SSH: Temporary Name Resolution Failure for 'desktop11900'

SSH: Temporary Name Resolution Failure

When attempting to set up an SSH connection from a laptop to a desktop with the configuration file located at ~/.ssh/config, a common error that may occur is:

ssh: Could not resolve hostname desktop11900: Temporary failure in name resolution

Understanding the Error

This error occurs when the system is unable to resolve the hostname desktop11900 to an IP address. This can be caused by several reasons, including:

• DNS server issues
• Incorrect hostname resolution configuration
• Network connectivity problems

Troubleshooting the Error

To troubleshoot this error, you can try the following steps:

1. Check the DNS server configuration: Make sure that your system is configured to use the correct DNS servers. You can check this by running the command cat /etc/resolv.conf and verifying that the nameservers listed are correct.
2. Check the hostname resolution configuration: Make sure that the hostname desktop11900 is correctly resolved to an IP address. You can check this by running the command nslookup desktop11900 and verifying that the IP address returned is correct.
3. Check the network connectivity: Make sure that your system is able to connect to the network. You can check this by running the command ping 8.8.8.8 and verifying that you are able to reach the internet.

Configuring SSH to Use IP Address Instead of Hostname

If the hostname resolution is causing issues, you can configure SSH to use the IP address instead of the hostname. To do this, you can modify the ~/.ssh/config file to include the IP address of the desktop:

Host desktop11900
  HostName 
  User 

References

• SSH Config File
• How To Configure SSH Key-Based Authentication on a Linux Server
• How to Use an SSH Config File

This article is provided for informational purposes only and is not intended as a substitute for professional advice. Use of this article is at your own risk.