shell script to automate TELNET

daggulasreedhar · 08-01-2007, 10:21 AM

hi dudes,
Can anyone suggest me how to write a script for the automation of TELNET using shelll script.
I will appriciate if i got a sample code.

Thanks
Sreedhar Reddy

theNbomr · 08-01-2007, 10:49 AM

I recommend using C-Kermit, instead. It has a nice scripting language built in. The distribution comes with some good examples, as I recall. Most versions of telnet are not very scriptable, and require the use of something like 'expect'.
--- rod.

TylerD75 · 08-01-2007, 10:51 AM

This script telnets to my router, and restarts it by using commands "24", "4" and "21".
Just change the commands (cmd[123]) to whatever you need...).

An alternative is to use expect (google it) if you need to wait for a particular response. This script is not very dynamic (it can only execute a command, wait for x seconds then execute the next command), but expect can wait for a specific word/sentence (i.e. "username:" or "password:") then respond with the right command/code. Unfortunately I don't have an example of expect around, but I bet someone else has one

Code:

#!/bin/sh

host=10.0.0.1
port=23
pass=xxxx
cmd1=24
cmd2=4
cmd3=21

( echo open ${host} ${port}
  sleep 1
  echo -e "\r"
  sleep 1
  echo ${pass}
  sleep 1
  echo -e "\r"
  sleep 1
  echo ${cmd1}
  sleep 1
  echo -e "\r"
  sleep 1
  echo ${cmd2}
  sleep 1
  echo -e "\r"
  sleep 1
  echo ${cmd3}
  sleep 1
  echo -e "\r"
  sleep 1
  echo exit ) | telnet

blackhole54 · 08-01-2007, 10:55 AM

You should probably clarify what it is you are trying to do.

As an aside, I hope you realize that telnet is an insecure protocol which should opnly be used on a secure network (i.e. definitely not the Internet). For this reason telnet has been largely replaced with more secure protocols suchs as ssh.

ghostdog74 · 08-02-2007, 01:00 AM

See here for example

firstfire · 08-02-2007, 12:13 PM

Hi!
This is very popular question, I see

You can use following bash script as an example:
http://tiocu.svn.sourceforge.net/vie...il?revision=58. Function `wait4ack()' and lines below `echo connecting...' are of interest for you.

Shortly speaking we run telnet process in background and associate file descriptors 3 and 4 with its stdin and stdout using something like this:

Code:

mkfifo $FIFO
exec 4< <(telnet $SERVER 25  < $FIFO 2> /dev/null &)
exec 3>$FIFO

Now we can send commands to telnet through 3'rd fd and recieve responses through 4'th one:

Code:

echo $comm        >&3
wait4ack "$optn"  <&4

wait4ack() reads its stdin (i.e. 4'th file descriptor) until something like '+OK' in POP3 protocol or 250 in SMTP (see corresponding RFC document).

Hope, this helps.

firstfire == agre.

By the way, `telnet-ssl' can solve some security problems.