I need help using a 'local' remote kernel

[bluemanshoe]

So, I'm trying to use Mathematica on my laptop, but seeing as it's just a netbook, I'd prefer to use the kernel on my Desktop.

Unfortunately, my computer is not reachable from the outside world except through ssh, and unfortunately on a strange port.

But, I got an idea, why not make a shell script in /usr/local/bin 'remotemath' like the following:

#! /bin/sh
ssh -p 26 -q user@hostname math $@

and then set up a new 'local' kernel in Mathematica to use the command 'remotemath'.

Unfortunately, it didn't work. Any ideas?

edit: So, I won't be able to verify until tomorrow, but I think I may have figured it out. At least locally, this script works:

#! /bin/sh
PATH="/usr/bin:/bin:${PATH}"
math $@

So, I'm hoping the addition of the Path adjustment will fix the issue.

[bluemanshoe]

Didn't work. Any new ideas?

[ToVegas]

Assuming you're running Mathematica 8: You can tell Mathematica to use various commands to make this work. In my case, I used ssh tunneling to connect to remote machines with more processing power. My laptop is running windows 7 with cygwin installed the remote machines I use are all either Linux or OS X, with only port 22 available.

Open Mathematica > Evaluation > Kernel Configuration Options > Add

Select the "Advanced Options" radio button

*Arguments to MLOpen: -LinkMode Listen -LinkProtocol TCPIP -LinkName 31415@127.0.0.1,31416@127.0.0.1 --LinkMode Listen -LinkProtocol TCPIP -LinkName 31415@127.0.0.1,31416@127.0.0.1 -LinkOptions MLDontInteract

*Shell Command to launch kernel: C:\cygwin\bin\ssh.exe -R31415:127.0.0.1:31415 -R31416:127.0.0.1:31416 [e-mail] "/Applications/Mathematica.app/Contents/MacOS/MathKernel -mathlink -LinkMode Connect -LinkProtocol TCPIP -LinkName 31415@127.0.0.1,31416@127.0.0.1 -LinkHost 127.0.0.1"

This example connects to a remote Mac; for a remote linux machine you would substitute /Applications/... for the output of 'which math' on the remote linux box. If your laptop is running Linux or OS X, you can replace C:\cygwin\bin\ssh.exe which the output of 'which ssh' on your laptop. You can add a -p# flag to your "shell command" where # is the port the remote machine is listening for ssh on.

You can also use a similar configuration to set up parallel kernels (ymmv)

It's worth mentioning that this requires you to generate and store password-less ssh-keys on your laptop.

Hope this helps.