A UNIX utility for executing a command on a remote host.
Rexec, which stands for “remote execute,” is part of the r-command package of UNIX tools that also includes Rlogin and Rsh. Using the Rexec command on a client machine, a user can run a command on a remote server on which the Rexec daemon (service) is running. Rexec is unable to run most interactive commands, however, so you can’t use it to run Vi or Emacs on a remote host (use Telnet instead for this purpose). Rexec is similar in function to Rsh, but Rexec prompts for a user name and password to be sent to the remote host, while Rsh doesn’t require this. Like other UNIX r-commands, Rexec is not considered secure and now is generally replaced by such tools as Secure Shell (SSH).