Connect to a cloud server

Last update: April 29 2025

Connect to a cloud server

You can connect to the cloud server:

• SSH — to a Linux server;
• RDP — to a Windows server;
• through the console in the control panel — to servers with any operating system.

To be able to connect to a cloud server via SSH or RDP, it must have access to the Internet:

• through Public IP address and cloud router;
• or through public subnet.

View parameters for connection⁠

The settings for connecting to the cloud server can be viewed at control panels:

• public IP address — in the top menu, press Products and select Cloud servers → server page → tab Ports → column Public IP;
• user name (login) and password — in the top menu press Products and select Cloud servers → server page → tab Console → fields Login and Password.

If you forget your server password, you can reset and restore it.

Connect via SSH⁠

The SSH protocol is used to connect to Linux cloud servers.

To connect to the server, you can use a couple of SSH keys. We recommend using SSH keys instead of login and password — you can only connect using keys from the computer where the private key is stored.

Public SSH keys can be stored in the control panel, to do so Add public SSH keys to the user profile.

From Linux/macOS

1. Optional: create an SSH key pair and place a public SSH key when creating a cloud server or on an existing server.

2. Open the CLI.

3. Connect to the server:

   ssh <username>@<ip_address>

   Specify:

   • <username> — user name (login). You can look in control panels: from the top menu, press Products and select Cloud servers → server page → tab Console → field Login;
   • <ip_address> — the public IP address of the server. You can look in control panels: from the top menu, press Products and select Cloud servers → server page → tab Ports → column Public IP.

4. Enter the password. You can look in control panels: from the top menu, press Products and select Cloud servers → server page → tab Console → field Password.

   If you are using an SSH key pair, you do not need to enter a password.

From Windows

In Windows 10, you can connect to the cloud server in the same way as in Linux and macOS — via the command line (cmd.exe).

In earlier versions of Windows, use PuTTY.

1. Optional: create an SSH key pair and place a public SSH key on the cloud server: at server creation or on the created server.

2. Set PuTTY and run it.

3. Open the tab Session.

4. In the field Host Name enter the public IP address of the server.

5. In the field Port Specify the port for SSH connection (default is 22).

6. In the field Connection type select the SSH connection type.

7. If you are using a pair of SSH keys, open the tab SSH — Auth, press Browse and download the private key file.

8. Click Open.

9. Confirm the connection and enter the login and password to log in to the server. The login and password can be viewed in control panels from the top menu, press Products and select Cloud servers → server page → tab Console → fields Login and Password.

   If you are using an SSH key pair, you do not need to enter a password.

Error when reconnecting⁠

If you use SSH keys to connect, the SSH key is saved to a file when you first authorize on the server ~/.ssh/known_hosts. An error may occur when reconnecting REMOTE HOST IDENTIFICATION HAS CHANGED.

To correct a mistake:

• delete the host information by IP address:

  ssh-keygen -f "/home/root/.ssh/known_hosts" -R "<ip_address>"

• or connect to the server using the command:

  ssh -o UserKnownHostsFile=/dev/null root@<ip_address>

Connect via RDP⁠

The RDP protocol is used to connect to Windows cloud servers.

From Linux

1. Install an RDP client — for example, rdesktop or Remmina. Read more in Selectel's blog article RDP remote access clients for Linux.

2. Open the CLI.

3. Connect to the server using an RDP client. Example command for rdesktop:

   rdesktop <ip_address> -u <username> -p <password>

   Specify:

   • <ip_address> — the public IP address of the server. You can look in control panels: from the top menu, press Products and select Cloud servers → server page → tab Ports → column Public IP;
   • <username> — user name (login). You can look in control panels: from the top menu, press Products and select Cloud servers → server page → tab Console → field Login;
   • <password> — password. You can look in control panels: from the top menu, press Products and select Cloud servers → server page → tab Console → field Password.

From macOS.

1. Set Microsoft Remote Desktop and run it.

2. To create a connection, tap +.

3. In the field PC name enter the public IP address of the server. You can look in control panels: from the top menu, press Products and select Cloud servers → server page → tab Ports → column Public IP.

4. In the field Username enter a user name. You can look in control panels: from the top menu, press Products and select Cloud servers → server page → tab Console → field Login.

5. In the field Password enter the password. You can look in control panels: from the top menu, press Products and select Cloud servers → server page → tab Console → field Password.

6. Click Save.

7. Double-click the created connection in the list.

From Windows

1. Open the menu Start → Connecting to a remote desktop.

2. In the field Computer enter the public IP address of the server. You can look in control panels: from the top menu, press Products and select Cloud servers → server page → tab Ports → column Public IP.

3. Click Connect.

4. Enter a username. You can look in control panels: from the top menu, press Products and select Cloud servers → server page → tab Console → field Login.

5. Enter the password. You can look in control panels: from the top menu, press Products and select Cloud servers → server page → tab Console → field Password.

6. Click OK.

Connect via the console in the control panel⁠

You can connect via the console in the control panel to a cloud server with any operating system.

The console is a browser-based VNC client, we recommend using it only in cases when it is impossible to connect to the server via SSH or RDP. Copying text from the console is not available, you can paste text with the following command Ctrl+V.

1. В control panels from the top menu, press Products and select Cloud servers.

2. Open the server page → tab Console.

3. On the server line, click .

4. Enter the user name (login). You can look in the field Login.

5. Enter the password. You can look in the field Password.