How to SSH into AWS EC2 instance


cloud computing

Table of Contents

  • Introduction
  • Ensure SSH Port 22 is Allowed
  • Install SSH
  • Create Key Pairs
  • Download Key Pair
  • Generate Public Key from .pem File
  • Add Public Key to EC2 Instance
  • Connect via SSH

Introduction

To emulate the connect functionality of AWS, you can SSH into Amazon EC2. Ensure SSH port 22 is allowed in networking. This should be the default if you did not touch anything. If you can connect to the EC2 CLI via the connect button on the GUI, it’s ok!

Ensure SSH Port 22 is Allowed

Ensure that port 22 is open in your EC2 instance’s networking configuration. This is typically enabled by default unless explicitly modified.

Install SSH

Ensure that you have SSH installed:

ssh

Create Key Pairs

Next, create key pairs for your EC2.

Download Key Pair

It’s very important to remember that the key pair can only be downloaded upon creation. Download it now. If not, create a new key pair and download the .pem file.

Generate Public Key from .pem File

Use the following command to generate a public key from the .pem file:

ssh-keygen -y -f new-key.pem > new-key.pub

Then, view or copy the content of new-key.pub:

cat new-key.pub

Add Public Key to EC2 Instance

Go to the AWS GUI, connect to your EC2 instance, and add the content of new-key.pub to the ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file on the instance.

Connect via SSH

You can now SSH into your instance using the following command:

ssh -i new-key.pem ec2-user@xxx.ap-southeast-2.compute.amazonaws.com
  • Replace ec2-user with the appropriate username depending on your OS. The correct username is displayed when you connect via the GUI.
  • Replace xxx.ap-southeast-2.compute.amazonaws.com with your instance’s public URL.

Written by

Abdur-Rahmaan Janhangeer

Chef

Python author of 7+ years having worked for Python companies around the world

LinkedIn GitHub

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