ive got ubuntu 8.10 and installed openssh-server from a .deb package,

now when i type sshd -p 2000 in terminal i get an error:

"sshd re-exec requires execution with an absolute path"

pls help

thanks in advance and a HAPPY NEW YEAR TO EVERYONE

shouldn't that be
ssh -p 2000 xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx

Whenever a package is available in standard repositories of a distro (and ssh is available on probably every distro) it is recommended to use apt-get to install packages on Ubuntu. It will automatically make sure that all the dependencies are satisfied.
When you installed sshd from a .deb package, it should have enabled the sshd daemon automatically. To make sure it's on, type:
As far as the syntax of ssh is concerned:

eg.

sshd is telling you how to solve the problem:

What this means is that your sshd_config file has the root remote ssh login permission off. You have to go to the server console and enable it (look for the "sshd_config.~1~" file). I always load nano because I despise VI.
Better yet, create another local user account and grant the same sudo access as root using visudo.

I ran into this problem when imaging with a preconfigured ISO for a client. They don't like enabling remote ssh for root.

Frankly I am surprised no one answered this in 6 years...
Opne other point, all this advice was to fix RedHat 6.3. - not sure if it applies with Ubuntu but take a look.