4.1.1 The host name section

The top box on the Session panel, labelled ‘Specify the destination you want to connect to’, contains the details that need to be filled in before PuTTY can open a session at all.

• The ‘Host Name’ box is where you type the name, or the IP address, of the server you want to connect to.
• The ‘Connection type’ controls let you choose what type of connection you want to make: an SSH network connection, a connection to a local serial line, or various other kinds of network connection.
  • See section 1.2 for a summary of the differences between the network remote login protocols SSH, Telnet, Rlogin, and SUPDUP.
  • See section 3.6 for information about using a serial line.
  • See section 3.7 for an explanation of ‘raw’ connections.
  • See section 3.8 for a little information about Telnet.
  • See section 3.9 for information about using Rlogin.
  • See section 3.10 for information about using SUPDUP.
  • The ‘Bare ssh-connection’ option in the ‘Connection type’ control is intended for specialist uses not involving network connections. See section 4.28 for some information about it.
• The ‘Port’ box lets you specify which port number on the server to connect to. If you select Telnet, Rlogin, SUPDUP, or SSH, this box will be filled in automatically to the usual value, and you will only need to change it if you have an unusual server. If you select Raw mode, you will almost certainly need to fill in the ‘Port’ box yourself.

If you select ‘Serial’ from the ‘Connection type’ radio buttons, the ‘Host Name’ and ‘Port’ boxes are replaced by ‘Serial line’ and ‘Speed’; see section 4.29 for more details of these.