remctl(1)

1REMCTL(1)                           remctl                           REMCTL(1)
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NAME

6       remctl - Remote execution tool
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SYNOPSIS

9       remctl [-dhv] [-b source-ip] [-p port] [-s service]
10           [-t timeout] host command [subcommand [parameters ...]]
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DESCRIPTION

13       remctl is a program that allows a user to execute commands remotely on
14       a server that is running the remctld daemon.  remctl does not interpret
15       the commands given to it.  It passes them to the server and displays
16       the return message.  The commands must be defined on the server-side
17       before a remctl client can execute them, and the user running remctl
18       must be authorized to execute the particular command on the server.
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20       Access to remote commands is authenticated via Kerberos GSS-API, so a
21       user must have a ticket granting ticket to use remctl.  All
22       transmissions to and from the remctld server are encrypted using GSS-
23       API's security layer.
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25       host is the hostname of the target server.  command and subcommand
26       together specify the command to run and correspond to the command names
27       in the configuration file on the server.  parameters are any additional
28       command-line parameters to pass to the remote command.
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OPTIONS

31       The start of each option description is annotated with the version of
32       remctl in which that option was added with its current meaning.
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34       -b source-ip
35           [3.0] When connecting to the remote remctl server, use source-ip as
36           the source IP address.  This can be useful on multihomed systems
37           where the remctl connections need to be made over a particular
38           network.  source-ip must be an IP address, not a hostname, and can
39           be either an IPv4 or IPv6 address (assuming IPv6 is supported).
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41       -d  [1.10] Turn on extra debugging output of the client-server
42           interaction.
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44       -h  [1.10] Show a brief usage message and then exit.
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46       -p port
47           [1.0] Connect to the server on port.  If this option isn't given,
48           the client first tries the registered remctl port (4373) and then
49           falls back on the legacy port (4444) if that fails.
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51       -s service
52           [1.0] Authenticate to the server with a service ticket for service
53           rather than the default server identity of host/hostname.  This may
54           be necessary with, for instance, a server where remctld is not
55           running as root.
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57       -t timeout
58           [3.16] Set the timeout for all network operations to timeout (in
59           seconds).
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61           This is a timeout on network activity, not on a complete operation;
62           for example, a timeout of ten seconds just requires that the server
63           send some data at least every ten seconds.  If the server sends
64           only tiny amounts of data at a time, the complete operation could
65           take much longer without triggering the timeout.
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67       -v  [1.10] Print the version of remctl and exit.
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EXIT STATUS

70       remctl will exit with the exit status returned by the remote command.
71       If some network or authentication error occurred and remctl was unable
72       to run the remote command or retrieve its exit status, or if remctl was
73       called with invalid arguments, remctl will exit with status 1.
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EXAMPLES

76       Release an AFS volume called ls.tripwire:
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78           remctl lsdb afs release ls.tripwire
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COMPATIBILITY

81       The default port was changed to the IANA-registered port of 4373 in
82       version 2.11.
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84       Support for IPv6 was added in version 2.4.
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CAVEATS

87       If no principal is specified with -s, remctl canonicalizes the server
88       host name using DNS before connecting.  This ensures that the network
89       connection and the GSS-API authentication use the same server name even
90       if some common DNS-based load-balancing schemes are in use.  To disable
91       this canonicalization, specify the server principal using -s.
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93       The default behavior, when the port is not specified, of trying 4373
94       and falling back to 4444 will be removed in a future version of remctl
95       in favor of using the "remctl" service in /etc/services if set and then
96       falling back on only 4373.  4444 was the poorly-chosen original remctl
97       port and should be phased out.
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99       When using Heimdal with triple-DES keys and talking to old servers that
100       only speak version one of the remctl protocol, remctl may have problems
101       with MIC verification.  This doesn't affect new clients and servers
102       since the version two protocol doesn't use MICs.  If you are using
103       Heimdal and run into MIC verification problems, see the COMPATIBILITY
104       section of gssapi(3).
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NOTES

107       The remctl port number, 4373, was derived by tracing the diagonals of a
108       QWERTY keyboard up from the letters "remc" to the number row.
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AUTHOR

111       remctl was originally written by Anton Ushakov.  Updates and current
112       maintenance are done by Russ Allbery <eagle@eyrie.org>.
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COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

115       Copyright 2018 Russ Allbery <eagle@eyrie.org>
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117       Copyright 2002-2011, 2014 The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford
118       Junior University
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120       Copying and distribution of this file, with or without modification,
121       are permitted in any medium without royalty provided the copyright
122       notice and this notice are preserved.  This file is offered as-is,
123       without any warranty.
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125       SPDX-License-Identifier: FSFAP
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