Version

All

Date

7 Jun 2005

Summary

When a user attempting to use SSH and SCP to communicate with a Unix server clicks the “Test UNIX Connection” button in License Manager, the following message is returned:

‘PLINK’ is not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file.

Technical Background

PLINK and PSCP are recommended by Argent for use in communicating via SSH.

These two applications allow all commands (including a password) to be passed via a single command line.

PLINK is a command-line SSH client for Windows.

PSCP is a command-line SCP (secure copy) client for Windows.

These applications allow secure, encrypted communication with Unix servers.

These two applications can be downloaded from http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/download.html

While users are free to use any SSH and SCP clients, Argent recommends the use of PLINK and PSCP because

they allow the password and all parameters to be passed in a single command line.

For example, PLINK’s “-pw” option allows the execution of the Unix “hostname” command in a single line without separately prompting for the password:

     plink -pw MyPassword MyUser@MyUnixHost hostname.

(This would return the hostname such as “redhat2”).

By default, the Argent products look within the Windows path to locate PLINK and PSCP.

If they are not in the path, the “not recognized” message will be returned.

Resolution

Move PLINK.EXE and PSCP.EXE into a directory within the path.

The Windows directory (usually C:\WINNT or C:\WINDOWS) is normally in the path, as is the home directory of the Argent products.

Placing these two executables in either of these directories will suffice.

If placing these files in those directories is not an option, the user can edit the SSH_BIN_PATH registry key

(found under HKLM\Software\Argent\(XT product)\Monitoring Engine) to specify the location of PLINK.

The value of the registry key is the absolute path to where PLINK and PSCP reside.