If you just need to connect and run a script, consider using the command-line SSH via the Expect module. I've found that quite helpful. Something like:

use strict; use warnings;
use Expect;

my $login = "xxx";
my $pass  = "xxx2";
my $test_dir = "/foo/bar/";
my $cmd = "if [ -d $test_dir ]; then echo DIR_EXIST:1; else echo DIR_E
+XIST:0; fi";
my $timeout = 30;

my $ex = Expect->new('ssh','-t',"$login\@hostname",$cmd);  # the -t fo
+rces TTY allocation, helpful for Expect!

$ex->expect( $timeout,
    [ qr/password:\s*$/i => sub { $ex->send($pass,"\n"); return 1; } ]
+,
    [ timeout => sub { warn "Timeout waiting for password prompt"; ret
+urn 1; } ],
);

$ex->expect ( $timeout,
    [ qr/DIR_EXIST:\d/ => sub { print "Result: ",$ex->match(); } ],
);
[download]

I've used this approach to do remote password-resets, user deletes, software installation, &c. It's a bit more code, but you get a lot more control.