Skip to main content

Connecting to a RHEL Instance

You can connect to RHEL Instances via SSH sessions using passwords (less secure) or SSH key pairs (most secure)

Connecting from a Windows Machine

To connect to your RHEL Instance from a Windows machine, you will need to use an application called PuTTy, an SSH client.

  1. Download and install PuTTy.
  2. To launch PuTTY on your computer, open the PuTTY application.
  3. To enter your instance’s IP address, type it in the Hostname field. Then, navigate to Connection > SSH > Auth.
  4. To select the private key file, click the Browse button and choose the key file you previously generated.
  5. To open a connection to the instance, click Open at the bottom of the screen. PuTTY will prompt you to allow the connection to the host.
  6. To confirm the connection, click OK, and the terminal window will appear.
  7. To authenticate using your SSH key, enter the default root username (root) and press Enter.

You are now connected to your Instance.

Connecting from a macOS or Linux Machine

  1. Open any terminal program.

  2. Enter the following command into the terminal. Make sure you replace your_private_key with the filename of your private key; your_instance_ip with the IP address of your Instance; and username with the default root user name (root).

    ssh -i ~/.ssh/<your_private_key> <username>@<your_instance_ip>
  3. When prompted, allow connection to the host by typing yes, then press Enter.

    The authenticity of host 'myhost.ext (212.47.206.34)' can't be established.  
    RSA key fingerprint is 4f:ba:65:cf:14:64:a7:1e:b6:07:7c:00:71:95:21:fa.
    Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no)?

    You are now connected to your Instance.