[clebin]

There seems to be a general problem with the SSH client in OS X. In certain network setups, it takes an eternity to connect to the server. From reading I did a while back it came about because of a update to OpenSSH in a 10.2.x release.

The Problem:

I currently have a server with one IP address which is mapped with NAT to an internal IP address. SSH doesn't seem to like this! It's looking for a name...or an address... or a meaning in life.

Whereas Apple Remote Desktop connects to the server immediately, SSH just waits... After it connects, the speed is absolutely fine. SSH clients on Windows work much better.

Likewise, I had another server with a more acute problem - SSH/SFTP would take so long that I had to enter my password within about 3 seconds before the whole thing timed out.

This server never had a DNS name to go with the IP address (the server had multiple network cards with different IP addresses). (I think) I fixed the problem by adding a dummy address to my hosts file.

Sadly, it doesn't work in this case.

Anyone else having these difficulties?

Chris

[Gavin]

I believe ssh does a DNS lookup as part of authentication - depending on your network or ISP this can take a while. Mine always connects faster the second time.

I have a friend using a crappy ISP with lousy DNS and it takes much longer to ssh in from there.

Have you tried setting up a key based auth?

[legacyb4]

Troubleshooting the other SSH problem recently, I came across this:

CheckHostIP yes
The option CheckHostIP specifies whether or not ssh will additionally check the host IP address that connect to the server to detect DNS spoofing. It's recommended that you set this option to yes.

Have you tried turning this option off?