A TCP/IP utility that enables clients to run commands directly on remote hosts without having to log on to the remote host. The remote host must be running the rsh service or daemon for this to work. Rexec, another TCP/IP utility that enables clients to run commands directly on remote hosts, does not prompt the client to enter a password upon connecting.
Note, however, that rsh users must have their computer name and username configured in the remote host’s .rhosts file in order to use this command. Rsh is one of the UNIX r-commands that are available on all UNIX systems.
Microsoft’s implementation of TCP/IP on Windows NT and Windows 2000 contains rsh client software but no rsh service. Rsh provides functionality similar to that of rexec, except rexec uses clear-text password authentication.
If a user on a computer running Windows NT or Windows 2000 is logged on to a Windows NT or Windows 2000 domain and tries to use rsh to run a command on a remote UNIX server that is running the rsh daemon, the domain controller must be available in order to resolve the username of the user, which is required by the rsh client.