Use Workbench to log on to a Linux instance - Elastic Compute Service

Workbench is a browser-based remote connection tool provided by Alibaba Cloud. You can use Workbench to connect to Linux instances without a password, including instances that do not have public IP addresses.

Limits

Instance status: The instance must be in the Running status, and its Health Status must be Normal.
RAM permissions: If you are a Resource Access Management (RAM) user, contact your Alibaba Cloud account owner or an administrator to create a service-linked role and grant the required permissions to your RAM user.
Instance security group restrictions: Before you connect to the instance, you can follow the UI prompts to allow access from Workbench service-related IP addresses with a single click.
Maximum session duration: A Workbench remote connection session can last for up to 6 hours. If you are inactive for more than 6 hours, the connection is automatically disconnected and you must reconnect to the instance.
The maximum session duration is also affected by external factors such as your browser. Run long tasks in the background.

Method 1: Use a password-free connection (Recommended)

When you use a password-free connection, Workbench connects to the instance using Session Manager by default. If Session Manager is not enabled, a temporary SSH key pair is used instead.

Log on to the ECS console. At the top of the page, select a resource group and a region.
Find the target instance and click Remote Connection. In the dialog box that appears, click Log On Now next to Connect Via Workbench.
On the Instance Login page of Workbench, select Password-free Connection, enter a Username, and then click Log On.
The following figure shows a successful logon:

Method 2: Use a terminal connection (SSH)

Log on to the ECS console. At the top of the page, select a resource group and a region.
Find the target instance and click Remote Connection. In the dialog box that appears, click Log On Now next to Connect Via Workbench.

On the Instance Login page of Workbench, complete the following configurations and then click Log On.

Configuration item	Description
Instance	The information about the current instance is automatically filled in.
Connection Method	Select Terminal Connection. This method uses the Secure Shell (SSH) protocol to connect to the instance.
Network Connectivity	Select the Private IP address of the instance.
Authentication Method	Important SSH key pair authentication is more secure than password authentication. Attach a key pair and use SSH key pair authentication to log on. For more information, see Attach a key pair. SSH key pair authentication Username: The default username for a Linux instance is root. If you set the logon name to ecs-user when you created the instance, enter ecs-user. Private Key: Enter the content of the private key file. If the private key file is protected by a passphrase, you must also enter the Passphrase. Password authentication Username: The default username for a Linux instance is root. If you set the logon name to ecs-user when you created the instance, enter ecs-user. Password: If you forgot the password or have not set one, you must first reset the password.

Save logon credentials

Select this option to save your logon information. You can then use the saved information for subsequent logons.

Add to security group whitelist after you click Log On

When you connect to an instance using Workbench, you must add a security group rule to allow traffic from the Workbench IP address blocks to the SSH port (default: 22) of the ECS instance. You can click Add With One Click to quickly configure the security group. The specific security group rules that are added depend on the console interface.

The following figure shows a successful logon.

More features

Set the destination SSH port

You can set the SSH connection port in the More Options section on the Instance Login page, as shown in the following figures.

Use credential authentication

Credential Authentication is a feature similar to a "remember password" function. This feature lets you save your username and password or username and key pair as a credential. For subsequent logons, you can select the saved credential instead of re-entering the information.

Note

Credentials are not shared with other users. Only the user who creates a credential can use it to log on to the instance.

Save a logon credential
As shown in the figure, select the option to save the logon information when you log on to an instance. After a successful logon, you can use credential authentication for subsequent logons.
Use a credential to log on to an instance
As shown in the figure, when you specify a username to log on to an instance, you can use the Select Credential option to log on with a saved credential.

FAQ

What is the default or initial logon name for an instance?

The default username for a Linux instance is root. If you selected ecs-user when you created the instance, use ecs-user as the username.

What is the default or initial password for an instance?

Instances do not have a default or initial password. To set a password, you can reset the password.

Troubleshoot remote connection failures

If you cannot remotely connect to an instance, first use the self-service diagnostic tool to troubleshoot the issue. For more information about manual troubleshooting, see Troubleshoot connection issues for Linux instances.

Use the self-service diagnostic tool for troubleshooting

The Alibaba Cloud self-service troubleshooting tool can quickly detect common issues that cause connection failures. To use the tool:

Click to go to self-service troubleshooting page, and switch to the target region.
Click Start Diagnostics under Instance Connection Failure. Follow the on-screen prompts to select the instance that has issues and click Start Diagnostics.
After the diagnostics are complete, follow the on-screen instructions to fix the issue.