Index: launch.scm
==================================================================
--- launch.scm
+++ launch.scm
@@ -946,11 +946,13 @@
               (if (not (null? tal))
 				  (loop (car tal) (cdr tal)))))))))))        
  
 (define (launch:is-test-alive host pid)
   (if (and host pid (not (equal? host "n/a")))
-      (let* ((cmd (conc "ssh " host " pstree -A " pid))
+      (let* ((is-local (equal? host (get-host-name)))
+	     (ssh-cmd   (if is-local " " (conc "ssh " host " ")))
+	     (cmd (conc ssh-cmd "pstree -A " pid))
 	     (output (with-input-from-pipe cmd read-lines)))
 	(debug:print 2 *default-log-port* "Running " cmd " received " output)
 	(if (eq? (length output) 0)
 	   #f
 	   #t))