Mounting an SSHFS network, the sign-on displays the desktop icon illustrated |
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| Developer(s) | Miklos Szeredi |
|---|---|
| Stable release | 2.2 / 20 October 2008 |
| Development status | Active |
| Operating system | UNIX-like |
| Type | Remote access |
| Website | http://fuse.sourceforge.net/sshfs.html |
In computing, SSHFS (SSH Filesystem) is a filesystem client to mount and interact with directories and files located on a remote server or workstation.[1] The client interacts with the remote file system via the SSH File Transfer Protocol (SFTP),[2] a network protocol providing file access, file transfer, and file management functionality over any reliable data stream that was designed as an extension of the Secure Shell protocol (SSH) version 2.0.
The current implementation of SSHFS using FUSE is a rewrite of an earlier version. The rewrite was done by Miklos Szeredi, who also wrote FUSE.[3]
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SFTP provides secure file transfer and a secure remote file system. Whilst SFTP clients may transfer files and directories, the related file system may not be mounted locally using SFTP alone. Using SSHFS, a locally-mounted file system may be treated in the same way as other volumes (such as CDs, DVDs, USB flash drives and shared disks).
If the remote environment matches the requirements of the local application, then the end user may work with remote files and directories as if they are on a local volume. If the remote environment is a less than perfect match — if the server cannot respond appropriately — then applications may respond in ways that are unpredictable or misleading.
Using ls with sshfs will sometimes not list the owner of a file correctly, although it is possible to map them manually.[4][5]
For greater security the system can be configured by the service administrator to run inside a chroot jail or in a FreeBSD jail, allowing the client to only see part of the file system.
For distributed remote file systems with multiple users, protocols such as Apple Filing Protocol, Network File System and Server Message Block are more often used. SSHFS is an alternative to those protocols only in situations where users are confident that files and directories will not be targeted for writing by another user, at the same time.
The advantage of SSHFS when compared to other network file system protocols is that, given that a user already has SSH access to a host, it does not require any additional configuration work, or the opening of additional entry ports in a firewall.