SSH Client vs Telnet

Developers should learn and use SSH clients for securely administering remote Linux/Unix servers, cloud instances, and IoT devices, especially in DevOps, system administration, and backend development roles meets developers should learn telnet for legacy system maintenance, network troubleshooting, and understanding foundational remote access concepts, as it is still used in some embedded systems, routers, and older infrastructure. Here's our take.

SSH Client

Nice Pick

Developers should learn and use SSH clients for securely administering remote Linux/Unix servers, cloud instances, and IoT devices, especially in DevOps, system administration, and backend development roles

Pros

• It is essential for tasks like deploying applications, troubleshooting production issues, and automating scripts via SSH, providing a critical security layer against eavesdropping and tampering compared to insecure protocols like Telnet
• Related to: linux-command-line, network-security

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

Telnet

Developers should learn Telnet for legacy system maintenance, network troubleshooting, and understanding foundational remote access concepts, as it is still used in some embedded systems, routers, and older infrastructure

Pros

• It is valuable for testing network services (e
• Related to: ssh, tcp-ip

Cons

• Specific tradeoffs depend on your use case

The Verdict

These tools serve different purposes. SSH Client is a tool while Telnet is a protocol. We picked SSH Client based on overall popularity, but your choice depends on what you're building.

The Bottom Line

SSH Client wins

Based on overall popularity. SSH Client is more widely used, but Telnet excels in its own space.