Moving over
What it takes
Bring the inventory first; the terminal work you have automated stays where it is, because the shell is still a shell.
You already automated the login dance
Asbru is the Linux admin's answer to repetitive access: clusters, macros, expect-style sequences. Vandle keeps the organised inventory on a shell that hosts the desktops and the file transfers too.
Credit where it is due
Asbru is free, its cluster mode genuinely saves time on fleets of similar hosts, and its macros automate the kind of login sequence no protocol standard will ever fix.
What changes
Four things you get that you did not have.
- Windows and macOS too, with the same inventory and the same look.
- A file surface and a remote desktop on the same connection records, with the same route.
- A route per connection or per folder, with the live path visible on the session.
- Central, encrypted state instead of local config you copy between machines.
Side by side
Asbru Connection Manager and Vandle
| Aspect | Asbru Connection Manager | Vandle |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | Linux | Windows, Linux, macOS |
| Scope | Terminal-centric | Terminal, files, desktop and browsing |
| State | Local configuration | A central store, secrets encrypted |
| Routing | Per-connection proxy and jump | A route object, assigned or inherited |
And the rest of it
Four more protocols came along
Replacing one tool gets you five. Whatever else that machine speaks is already a row on the same record - and every one of them takes the route you assigned.
Web
Real browsing, properly routed
SSH
A terminal that keeps up
SFTP
Two remote panes, no detour
WebDAV
The other half of file transfer
RDP
Desktops on a native surface
Local
Your own machine, in the same list
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