Tab Sorcery

A helpful script for simplifying connections to servers and devices on your network.

To use:

Shell Setup

Add the script as a source file in your shell prompt, such as a line similar to this:

. $HOME/git/tab-sorcery/tab-sorcery.sh example.com 127.0.0.1 bob.user

Arguments are:

Scan Domain (example.com)
Nameserver address (127.0.0.1)
Default username (bob.user)

Once done, all hostnames in the DNS zone should be available for SSH/Telnet/RDP by a tab-completable alias of just the hostname (in new shell sessions).

Can I change the window geometry for rdesktop?

No. Not yet. You get 1600x900. See the bottom of this ReadMe for details.

DNS Setup

You'll likely want to create a DNS zone specifically for this script for better control over the hosts included. I would recommend using a TLD not normally available, to be sure you don't have any overlap with existing DNS names. This domain doesn't need to be publicly queried, and actually it's probably in interest of security if it isn't.

The best way to explain the zone set up is by example. Let's assume you create the zone "not-a-real.lan" and you have 5 hosts, known as host1.not-a-real.lan through host5.not-a-real.lan. If you create the following entries (BIND format shown):

$ORIGIN not-a-real.lan.

host1		IN	A	10.0.0.1
host2		IN	A	10.0.0.2
host3		IN	A	10.0.0.3
host3		IN	TXT	"cisco"
host4		IN	A	10.0.0.4
host4		IN	TXT	"windows"
host5		IN	A	10.0.0.5

How will this work on the client?

In this case, the script will create aliases called host1 through host5. Hosts 1, 2, and 5 will connect with, for example, ssh -t your.username@10.0.0.1 The host3 alias is tagged with a TXT record for cisco, so it will be: telnet 10.0.0.3 host5 is tagged as a Windows host, so it will use: rdesktop -g 1600x900 -u your.username 10.0.0.5

Can I change the window geometry for rdesktop?

This last one, rdesktop, is harcoded to use 1600x900 geometry for now. Very likely, a variable will be added later to allow customization, but for now most people can accomodate 1080p-like resolutions, so this size should be "generally acceptable" for an average workstation. Perhaps a little less-so for a laptop.