On Each Lab PC

1. Install the OpenSSH server Most distros already have this, but confirm:

sudo pacman -S openssh

2. Enable and start the SSH service

sudo systemctl enable sshd --now

3. Verify it’s running

systemctl status sshd

You should see active (running).

4. (Optional) Allow firewall access If ufw or firewalld is running:

# For UFW
sudo ufw allow ssh

# For firewalld
sudo firewall-cmd --add-service=ssh --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --reload

5. Find the PC’s IP address

ip a | grep inet

Look for something like 192.168.x.x under wlan0 or enp*.

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From Admin Node

You can now remotely connect like this:

ssh student@192.168.x.x

Replace 192.168.x.x` with the IP of the lab PC.

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Optional: Make It Easier with SSH Key Auth

If you want passwordless and secure login:

1. Generate a key on your laptop (if you haven’t already):

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -f ~/.ssh/lab_key

2. Copy your public key to the lab PC:

ssh-copy-id -i ~/.ssh/lab_key.pub student@192.168.x.x

3. Connect using your key:

ssh -i ~/.ssh/lab_key student@192.168.x.x

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Optional: Batch Manage Multiple PCs

You can write a quick loop or use tools like Ansible or pssh to push commands to multiple lab machines at once.

Simple loop example:

for ip in 192.168.1.{2..255}; do
  ssh student@$ip "sudo pacman -Syu --noconfirm"
done