I have an Ubuntu 12.04 laptop that is taking so long to connect to various servers (in different data centres) that it seems like a bit of a lottery whether I'll actually get a connection. If I connect to the servers between themselves it's instantaneous, and I've set UseDNS no AddressFamily inet On the servers I'm connecting to (and rebooted for good measure). I also put in the reverse DNS+IP of the cable connection I'm connecting from. If I connect from the laptop via telnet: telnet my.server 22 Then the connection is also instantaneous, so it doesn't appear to be a problem with an intervening firewall. I have the same behaviour whether I connect with the IP, a short name in my hosts or the FQDN. I'm connecting with a 50mbps (cable, sync) connection so that doesn't appear to be the problem, and when I do finally get a connection then it's a good, quick, stable one. I have tried listening on another port (8000) and that makes no difference. Web and other connections from the laptop to the machine are also very good. Does anyone have any ideas here?