[davecom]

Hi, I just set up an internet radio server using Shoutcast and FreeBSD. I want to login from my Mac OS X machine and be able to start a process on the FreeBSD machine and leave it running after I close the SSH connection. How can I do it?

[Detrius]

Originally posted by davecom:
Hi, I just set up an internet radio server using Shoutcast and FreeBSD. I want to login from my Mac OS X machine and be able to start a process on the FreeBSD machine and leave it running after I close the SSH connection. How can I do it?

Have you even tried?

Tips:

'&' at the end of a command will launch it in the background:

tar -zxf file.tgz &

ctrl-z while running a command will suspend the command and put you at the command line. From that point, you can either 'bg' to put the command in the background, or you can 'fg' to put the command in the foreground.

'nohup' at the beginning of a command will ensure that the process will ignore a SIGHUP, which makes it slightly more difficult to kill. The process will stay running, even if your terminal connection just dies:

nohup fink update-all

[utidjian]

Originally posted by davecom:
Hi, I just set up an internet radio server using Shoutcast and FreeBSD. I want to login from my Mac OS X machine and be able to start a process on the FreeBSD machine and leave it running after I close the SSH connection. How can I do it?

Try screen instead.

You can start a screen session remotely after logging in via ssh with the simple command 'screen'. Then you can execute whatever commands you like (as in a regular shell). Then you can detach the screen session with a Ctrl-A-D and logout.
You can re-attach to the same screen session either locally or remotely with a simple 'screen -r' and everyhting will be exactly as you left it. You can also start multiple screen sessions.

I use it all the time for starting long running commands from home like backups and database indexing (can take hours even days).

Example:

ssh root@someserver
screen
su - indexer
sh runindexer.sh
Ctrl-A-D
exit

Some time and some place later:

ssh root@someserver
screen -r
do some stuff
Ctrl-A-D
exit

Note: user indexer does not have a login shell.

To end a screen session simply exit from within it. If you forget to de-attach the session before leaving home (I often do this) just type 'screen -d' then 'screen -r'.

I think it comes with Jaguar, it is also available via fink.

See:
http://www.macosxhints.com/article.p...ery=gnu+screen
for more info.

[davecom]

Thanks for the help people. It's all good now.