SSH/Telnet Client

A lot of you will probably say that all you need is the well known SSH/Telnet client called PuTTY. I agree that PuTTY is a great app. However, since it is a free app, it won't give you lots of features that are found in paid apps. There are two great apps that I can think of in terms of SSH/Telnet clients, SecureCRT and ZOC. I can't say much about SecureCRT because I have not really used it that much. But, I can say for sure that ZOC is an awesome app!

There are two features that I like about ZOC, tabs and keyboard mapping. If you're using IE7/IE8, Firefox, or Google Chrome, then you're already familiar with tabs, it works exactly like that. You can have several tabs open and have them connected to router, switch, *nix boxes, and others concurrently. With PuTTY, you will have several windows open and may not be something you desire. I sure don't like to have several windows open and trying to move from one window to another, especially, when Windows XP or Vista groups all your PuTTY window into one tab in your taskbar. With the tabs, you just have one client window and you can move from one Telnet/SSH session without using ALT + TAB and figuring out which window you really need. With ZOC, you can just move from one session to another with a simple right click button.

Last, the keyboard mapping. Depending on your job duties, this may not be an attractive feature for you. This lets you assign your function keys to a command. For example, I mapped F12 as show ip int brief. Once I am logged in a Cisco router or switch, I can just hit F12 and that will do the job for me without typing. The less keystrokes, the better, in my opinion. Call me lazy, but I'd rather work smarter than work harder. c",)

Visit both sites and compare them. If you can't decide, download both of them and try them out. I sure think you're gonna love it. If you're just a home user and don't want to pay for the program, then just stick with PuTTY.

Written By: Andr01d
"I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance" - Socrates