Accessing a Linux Instance from a Windows OS

You can access a Linux instance from a Windows operating system (OS) using the PuTTY client.

OUTSCALE-generated keypairs are not natively compatible with PuTTY, which supports PuTTY-format keypairs. You therefore need to convert your keypair using the PuTTYgen key generator tool included with PuTTY.

This procedure only applies to instances launched using official OMIs, and whose keypair authentication system you did not modify after launch. Otherwise, you need to use the method corresponding to the authentication system you implemented. For more information, see About Keypairs.

Convert Your Keypair to the PuTTY Format

Before you begin: Install PuTTY on your machine. For more information, see the official PuTTY website.

  1. Open PuTTYgen.

  2. Click Conversions > Import Key to load the .rsa file containing the private key of the keypair associated with the instance.

  3. To protect your private key, type a passphrase in the Key passphrase field.

  4. Click Save Private Key.

  5. Type a name for your PuTTY-format private key and click Save.
    Your private key is converted to the PuTTY format.

Access the Linux Instance

Before you begin:

To allow the connection from your machine to the instance, ensure the instance has the following security group rule:

  • Port: 22 (SSH)

  • Protocol: TCP

  • CIDR: The public IP of your machine

For more information, see Adding Rules to a Security Group.

  1. Open PuTTY.

  2. Configure the connection:

    1. In the Host Name (or IP address) field, type the public IP of your instance.

      If you are using a VPN or a DirectLink connection, you can use the private IP of the instance.

    2. In the Port field, type 22.

    3. In the Connection type list, select SSH.

    4. In the Connection > SSH > Auth section, click Browse and select your PuTTY-format private key.

  3. Click Open to launch the connection.
    A PUTTY SECURITY ALERT dialog box appears.

  4. Click Yes to validate.

    A terminal prompt appears with the login as: line displayed.

  5. Type the name of the user of the instance.

    The name of the default user depends on the OMI used:

    • outscale for Ubuntu 18 and Centos 7 OMIs released since 20 December 2018

    • ubuntu for older Ubuntu OMIs

    • centos for older Centos 7 OMIs and Centos 6 OMIs

  6. Type the passphrase for your PuTTY-format private key.
    You now have access to the Linux instance.

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