Using telnet

• See Krol, 49-63; 497-504

• Telnet is a protocol that allows you to log into a remote computer over a network using TCP/IP.

• Using Telnet, you can work on the remote computer as if it were your local computer, even if the machines use a different operating system.

  How to login

• If you are on a PC or a Mac, make sure you are connected to the network, either through a local network, or remotely through your phone line.

• Then, start the local Telnet program. On the Mac, look for Telnet in the Applications or Internet folder. On a PC, look for "Trumpet Telnet", "EWAN Telnet", or a similar program. Start the Telnet program.

• Open a connection to the computer you wish to telnet to by selecting the "open" or "new session" option and typing in the name of the desired remote host. This name is usually the second part of an email address, that is, the part after the @ sign. For example, if your email is:

  	alina@rotor.eng.utexas.edu

  You would open a telnet session to rotor.eng.utexas.edu.

  However, if your account resides on a "cluster" or group of machines, you will have to telnet to a specific machine. For example, your account might be:

  	msmith@gslis.utexas.edu       or
  	ellison@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu

  You can't telnet to gslis.utexas.edu, which is a cluster of machines. You have to connect to a specific machine. At the GSLIS, use toyota or lexus, that is:

  	toyota.gslis.utexas.edu   or
  	lexus.gslis.utexas.edu

  At CCWF you can use any of the seven dwarfs: grumpy, happy, sneazy, etc.!

• If the connection is established successfully, a new window will open on your screen, and you will see a login prompt similar to this (prompts vary from one machine to another):

  	HP-UX toyota A.09.01 A 9000/705
  
  	login:

• Enter your login id and press return. You will be prompted for your password:

  	password:

  Type in your password. The characters won't display (this protects your password from prying eyes.)

• If all went well, you will login, otherwise the system will let you try again. Usually, if you don't manage to login after a few tries or after a minute or so, the connection will be cut off by the server and you will have to start over.

• After login, some systems will prompt you for the terminal type you are using. The most common type corresponds to a popular DEC terminal, the VT100. Therefore, in most cases, the system will only require you to acknowledge that you are using a VT100 or a VT100 "emulation". All you have to do is press enter. Other systems require that you type in "VT100", then press enter.

Library Catalogs

• Once you're connected to a system via a telnet session, and you login, you are running a unix (or vax, etc) session on the remote computer. From there, you could again use telnet to connect to other remote computers, too. Of course, you will need a userid and password to login to other computers. However, some systems are setup as public access servers: they will let you access their information through a simple telnet session. Many library catalogs work like this. For example, once you login, try telnetting to UTCAT by typing:

  	telnet utcat

  and pressing enter. You will see a series of prompts that will lead you to the familiar UTCAT interface. To disconnect, follow the menu options.

  If you get stuck, try typing Ctrl-] or Ctrl-C or Ctrl-D to abort the session.

  Be sure to practice what you have learned by doing this exercise.

• Always remember to logout when you're done! Type any of the following:

  	logout
  	exit
  	Ctrl-d

  If you don't logout, the next person on your terminal will be able to use your account to email messages, modify your files, etc. If you are leaving your terminal only for a few minutes, as a precaution: always logoff - it only takes a few seconds to login again!