SSH from Terminal drops connections

try this:

add this line to your ~/.tcshrc file:
unset autologout

this should eliminate the console autologout in your shell

also doublecheck your dns.
If the dns server is really really slow ssh will crap out. SSh needs to reverse the ip you are coming from otherwise your connection won't happen at all or will crap out in mid stream.
Give me the ip address of the dns server your home machine is aimed at and I'll test it.
jim

I have "unset autologout" in my .tcshrc on the remote side -- will check my .tcshrc at home later (I'm at work now). But if it's autologging out, shouldn't it say so, and not just freeze? My DNS is 24.153.22.66, and I'm sure it's slow, but that doesn't explain why the freezing only happens when I'm not using the Terminal window actively. --PR

I tried resolving www.yahoo.com off your dns server and found it timed out
here try this:
open terminal and do:
nslookup www.yahoo.com and see how long it takes to come back


when I tested your dns I got:
Query Times for WWW.YAHOO.COM
----------------------------------
;; res_nsend to server 24.153.22.66: Operation timed out
1. Query Time (in msec):
;; res_nsend to server 24.153.22.66: Operation timed out
2. Query Time (in msec):
;; res_nsend to server 24.153.22.66: Operation timed out
3. Query Time (in msec):
;; res_nsend to server 24.153.22.66: Operation timed out
4. Query Time (in msec):

Now maybe your cable provider is limiting inquiries to those coming from your domain...I don't know...

It won't respond for me from work, either, so I think you are right about it being domain-sensitive. But I still don't think this is the problem. I have an implementation of SSH on a Windows laptop that doesn't seem to have the same problem. Surely a Mac can do better!

Check your windows machine and see if it's pointed at the same dns as your mac. I strongly suspect the crux of the problem is dns.

At home now, and DNS is responding just fine. Both Windows laptop and Mac laptop are going through the Airport to the cable modem, and both have the same setup (DHCP from the cable router, Airport is bridge). I don't think it's the name server.

Ok this is assuming you are using ssh v. 2 only now.
you can set two variables in your /etc/sshd_config file:
ClientAliveInterval
Sets a timeout interval in seconds after which if no data has
been received from the client, sshd will send a message through
the encrypted channel to request a response from the client.
and

ClientAliveCountMax
Sets the number of client alive messages (see above) which may be
sent without sshd receiving any messages back from the client. If
this threshold is reached while client alive messages are being
sent, sshd will disconnect the client, terminating the session.

So my suggestion to you would be to ssh to the machine that keeps cutting you off and check how these two variables are set in its sshd_config file.

Anybody else see if I'm off target here?

Neither of these are mentioned in the sshd_config on the remote machine, so they take on the default values. But I think I got the Windows laptop to exhibit the same behaviour, meaning it may not be a Mac OS X problem. I'm still trying to confirm this. It's not that the remote machine kicks me off; the connection just freezes. After reading "man ssh", I tried getting it to freeze and then typing ~., which did log me off. --PR

I read on the macsec mail list that macosx 10.1.3 and later default to ssh v. 2
I'm thinking that maybe there's a mismatch between the mac and the machine you are ssh'ing into...though a v.2 machine ought to step down to v. 1 if it encounters it.

macubergeek,

i think youre right about the DNS issue.

I have a 24.x.x.x DNS server through my cable service as well (Charter) and the SSH auth was S_L_O_W !!. I cleared out my default Charter DNS servers on my OSX Server and put in my DNS servers we use at work. Much, much faster!

I agree, DNS could be a culprit here...unless I'm too late...but it worked for me!

Thanks