Rover

The Rover project is an excellent tool for executing commands on remote machines. It provides users with the ability to connect and manage multiple remote hosts simultaneously using SSH, Telnet or Rlogin. The Expect for Perl module forms the backbone of the system and is responsible for making and maintaining connections. Thanks to its efficient design, Rover can handle multiple hosts in parallel, ensuring you get the job done quickly and efficiently.

Rover comes with two interface programs, namely rover and rovergtk. The rover is a command-line tool that includes a built-in shell and batching capabilities. The other, Rovergtk, uses the graphical interface offered by the Gtk toolkit to configure and use Rover. You have the flexibility to choose the best interface program that suits your needs.

If you want to use Rover, you must meet the following requirements. The Perl modules you need include IO::Pty, IO::Tty, IO::Stty, and Expect. To meet these requirements, you can install Bundle::Expect using CPAN. Additionally, if you want to use the Rovergtk frontend, you will need to install XML::Parser and XML::Writer, required by Gtk to build. Finally, you will need Gtk to use the frontend.

Installation of Rover is straightforward. First, type in "perl Makefile.PL", then "make" and "make test" (optional) and finally "make install." If you wish to tailor the installation to your needs, you can supply the following options to "perl Makefile.PL": --no-gtk (do not install rovergtk or check for Gtk Perl module), --no-deps (do not check for dependencies, just install) or --install-deps (try to install dependencies via CPAN).

In conclusion, the Rover project is a reliable and efficient tool for executing commands on remote machines. It provides users with multiple interface options and is easy to install, making it an indispensable resource for IT administrators and developers.