Mosh: Shell for Users on the Move

Productivity Sauce
The ability to connect and control remote machines via SSH is a boon for users on the move, but an unreliable and slow Internet connection can turn an SSH session into an exercise in frustration. Enter Mosh, a mobile shell that works wonders even on a shaky and anemic Internet connection. This tool offers several features designed to deal with challenges posed by unreliable Internet connections. For starters, Mosh provides a mechanism for handling dropped connections. This means, among other things, that when you put your machine to sleep and wake it up later, Mosh resumes the connection. In addition to that, the tool supports connection roaming, which can come in handy when you hop from one type of connection (e.g., Wi-Fi) to another (e.g., Ethernet).
Deploying Mosh isn't particularly difficult. The tool is available in the software repositories of many popular Linux distributions, so you can install it using your distro's package manager. Alternatively, you can compile the software from source. You have to install Mosh on both a remote host and a client. Mosh uses SSH to log in a user to the remote host. Once the user is logged in, Mosh uses a UDP connection on a port between 60000 and 61000. In practical terms, this means that the remote host must have an SSH server up and running, and you have to configure SSH and UDP port forwarding on your router.
Using Mosh is as easy as it gets. On the client machine, run the mosh user@remotehost command (replace user and remotehost with the actual user name and IP address or domain name of the remote host). If you are using an Android device to connect and control remote hosts, you'll be pleased to learn that the tweaked version of the IRSSI ConnectBot app provides support for Mosh.
comments powered by DisqusIssue 269/2023
Buy this issue as a PDF
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Find SysAdmin Jobs
News
-
Kubuntu Focus Announces XE Gen 2 Linux Laptop
Another Kubuntu-based laptop has arrived to be your next ultra-portable powerhouse with a Linux heart.
-
MNT Seeks Financial Backing for New Seven-Inch Linux Laptop
MNT Pocket Reform is a tiny laptop that is modular, upgradable, recyclable, reusable, and ships with Debian Linux.
-
Ubuntu Flatpak Remix Adds Flatpak Support Preinstalled
If you're looking for a version of Ubuntu that includes Flatpak support out of the box, there's one clear option.
-
Gnome 44 Release Candidate Now Available
The Gnome 44 release candidate has officially arrived and adds a few changes into the mix.
-
Flathub Vying to Become the Standard Linux App Store
If the Flathub team has any say in the matter, their product will become the default tool for installing Linux apps in 2023.
-
Debian 12 to Ship with KDE Plasma 5.27
The Debian development team has shifted to the latest version of KDE for their testing branch.
-
Planet Computers Launches ARM-based Linux Desktop PCs
The firm that originally released a line of mobile keyboards has taken a different direction and has developed a new line of out-of-the-box mini Linux desktop computers.
-
Ubuntu No Longer Shipping with Flatpak
In a move that probably won’t come as a shock to many, Ubuntu and all of its official spins will no longer ship with Flatpak installed.
-
openSUSE Leap 15.5 Beta Now Available
The final version of the Leap 15 series of openSUSE is available for beta testing and offers only new software versions.
-
Linux Kernel 6.2 Released with New Hardware Support
Find out what's new in the most recent release from Linus Torvalds and the Linux kernel team.