rsh service

[Tonatiuh]

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0 update 4.

[root@rac1 root]# chkconfig rsh on
error reading information on service rsh: No such file or directory

Any idea about this error and how to solve it?

[Steven E. Protter · Accepted solution]

By default rsh is not even installed as part of RHEL 3.0, any update.

These services are on the install cd's. They are listed under legacy services.

rpm -q --all | grep rsh

If its installed, its part of /etc/xinetd.d and needs to be set from disable=yes to disable=no in that directory followed by:
service xinetd restart

Before you go to the trouble, think about this:

openssh

It does everything rsh does except its secure.

See the doc I'm attaching on password free setup.

SEP

[Tonatiuh]

Hi Steven,

I think I already have installed RSH:

[root@rac1 root]# rpm -q --all | grep rsh
rsh-0.17-17

>If its installed, its part of
>/etc/xinetd.d and needs to be set from
>disable=yes to disable=no in that
>directory followed by:

The directory /etc/xinetd.d does not show any file with a name like 'rsh'

Must I add it?
What must be the internal content?

[Dave Falloon]

You probably need to install rsh-server but I think you should reconsider rsh in favor of ssh.

The most common reason for people to choose rsh is because it is easily setup for passwordless connections, so I assume this is also your motivation. One thing that people don't seem to realize is that with passwordless rsh authentication you can do things like this:

rsh -l root hostname.domain.tld

and if your machine is in hosts.allow you are in as root without a password. This is due to the sufficient line in pam.

To do the same with ssh takes only slightly different commands and I would be glad to walk you through the setup if only to prevent a future nightmare for you.

--Dave

[Tonatiuh]

I really thanks your comments Dave, but I cannot understand why people most of time try to advise about SSH and ignore the real question of the user.

I am installing an Oracle RAC system and my current version of Oracle cannot support the use of SSH (it anounces that will be supported in future versions), so that my only way is using RSH.

But, what about my real problem to activate the RSH in my server?

[Dave Falloon]

Like I said, you probably need to install the rsh-server rpm off the cd. I don't know for sure on RHEL 3 but for most of the other Red hats rsh came as two seperate packages, rsh clients and rsh server.

What does rpm -ql `rpm -qa |grep rsh` tell you?

If it looks like only the clients came with the package you'll need another rpm.

--Dave

[Tonatiuh]

You are right Dave. I have not installed the RSH server. I have installed it and the rest was easy.

Thanks!

[Steven E. Protter]

0 pts.

What Dave articulated is what I orginally met.

Do take the time to consider ssh when you have time.

I did try and make recommendation and answer the question. It would be rude of me to do otherwise.

SEP

[dirk dierickx]

if programs insist of having to use rsh/rlogin/rexec (which is a disgrace in this day and age!) you can always use stunnel to at least transform them into something more secure.

[Wim Van den Wyngaert]

Note that there are lots of older machines/software that don't have/support SSH. Or have versions of SSH not working correctly (VMS). And there are also companies where security is a mess, so why bother about ssh in these cases.

Wim