First SSH connection to an unmanaged Linux Cloud server

This guide explains how to establish the first SSH connection to your unmanaged Cloud Server.

Launching a command with root rights

Type 'sudo su -: or 'sudo -s' (without the quotations) to launch a command with root rights. Learn more.

In Mac or Linux

To log in, you must open a terminal window and enter the following command:

ssh -i [key path] [user]@[server]

If you get the error message "WARNING: UNPROTECTED PRIVATE KEY FILE!", launch the following command:

chmod 400 [key path]

Meaning of the indications

[key path] = link to the file that contains the private key. As a reminder, when you ordered your unmanaged cloud server, you were prompted to generate a key pair or to upload your own public key (the rights must be sufficient, e.g. 0700).

[user] = see the end of the guide.

[server] = IPv4 address of the server (indicated on your admin console in the menu "Server" > "Cloud" on the "Cloud Server" page).

In Windows

Windows does not allow you to connect using SSH natively, but you can enable Bash Shell (Windows 10 minimum) or download the following two free programs: PuTTY & PuTTYgen.

To start, your private key must be converted to be used with PuTTY.

To do this, open PuTTYgen and click the "Load" button to load your private key. Then, save your private key using the "Save private key" button.

Now open PuTTY and configure it with the following settings:

Under Session (in the left panel):

[HostName] = IPv4 address of the server (indicated on your admin console in the menu "Server" > "Cloud" on the "Cloud Server" page).

[Port] = leave the default port, i.e. port 22.

[Connection type] = enter "SSH".

Under Connection/SSH/Auth (in the left panel): Open your private key generated via PuTTYgen using the "Browse" button under "Private key file for authentication".

Lastly, press the "Open" button at the bottom of the window. A terminal will open and ask you for your username ([user] = see below).

Default user name [user] for unmanaged Cloud servers under:

Alma Linux = almalinux

archlinux = arch

CentOS = cloud-user

Debian Stretch = debian

Debian Jessie = debian

Debian Wheezy (and previous versions) = root

Fedora = fedora

FreeBsd = freebsd

Ubuntu = ubuntu

OpenBsd = openbsd

openSUSE LEAP 15 = opensuse

openSUSE 42 = root

rancherOs = rancher

SuSE linux Enterprise server = root