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How-to

Connect to an instance

Sign in to a Linux instance over SSH, or a Windows instance over RDP, at its floating IP. The console in your browser works for either, with no network path at all.

Before you start

  • A running instance, status ACTIVE.
  • An address you can reach: a floating IP on the instance, or its private address from a bastion host or a VPN.
  • A security group rule on the instance for port 22 (SSH) or 3389 (RDP), from your own IP address: see Security groups.
  • For Linux, the private key of the key pair the instance was launched with.

Linux over SSH

Connect as the image's default user, with your private key:

ssh -i ~/.ssh/web-key ubuntu@<floating-ip>

The same command works in PowerShell, with $HOME\.ssh\web-key as the path. Type yes the first time to accept the instance's host key.

Image Default user
Ubuntu ubuntu
Debian debian
AlmaLinux almalinux

The default user has sudo without a password. These images have no password set for any user, so SSH with your key is the only way to sign in.

Windows over RDP

Breqwatr's Windows images ask you to set the Administrator password on the console at first boot. Allow a few minutes after launch for the first boot to finish.

  1. Open the console: see The console below.
  2. At Press Ctrl+Alt+Delete to unlock, choose Send CtrlAltDel at the top right of the console.
  3. Choose Sign in under Administrator. Windows says "The user's password must be changed before signing in." Choose OK.
  4. Enter a new password in New password and Confirm password, and press Enter. Windows confirms "Your password has been changed."
  5. Connect over RDP to the floating IP, as Administrator, with that password:
    • Windows: Remote Desktop Connection (mstsc).
    • macOS: Microsoft's Windows App, from the App Store.
    • Linux: an RDP client such as Remmina.

Accept the certificate warning the first time: the instance signs RDP with its own certificate.

The console

The console shows the instance's screen in your browser, through the platform rather than the instance's network. Use it to set a Windows password, or to see an instance that doesn't answer over the network.

In the Breqwatr Cloud Portal (Strata), open Instances, choose the instance, then Console. It opens in a new tab.

Get the console's address and open it in your browser:

openstack --os-cloud <cloud-name> console url show web-01

The console needs the instance to be ACTIVE.

The boot log

The boot log shows what a Linux instance printed while it started, including cloud-init's output. It's often enough to see why an instance doesn't answer, without signing in.

Open the instance and choose Server log.

openstack --os-cloud <cloud-name> console log show --lines 50 web-01

If you can't connect

Check, in this order:

  1. The instance is ACTIVE, and the boot log shows it finished starting.
  2. The floating IP is on the instance: openstack --os-cloud <cloud-name> server show web-01 -c addresses.
  3. A security group on the instance allows the port from your current IP address. If your address has changed, change the rule.
  4. For SSH: the user is the image's default user, and the key is the one the instance was launched with.