non-interactive ssh connections (was Re: RSYNC ISSUE)

[Martin Pool]

(Gouri: a more descriptive subject line will help you get repsonses in
future, and please send your mail to rsync at lists.samba.org.  Read
<http://www.tuxedo.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html>)

On 23 Jul 2002, "Kar, Gouri X. -ND" <Gouri.X.Kar.-ND at disney.com> wrote:
> Hi guys, I am trying to schdule a script which makes call to RSYNC over SSH.
> The same script works fine on the command prompt and sucessfully transfer
> the file from source to destination system with SSH.
> 
> However, executing the script from CRONJOB doesn't work. It comes up with
> following error message
> 
> From: daemon
> To: db2log
>  
> You have no controlling tty and no DISPLAY.  Cannot read passphrase.
> You have no controlling tty and no DISPLAY.  Cannot read passphrase.
> warning: Authentication failed.
> Disconnected; authentication cancelled by user (Authentication cancelled by
> user.).
> unexpected EOF in read_timeout

The problem is that ssh, as it says, cannot read the passphrase to
unlock your ssh key.  

If you want to do ssh from a cron job, you must have a key with no
passphrase.  You can remove a passphrase from an existing key using
"ssh-keygen -p" (see the manual).  You should probably make sure that
the key is authorized only for the accounts necessary to make the
backup.

-- 
Martin