A Guide to Connect to Instances Using PuTTY

Introduction

It is crucial to have remote access to virtual machines or instances in the age of cloud computing nowadays. You can carry out numerous administrative jobs, fix problems, and carry out tasks on your projects without a physical connection because of the ability to remotely access your instances. In this post, we’ll explore utilizing PuTTY to connect to an instance.

What is PuTTY?

PuTTY supports several interfaces besides SSH, such as Telnet, SCP, and SFTP.

Connecting to an Instance using PuTTY

Let’s first define an instance before moving on to the instructions for connecting to one using PuTTY. On a cloud computing platform, an instance is a virtual machine that is running. It might be a virtual machine from Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud VM, or Amazon EC2.

Let’s now explore how to connect to an instance using PuTTY:

Step 1: Install PuTTY after downloading it

Downloading and installing PuTTY on your local computer is the first step. PuTTY can be downloaded from the putty.org website. To install PuTTY on your local PC after downloading the installer, launch the installation wizard and follow the on-screen directions.

Step 2: Obtain the Public IP Address of the Instance

You must find your instance’s public IP address to connect to it. The public IP address is a distinctive number that your cloud computing platform assigns to each instance. Your cloud computing platform’s dashboard will show your instance’s public IP address.

Suppose you’re working with an Amazon EC2 instance, for instance. In that case, you may seek the public IP address by choosing the instance in the Amazon EC2 dashboard and looking for the Public IPv4 address in the Instance information.

Step 3: Configure PuTTY for the Connection

Double-clicking the PuTTY shortcut on your desktop will start PuTTY. The PuTTY Configuration window will open as a result. The connection details for your instance should be established here.

Enter the public IP address associated with your instance in the Host Name (or IP address) column. Pick SSH as the protocol in the Connection Type section.

The port for SSH connections is 22 by default. You can type the port number in the Port box if your instance is set up to use a different port.

Step 4: Save the PuTTY Session

After setting up the connection settings, you can save the session by naming it in the Saved Sessions field and hitting the Save button.

By saving the session, you can connect to your instance easily in future sessions without entering your connection credentials again.

Step 5: Open the PuTTY Session

Select the session’s name from the Saved Sessions list and press the Open button to start the saved PuTTY session. By doing so, a connection to your instance will be established.

Step 6: Authenticate Yourself

You will be asked to authenticate yourself when you connect to your instance. You might need to input a private key, username, and password, depending on how your instance is set up.

If you have to enter your login information and password, do so and then click the OK button to continue.

If a private key input box appears, click the Browse button to find the private key file on your local computer. Once you’ve found the private key file, click the Open button after selecting it. PuTTY will use the private key to verify your identity in the instance.

Step 7: Start Using the Instance

You can use the instance as soon as your self-authentication is successful. On the instance, you can run commands, upload or download files, and carry out different tasks related to administration.

Conclusion

In this blog post, we looked at using PuTTY to connect to an instance. Cloud computing users must be able to connect to their instances remotely using PuTTY to complete numerous administrative activities and work on their projects without a direct physical connection. You may quickly establish a secure shell connection to your instance and begin working on it by following the instructions provided in this blog.

This blog’s instructions are particular to connect to an instance via PuTTY on a Windows computer, so it’s vital to remember that. The instructions can differ if you use a different operating system or SSH client. However, the broad ideas and concepts covered in this blog should still be applicable.

Finally, it’s critical to check that you have correctly set up your instance’s security settings so that only authorized individuals can access it. To protect the security of your instance, always use powerful passwords or confidential keys and update them regularly.

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