How to Connect to a Linux VPS via SSH

To connect to a Linux VPS, you need to work with SSH keys. This guide will teach you how to connect to a Linux VPS using SSH keys and also, how to use PuTTY. Note that in order to use SSH keys, you need OpenSSH installed on your device and server. The OpenSSH server application is already installed on all Cloudzy Linux virtual private servers.

How to Connect to the Linux VPS Using SSH

Ensure you have OpenSSH client installed on your device. You can then create a secure remote connection to your Linux VPS with the following instructions:

Step 1: Open the SSH terminal on your computer and launch the following command:

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ssh your_username@host_ip_address

Step 2: Type your password and press Enter. Note that you won’t get any feedback on the screen when you type. If you paste your password, ensure it is stored securely and not in a text file.

Step 3: When you connect to a VPS for the first time, you’ll be asked if you want to continue connecting. Just type yes and press Enter. This message would only appear the first time because the remote server is not identified on your local computer.

You are now connected to the remote server.

Creating and Using SSH keys

SSH keys are the secure alternative to connect to a remote server without a passphrase. It is highly recommended to use this method instead of using passwords.

The standard procedure for creating a Secure Shell public/private key pair is as follows.

Step 1: Start the key generation program

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ssh-keygen

The output would be as follows:

Step 2: Enter the path to the file that will hold the key

By default, the file name id_rsa, representing an RSA v2 key, appears in parentheses. You can select this file by pressing Enter or type an alternative filename.

Note that the public key ends with .pub, but the private key does not have this at the end.

Step 3: Enter a passphrase for using your key

This passphrase is used for encrypting your private key. A null entry means no passphrase is used, but this entry is discouraged for more security. However, you can leave it empty if you’re not doing something significant on your server. Note that the passphrase is not displayed when you type it in.

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Enter passphrase (empty for no passphrase):  <Type the passphrase>

Step 4: Re-enter the passphrase to confirm it

Step 5: Check the results

The key fingerprint (a colon-separated series of 2-digit hexadecimal values) is displayed. Check that the path to the key is correct. In the example, the path is /home/johndoe/.ssh/id_rsa.pub. At this point, you have created a public/private key pair.

Step 6: Append the key

Copy the public key and append the key to the /home/johndoe/.ssh/authorized_keys file in your home directory on the remote host.

When you create the SSH key, you can add it to your virtual private servers and connect via SSH without the need to enter the password every time, and it is much more secure as it can not be cracked easily like regular passwords.

Connecting to a Linux VPS from Windows

PuTTY is a popular Windows terminal emulator, but not limited to the Windows operating systems. Being free and open-source, it’s also popular with Linux users. It offers a text user interface for remote computers running any supported protocols, including SSH and Telnet.

Step 1: Download PuTTY on Windows

If you don’t have PuTTY installed, please visit the Download PuTTY page and download the Windows installer from the Package Files section of the page.

Step 2: Configure PuTTY

The main session configuration screen will appear when you launch PuTTY. Begin by entering the server's IP address you're trying to connect to.

The port will be set to 22 by default, as this is the standard port for SSH on most servers.

Suppose you do not use a private key to connect to your server and do not want to save your configuration for later use. In that case, you can click Open to enable an SSH immediate connection to your server that authenticates it with your instance's password.

If this is the first time you are connecting to your Linux VPS, PuTTY will show a Security Warning to inform you that it does not have a key in the registry for this server. It's usual for your first connection.

You will see a new window; if the connection is successful, you will be asked to enter your password. If you entered it all correctly, you would now be connected to a shell on your server.

Step 3: Authenticate SSH Key

PuTTY may also be configured to use SSH keys. SSH keys are safer and sometimes more convenient methods of authentication.

After generating an SSH key pair and uploading the public key to your server, you need to click on Auth to display the authentication options in the sidebar of the main configuration panel.

Click on Browse at the bottom of the screen next to the Private key for authentication and pick the saved PPK SSH key file from your local device.

Click on the Open tab, type the password, and then connect.

Step 4: Save the PuTTY Configuration

PuTTY allows you to save the configuration you use to connect to a server, so you don’t have to type all the information each time. After filling in all the necessary fields and being ready to connect, ensure you are on the main session configuration screen described above.

You can see the hostname and port number of your server. Enter the name of your saved SSH session configuration in the text box under Saved Sessions and click on Save.

You now have all the information to connect to a Linux VPS. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us by submitting a ticket.