[pbeveridge]

Thank you for these very helpful replies.

The discovery of telnet was a revelation. I could type commands on my linux PC for the SGI 2 and the SGI 2 would then carry the commands out.

Did telnet happen through just an ethernet connection between the linux PC and SGI 2? Both have ethernet going into a port switch, which also has a connection to the internet.

I've been wondering if I could create a connection from my home to the building a few miles where the SGI 2 is via the internet. I assumed that I'd have to use ssh to work on the SGI 2 from my other linux PC at home ?