Eclipse has a new Remote System Explorer plugin that sounds interesting.

It’s an interesting approach. One type of connection is just a wrapper over SSH and SFTP, allowing you to manage systems remotely and edit files without much work. You can also get a command prompt up for more advanced administration.

The other type of connection allows you to run a full-featured java application on the server that gives you access to more functionality. I haven’t tried this one out yet.

You can read more about this feature in the RSE presentation.