SSH Remote Access

Overview

SSH (Secure Shell) provides encrypted remote access, file transfer, and tunneling over untrusted networks. OpenSSH is the standard implementation on Linux, macOS, and Windows (via built-in client). The client configuration lives at ~/.ssh/config and supports per-host settings, identity management, and connection reuse.

When to use: Remote server management, secure file transfers, port forwarding, jump host traversal, automated deployments, SOCKS proxying.

When NOT to use: High-throughput bulk data transfer across WANs (use Globus or similar), GUI-heavy remote desktop (use VNC/RDP), container orchestration (use kubectl/docker CLI).

Quick Reference