "extra_tag_file" configuration option).
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NOTE: All tags are added together
/etc/csshrc & $HOME/.clusterssh/config
This file contains configuration overrides - the
defaults are as marked. Default options are overwritten
first by the global file, and then by the user file.
NOTE: values for entries do not need to be quoted unless
it is required for passing arguments, i.e.
terminal_allow_send_events="-xrm '*.VT100.allowSendEvents:true'"
should be written as
terminal_allow_send_events=-xrm '*.VT100.allowSendEvents:true'
auto_close = 5
Close terminal window after this many seconds. If
set to 0 will instead wait on input from the user in
each window before closing. Can be overridden by
"-K" on the command line
auto_quit = yes
Automatically quit after the last client window
closes. Set to anything other than "yes" to
disable. Can be overridden by "-Q" on the command
line.
clusters = <blank>
Define a number of cluster tags in addition to (or
to replace) tags defined in the /etc/clusters file.
The format is:
clusters = <tag1> <tag2> <tag3>
<tag1> = host1 host2 host3
<tag2> = user@host4 user@host5 host6
<tag3> = <tag1> <tag2>
As with the /etc/clusters file, be sure not to
create recursivly nested tags.
comms = ssh
Sets the default communication method (initially
taken from the name of program, but can be
overridden here).
console_position = <null>
Set the initial position of the console - if empty
then let the window manager decide. Format is
'+<x>+<y>', i.e. '+0+0' is top left hand corner of
the screen, '+0-70' is bottom left hand side of
screen (more or less).
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external_cluster_command = <null>
Define the full path to an external command that can
be used to resolve tags to host names. This command
can be written in any language. The script must
accept a list of tags to resolve and output a list
of hosts on a single line. Any tags that cannot be
resolved should be returned unchanged.
A non-0 exit code will be counted as an error, a
warning will be printed and output ignored.
extra_cluster_file = <null>
Define an extra cluster file in the format of
/etc/clusters. Multiple files can be specified,
seperated by commas. Both ~ and $HOME are
acceptable as a to reference the users home
directory, i.e.
extra_cluster_file = ~/clusters, $HOME/clus
ignore_host_errors
THIS OPTION IS DEPRECATED. It has been left in so
current systems continue to function as expected.
key_addhost = Control-Shift-plus
Default key sequence to open AddHost menu. See
below notes on shortcuts.
key_clientname = Alt-n
Default key sequence to send cssh client names to
client. See below notes on shortcuts.
key_paste = Control-v
Default key sequence to paste text into the console
window. See below notes on shortcuts.
key_quit = Control-q
Default key sequence to quit the program (will
terminate all open windows). See below notes on
shortcuts.
key_retilehosts = Alt-r
Default key sequence to retile host windows. See
below notes on shortcuts.
max_addhost_menu_cluster_items = 6
Maximum number of entries in the 'Add Host' menu
cluster list before scrollbars are used
max_host_menu_items = 30
Maximum number of hosts to put into the host menu
before starting a new column
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menu_host_autotearoff = 0
menu_send_autotearoff = 0
When set to non-0 will automatically tear-off the
host or send menu at program start
mouse_paste = Button-2 (middle mouse button)
Default key sequence to paste text into the console
window using the mouse. See below notes on
shortcuts.
rsh = rsh
ssh = ssh
telnet = telnet
Set the path to the specific binary to use for the
communication method, else uses the first match
found in $PATH
rsh_args = <blank>
ssh_args = "-x -o ConnectTimeout=10"
telnet_args = <blank>
Sets any arguments to be used with the communication
method (defaults to ssh arguments).
NOTE: The given defaults are based on OpenSSH, not
commercial ssh software.
NOTE: Any "generic" change to the method (i.e.
specifying the ssh port to use) should be done in
the medium's own config file (see "ssh_config" and
$HOME/.ssh/config).
screen_reserve_top = 0
screen_reserve_bottom = 60
screen_reserve_left = 0
screen_reserve_right = 0
Number of pixels from the screen side to reserve
when calculating screen geometry for tiling.
Setting this to something like 50 will help keep
cssh from positioning windows over your window
manager's menu bar if it draws one at that side of
the screen.
rsh = /path/to/rsh
ssh = /path/to/ssh
Depending on the value of comms, set the path of the
communication binary.
terminal = /path/to/terminal
Path to the x-windows terminal used for the client.
terminal_args = <blank>
Arguments to use when opening terminal windows.
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Otherwise takes defaults from $HOME/.Xdefaults or
$<$HOME/.Xresources> file.
terminal_font = 6x13
Font to use in the terminal windows. Use standard X
font notation.
terminal_reserve_top = 5
terminal_reserve_bottom = 0
terminal_reserve_left = 5
terminal_reserve_right = 0
Number of pixels from the terminal side to reserve
when calculating screen geometry for tiling.
Setting these will help keep cssh from positioning
windows over your scroll and title bars or otherwise
overlapping the windows too much.
terminal_colorize = 1
If set to 1 (the default), then "-bg" and "-fg"
arguments will be added to the terminal invocation
command-line. The terminal will be colored in a
pseudo-random way based on the host name; while the
color of a terminal is not easily predicted, it will
always be the same color for a given host name.
After a while, you will recognize hosts by their
characteristic terminal color.
terminal_bg_style = dark
If set to dark, the the terminal background will be
set to black and the foreground to the pseudo-random
color. If set to light, then the foreground will be
black and the background the pseudo-random color.
If terminal_colorize is zero, then this option has
no effect.
terminal_size = 80x24
Initial size of terminals to use (note: the number
of lines (24) will be decreased when resizing
terminals for tiling, not the number of characters
(80))
terminal_title_opt = -T
Option used with "terminal" to set the title of the
window
'*.VT100.allowSendEvents:true'
terminal_allow_send_events = -xrm
Option required by the terminal to allow XSendEvents
to be received
title = cssh
Title of windows to use for both the console and
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terminals.
unmap_on_redraw = no
Tell Tk to use the UnmapWindow request before
redrawing terminal windows. This defaults to "no"
as it causes some problems with the FVWM window
manager. If you are experiencing problems with
redraws, you can set it to "yes" to allow the window
to be unmapped before it is repositioned.
use_all_a_records = no
If a hostname resolves to multiple IP addresses, set
to "yes" to connect to all of them, not just the
first one found.
use_hotkeys = yes
Setting to anything other than "yes" will disable
all hotkeys.
user = $LOGNAME
Sets the default user for running commands on
clients.
window_tiling = yes
Perform window tiling (set to "no" to disable)
window_tiling_direction = right
Direction to tile windows, where "right" means
starting top left and moving right and then down,
and anything else means starting bottom right and
moving left and then up
NOTE: The key shortcut modifiers must be in the form
"Control", "Alt", or "Shift", i.e. with the first letter
capitalised and the rest lower case. Keys may also be
disabled individually by setting to the word "null".
$HOME/.csshrc_send_menu
This (optional) file contains items to populate the send
menu. The default entry could be written as:
<send_menu>
<menu title="Hostname">
<command>%s</command>
<accelerator>ALT-n</accelerator>
</menu>
</send_menu>
Submenus can also be specified as follows:
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<send_menu>
<menu title="Default Entries">
<detach>yes</detach>
<menu title="Hostname">
<command>%s</command>
<accelerator>ALT-n</accelerator>
</menu>
</menu>
</send_menu>
Caveats:
There is currently no strict format checking of this
file.
The format of the file may change in the future
If the file exists the default entry (Hostname) is not
added
The following replacement macros are available:
%s Hostname part of the specific connection string to
each client, minus any username or port
%u Username part of the connection string to each
client
%h Hostname of server where cssh is being run from
%n <RETURN> code
NOTE: requires XML::Simple to be installed
KNOWN BUGS
1. Catering for IPv6 addresses is minimal. This is due to
a conflict between IPv6 addresses and port numbers
within the same server definition since they both use
the same seperator, i.e. is the following just an IPv6
address, or an address + port number of 2323?
2001:db8::1428:2323
Exactly - I cannot tell either. the IPv6 address
without a port is assumed in those cases where it cannot
be determined and a warning is issued.
Possible work arounds include:
a. Use square brackets around the IPv6 address, i.e.
[2001:db8::1428]:2323 or
[2001:db8::1428:2323] as appropriate so there is
no ambiguity
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b. Use the full IPv6 address if also using a port
number - the 8th colon is assumed to be the port
seperator.
c. Define the IPv6 address in your /etc/hosts file, DNS
or other name service lookup mechanism and use the
hostname instead of the address.
2. Swapping virtual desktops can a redraw of all the
terminal windows. This is due to a lack of distinction
within Tk between switching desktops and
minimising/maximising windows. Until Tk can tell the
difference between the two events, there is no fix
(apart from rewriting everything directly in X)
Anyone with any good ideas to fix the above bugs is more
than welcome to get in touch and/or provide a patch.
REPORTING BUGS
o If you have issues running cssh, first try:
"cssh -e [user@]<hostname>[:port]"
This performs two tests to confirm cssh is able to work
properly with the settings provided within the
$HOME/.clusterssh/config file (or internal defaults).
1. test the terminal window works with the options provided
2. test ssh works to a host with the configured arguments
Configuration options to watch for in ssh are
- Doesnt understand "-o ConnectTimeout=10" - remove the option
in the F<$HOME/.clusterssh/config> file
- OpenSSH-3.8 using untrusted ssh tunnels - use "-Y" instead of "-X"
or use "ForwardX11Trusted yes' in ssh_config (if you change the
default ssh options from -x to -X)
o If you require support, please run the following commands
and post it on the web site in the support/problems forum:
"perl -V"
"perl -MTk -e 'print $Tk::VERSION,$/'"
"perl -MX11::Protocol -e 'print
$X11::Protocol::VERSION,$/'"
"cat /etc/csshrc $HOME/.clusterssh/config"
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o Use the debug switches (-d, -D, or -dD) will turn on
debugging output. However, please only use this option
with one host at a time, i.e. "cssh -d <host>" due to the
amount of output produced (in both main and child
windows).
ATTRIBUTES
See attributes(5) for descriptions of the following
attributes:
+---------------+-------------------+
|ATTRIBUTE TYPE | ATTRIBUTE VALUE |
+---------------+-------------------+
|Availability | terminal/cssh-512 |
+---------------+-------------------+
|Stability | Uncommitted |
+---------------+-------------------+
SEE ALSO
<http://clusterssh.sourceforge.net/>, "ssh", Tk::overview,
X11::Protocol, "perl"
CREDITS
A web site for comments, requests, bug reports and bug
fixes/patches is available at
<http://clusterssh.sourceforge.net/>
AUTHOR
Duncan Ferguson, "<duncan_j_ferguson at yahoo.co.uk>"
LICENSE AND COPYRIGHT
Copyright 1999-2010 Duncan Ferguson.
This program is free software; you can redistribute it
and/or modify it under the terms of either: the GNU General
Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation;
or the Artistic License.
See http://dev.perl.org/licenses/ for more information.
NOTES
This software was built from source available at
https://java.net/projects/solaris-userland. The original
community source was downloaded from
http://downloads.sourceforge.net/project/clusterssh/2.%20ClusterSSH%20Series%204/App-
ClusterSSH-4.02_01.tar.gz
Further information about this software can be found on the
open source community website at
http://sourceforge.net/projects/clusterssh/.
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