[aclug-L] Re: Shells

[Jonathan Hall <jonhall@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

My personal reasons for using a shell (other than my own):

1) Attempting to download a large file quickly (before the remote network
goes down if the network is unstable or on a dynamic IP, etc), then I can
later download it over my (presumably) slower connection (whether it bie
Dialup or something else).

2) Allows for a 'central' place to store files, whether it be e-mail, or
other files I wish to access from places other than home.  (Having my own
dedicated network, I really don't need more than my own shell for this
anyway, but many people with cable, DSL, or Dailup might still find this
helpful).

3) Diagnostics.  It's often helpful to be able to run ping, traceroute, or
even telnet from a machine other than my own personal machine--to see if the
problem is with me or the remote end or something in between.

And one further reason that does not apply to me, but does to some people:

4) The ability to run remote daemons or servers, such as eggdrop bots (for
IRC), remote network monitoring software, MUDs/MUXs/MUSHs/etc (multi-user
telnetish games).

This violates the terms of most "standard" ISPs shell policies... thus there
are many companies out there that specialize in offering "eggshells" for
people who have these needs.



On Fri, Apr 06, 2001 at 12:17:27AM -0500, Steven Saner wrote:
> 
> Everyone that reads linux-help knows that I am involved in an ISP
> venture. I wanted to get some peoples input on the concept of shell
> servers. One of the common questions that is asked about an ISP,
> especially from people on a list such as this, is: do they offer shell
> access?
> 
> First of all, I understand the value of a shell based computing
> environment. I am all over that. I wouldn't compute without it (or I
> wouldn't want to anyway). But with Linux, and other assorted free Unix
> like OS's, I don't need my ISP in order to have a shell based
> environment.
> 
> So, my question is, why do people want their ISP to offer shells? What
> do you want in the shell service? In other words, what would you use
> the shell for, that you can't do yourself?
> 
> It is somewhat difficult to build an ISP model that scales well, is
> secure, etc. and support shell access. Most of the security issues
> that come up are "local user" issues, so if you support shells, you
> have to keep on top of the updates more religiously. A shell gives a
> customer the ability to do things that you might not want them doing,
> such as running processes and the like that can be a denial of service
> to other customers.
> 
> Any comments would be welcome.
> 
> Steve
> 
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