Using the `mssh` Command for Managing Multiple SSH Connections (with examples)

Connecting to Multiple SSH Servers

To connect to multiple SSH servers using the mssh command, we can simply provide the usernames and hostnames of the servers as arguments. Here’s an example:

mssh user@host1 user@host2 ...

Motivation: The motivation for using this example is when we need to interact with multiple SSH servers simultaneously. By using mssh, we can open a new window that allows us to manage and switch between multiple SSH connections easily.

Explanation for arguments:

• user@host1: This argument specifies the username and hostname of the first SSH server we want to connect to.
• user@host2: This argument specifies the username and hostname of the second SSH server we want to connect to.
• …: We can continue adding more username and hostname arguments to connect to additional SSH servers.

Example output: When we execute the above mssh command, it will open a new window with separate panes for each SSH connection. Each pane will display the terminal interface of the corresponding SSH server, allowing us to interact with them simultaneously.

Connecting to a Group of Predefined Servers

To connect to a group of servers that are predefined in the ~/.mssh_clusters file, we can use the --alias option followed by the alias name. Here’s an example:

mssh --alias alias_name

Motivation: This example is useful when we have a set of frequently used SSH connections that we want to manage together. By defining them as a group in the ~/.mssh_clusters file and using the --alias option, we can easily connect to all of them at once.

Explanation for arguments:

• --alias: This option is used to specify that we want to connect to a group of predefined servers.
• alias_name: This argument specifies the name of the alias/group in the ~/.mssh_clusters file that we want to connect to.

Example output: When we execute the above mssh command, it will open a new window with separate panes for each SSH connection in the specified alias/group. Each pane will display the terminal interface of the corresponding SSH server, allowing us to interact with them simultaneously.