SSH Login
Starts a connection using the SSH protocol to a remote server.
Command availability: IBM RPA SaaS and IBM RPA on premises
Description
Starts a connection using the SSH protocol to a remote server according to configuration instructions such as server, user, password, and authentication keys.
Script syntax
IBM RPA's proprietary script language has a syntax similar to other programming languages. The script syntax defines the command's syntax in the script file. You can work with this syntax in IBM RPA Studio's Script mode.
startSSH --host(String) --username(String) [--password(String)] [--port(Numeric)] --keygen(String) [--passphrase(String)] [--timeout(TimeSpan)] (SSHSession)=value
Input parameters
The following table displays the list of input parameters available in this command. In the table, you can see the parameter name when working in IBM RPA Studio's Script mode and its Designer mode equivalent label.
| Designer mode label | Script mode name | Required | Accepted variable types | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Server | host |
Required |
Text |
SSH server host address. |
| User Name | username |
Required |
Text |
Username for server access. |
| Password | password |
Optional |
Text |
Password for server access. |
| Port | port |
Optional |
Number |
Port number to connect to SSH server host address. Note:If no port is entered, the default port(22) is used.
|
| Private Key | keygen |
Required only when the pass-phrase is specified |
Text |
File containing the private key pairs (authentication keys) for authentication to the SSH server. Important: See the commands Limitations. |
| Pass-Phrase | passphrase |
Optional |
Text |
Passphrase that is associated with the private key file specified in the Private Key parameter. |
| Timeout | timeout |
Optional |
Time Span, Number, Text |
Maximum wait time to run the command. Note:If no value is defined for the Timeout parameter, the runtime uses the context timeout defined by the Set Timeout (
setTimeout) command. If the command is not used, the default timeout is 5 seconds. |
Output parameters
| Designer mode label | Script mode name | Accepted variable types | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| SSH Connection | value | SSH Session |
Returns the connection established with the SSH server. |
Example
The SSH Login command initiates a connection to an SSH server using name, password, and file with the private keys, and then tunneling with the destination server, sending the command "ls" to get the file list from current directory of the destination server.
defVar --name sshConnection --type SSHSession
defVar --name sshTunnel --type SSHForwardedPort
defVar --name filesList --type String
// Initiate the connection to an SSH server.
startSSH --host "172.16.4.200" --username "User Name" --password password --port 22 --keygen "Private Key File" --passphrase "Pass Phrase" --timeout 00:00:05 sshConnection=value
// Create tunneling with the destination server.
openSSHTunnel --client ${sshConnection} --port 80 --boundport 8090 --destination "Local" --host "192.168.0.10" sshTunnel=value
// Sending the "ls" command to the SSH server for a list of file names from the current directory of the destination server.
executeSSH --client ${sshConnection} --command ls --timeout 00:00:05 filesList=value
// Connection to an SSH server to send commands to it is demonstrated.
//All host, port, and connection data is for example only, with both client services and SSH server installed.
// The user must enter valid data for a valid SSH connection!
Limitations
This command does not support all private key formats and encryption algorithms, using a different type might lead to errors when running the command.
The following private keys are supported:
- RSA in OpenSSL PEM and ssh.com format
- DSA in OpenSSL PEM and ssh.com format
- ECDSA 256/384/521 in OpenSSL PEM format
- ED25519 in OpenSSH key format
The following encryption algorithms are supported:
- DES-EDE3-CBC
- DES-EDE3-CFB
- DES-CBC
- ES-128-CBC
- AES-192-CBC
- AES-256-CBC