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I'm not understanding how (why?) this would be useful. Accessing a server through http and pipe everything to some other server, why would I want to do that ins

I'm not understanding how (why?) this would be useful. Accessing a server through http and pipe everything to some other server, why would I want to do that instead of directly connect to my server? What advantage does this have over running ssh normally on my terminal, or putty? Not being sarcastic, just genuinely curious about the rational of this application.

zokier 15y ago
Bypassing overly tight firewalls and/or execution policies is one reason. Basically this enables you to use SSH with any machine, even if it was firewalled to allow only port 80 and/or doesn't allow executing anything other than browser.
phzbOx 15y ago
- Easier to run on your 'mom's computer' - Easier to get it to work on ipod/ipad without downloading the app. - May avoid the ssh-key annoying stuff on different servers. (For instance, you've got a vps somewhere.. you can just login there to access your stuff; it makes it easier to associate which ssh is which). - For device with only browsers (google laptop for instance) - To have *everything* in the browsers; emails, todolist, consoles, etc. - To make it easier to add some goodies; I.e. you've got the tab open, but you can bind some javascript stuff to ease your workflow. Way easier to write a chrome extension than modify Putty. - Run it from school or jobs that need administrative access to do trivial things. (I.e. One could use emacs from his browser if he couldn't install it on his computer). This is just some examples on the top of my head.
hippich 15y ago
I would say best use case - integrate it into some proprietary piece of software. IP-KVM, Cloud hosting, etc.
kiwidrew 15y ago
My use for software like this (I use shellinabox [1] on my server) is being able to access a secure Unix commandline from absolutely any Internet-connected machine in the world. Most recently, I was able to rebook an upcoming flight in Sabre (a travel agent's reservation terminal) from an internet kiosk in the Hong Kong subway. It ran a very weird kiosk-mode browser based at least in part on IE 6.0, but I was still able to securely [2] open a terminal session on my server. [1] http://code.google.com/p/shellinabox/ http://code.google.com/p/shellinabox/ [2] I have an SSL certificate for my shellinabox vhost, which protects both the Javascript client code and the terminal communications; while I do have to trust that the web browser is properly validating the SSL certificate, it's pretty much the most secure solution possible that doesn't involve carrying around my own hardware.
riskable 15y ago
Besides what the others have stated (which are some really great reasons), Gate One will resume your sessions if you lose/regain network connectivity, close/reopen your browser, reboot your computer, etc. Also, there's compliance (Gate One can be configured to log everything every user does--even to a central log server), the awesome bookmark manager, and then there's the fact that it is pretty much your only option if using a Chromebook :). Side note: Gate One also has an interesting feature in that you can kill the Gate One daemon, start it back up, and everyone's sessions will be restored. It does this by way of the dtach program. This feature is actually the groundwork for some big things coming in the future for Gate One. Features that will likely make the front page again =) -- Dan McDougall - Author of Gate One

zokier 15y ago

Bypassing overly tight firewalls and/or execution policies is one reason. Basically this enables you to use SSH with any machine, even if it was firewalled to allow only port 80 and/or doesn't allow executing anything other than browser.

phzbOx 15y ago

- Easier to run on your 'mom's computer' - Easier to get it to work on ipod/ipad without downloading the app. - May avoid the ssh-key annoying stuff on different servers. (For instance, you've got a vps somewhere.. you can just login there to access your stuff; it makes it easier to associate which ssh is which). - For device with only browsers (google laptop for instance) - To have *everything* in the browsers; emails, todolist, consoles, etc. - To make it easier to add some goodies; I.e. you've got the tab open, but you can bind some javascript stuff to ease your workflow. Way easier to write a chrome extension than modify Putty. - Run it from school or jobs that need administrative access to do trivial things. (I.e. One could use emacs from his browser if he couldn't install it on his computer). This is just some examples on the top of my head.

hippich 15y ago

I would say best use case - integrate it into some proprietary piece of software. IP-KVM, Cloud hosting, etc.

kiwidrew 15y ago

My use for software like this (I use shellinabox [1] on my server) is being able to access a secure Unix commandline from absolutely any Internet-connected machine in the world. Most recently, I was able to rebook an upcoming flight in Sabre (a travel agent's reservation terminal) from an internet kiosk in the Hong Kong subway. It ran a very weird kiosk-mode browser based at least in part on IE 6.0, but I was still able to securely [2] open a terminal session on my server. [1] http://code.google.com/p/shellinabox/ http://code.google.com/p/shellinabox/ [2] I have an SSL certificate for my shellinabox vhost, which protects both the Javascript client code and the terminal communications; while I do have to trust that the web browser is properly validating the SSL certificate, it's pretty much the most secure solution possible that doesn't involve carrying around my own hardware.

riskable 15y ago

Besides what the others have stated (which are some really great reasons), Gate One will resume your sessions if you lose/regain network connectivity, close/reopen your browser, reboot your computer, etc. Also, there's compliance (Gate One can be configured to log everything every user does--even to a central log server), the awesome bookmark manager, and then there's the fact that it is pretty much your only option if using a Chromebook :). Side note: Gate One also has an interesting feature in that you can kill the Gate One daemon, start it back up, and everyone's sessions will be restored. It does this by way of the dtach program. This feature is actually the groundwork for some big things coming in the future for Gate One. Features that will likely make the front page again =) -- Dan McDougall - Author of Gate One