I’m having a bit of trouble trying to SSH into my AWS EC2 instance, and I’m hoping someone can help me out. I set up the instance a while ago using the AWS Management Console, and I created a key pair for secure access. I’ve downloaded the .pem file and stored it safely on my local machine. However, when I try to connect using SSH, I keep running into permission issues or connection timeout errors.
I’ve made sure to use the correct public IP address of the instance and the appropriate username (which I believe is “ec2-user” for Amazon Linux). However, even after setting the correct permissions for my .pem file (using `chmod 400`), I still can’t get in. I’m starting to wonder if there’s something I missed in the security group settings. I think the SSH port (22) should be open, but maybe it’s restricted to a specific IP range and not allowing connections from my current IP address?
I feel stuck and would appreciate any step-by-step guidance on how to troubleshoot this issue and successfully connect to my EC2 instance. Thank you!
How to SSH into an AWS EC2 Instance
Okay, so you want to SSH into your AWS EC2 instance, huh? No worries, I’ve got your back!
What You Need:
Step 1: Find Your Key Pair
When you created your EC2 instance, you generated a key pair. It’s a file that looks like
my-key.pem
. You need this to connect. Make sure it’s saved somewhere safe!Step 2: Open Your Terminal
Just open that terminal or command prompt thingy. On Windows, you can use
cmd
orPowerShell
. If you’re on macOS or Linux, just open your Terminal app.Step 3: Navigate to Your Key Pair
Use the
cd
command to go to the folder where your.pem
file is located. Something like:Step 4: Change Permissions (Optional but Recommended)
You might need to make sure your key file isn’t world-readable (that sounds scary, right?). Type:
Step 5: Find Your Instance’s Public IP
Go to the AWS Management Console, find your EC2 instances, and grab the public IP address. It looks like
xx.xx.xx.xx
.Step 6: Connect via SSH
Now, it’s time! Type this command in your terminal:
Replace
my-key.pem
with your actual key file name andxx.xx.xx.xx
with the IP you just found.Step 7: Hit Enter
If everything went smooth, you should be inside your EC2 instance! 🎉 If not, check for errors and make sure your key is working and the instance is running.
Final Note
If you’re using a different OS like Ubuntu, you might need to use
ubuntu
instead ofec2-user
. Just try it out!Good luck, rookie! You got this! 🚀
To SSH into an AWS EC2 instance, first ensure you have your private key file (.pem) ready and that the EC2 instance is running. You can find the public DNS or IP address of your instance in the AWS Management Console under the EC2 dashboard. Make sure the security group associated with your instance allows inbound SSH traffic on port 22. If you need to adjust this, navigate to the security group settings and add a new inbound rule specifying your IP address.
Once you have your key file and can access the instance’s public DNS, use the terminal to navigate to the directory containing your .pem file. Execute the command `chmod 400 your-key.pem` to set the appropriate permissions on your private key file. Then, SSH into your instance by running `ssh -i your-key.pem ec2-user@your-instance-public-dns`. Replace “your-key.pem” with the path to your private key, and “your-instance-public-dns” with the actual public DNS or IP address. If you’ve configured everything correctly, you’ll be prompted for the password if required and granted terminal access to your EC2 instance.