rexec(1bnu)

rexec -- execute a service remotely through REXEC

Synopsis

rexec host service [parameters]

rx host command

rl host

rquery host

service host [parameters]

Description

rexec is the REXEC command that allows the user on a client machine to execute a service on a remote host. A user on a client machine can utilize any service on the host, provided the user is authorized to access the service.

Options

Although any service can be installed, REXEC generally provides the following standard services:

rx: A remote command execution service, which allows the user to execute any command (provided the user has appropriate permissions) on the remote host. Any arguments required by the remote command need to be specified on the rx command line.
rl: A remote login service, which effectively logs the user into the remote host, bypassing the login/password sequence.
rquery: A service that lets the user query a remote host for a list of services that the user is allowed to execute.

The arguments to the REXEC commands have the following meanings:

host: The name of the remote host on which the service is defined.
service: The name of the service to be executed on the remote host.
parameters: Service arguments (that is, options or option operands).
command: The command to be executed remotely, including applicable arguments.

Usage

When the REXEC software is installed on the client machine, the standard services are linked to the rexec command. Once linked, the user can execute a service by specifying the service name, followed by the host name and the parameters to the service.

The user on the client machine can pass environment variables to a service by setting the RXPORT variable. RXPORT contains a comma-separated list of exported variables. Only exported variables from the user's environment can be passed to the specified service. If RXPORT only consists of the special character ``'', then all exported variables on the local system are passed to the remote service. By default, the remote service environment includes the variables PATH and HOME.

Warnings

rexec requires that tirdwr has been pushed onto the stream. If it has not, then rexec will exit and log a message in /usr/adm/log/rexec.log. If it has then execution will continue.

Examples

If a user wants to see who is logged into the remote host strider, the following command can be used:

rexec strider rx who

If rexec is linked to rx, the user can execute the following:

rx strider who

If a user wants to execute the vi(1) command on the remote host aslan, passing the environment variables TERM and EXINIT to the server, the user can execute the following:

RXPORT=TERM,EXINIT rx aslan vi main.c

References

rxlist(1Mtcp), rxservice(1Mbnu), rexecve(3N)