Connect Linux Instance using putty

Convert your private key using PuTTYgen

PuTTY does not natively support the PEM format for SSH keys. PuTTY provides a tool named PuTTYgen, which converts PEM keys to the required PPK format for PuTTY. You must convert your private key (.pem file) into this format (.ppk file) as follows in order to connect to your instance using PuTTY.

To convert your private .pem key to .ppk

1. From the Start menu, choose All Programs, PuTTY, PuTTYgen.
2. Under Type of key to generate, choose RSA. If your version of PuTTYgen does not include this option, choose SSH-2 RSA.
   
3. Choose Load. By default, PuTTYgen displays only files with the extension .ppk. To locate your .pem file, choose the option to display files of all types.
   
4. Select your .pem file for the key pair that you specified when you launched your instance and choose Open. PuTTYgen displays a notice that the .pem file was successfully imported. Choose OK.
5. To save the key in the format that PuTTY can use, choose Save private key. PuTTYgen displays a warning about saving the key without a passphrase. Choose Yes.
6. Specify the same name for the key that you used for the key pair (for example, key-pair-name) and choose Save. PuTTY automatically adds the .ppk file extension.

Your private key is now in the correct format for use with PuTTY. You can now connect to your instance using PuTTY’s SSH client.

Connect to your Linux instance

Use the following procedure to connect to your Linux instance using PuTTY. You need the .ppk file that you created for your private key. For more information, see Convert your private key using PuTTYgen in the preceding section. If you receive an error while attempting to connect to your instance, see Troubleshoot connecting to your instance.

To connect to your instance using PuTTY

1. Start PuTTY (from the Start menu, choose All Programs, PuTTY, PuTTY).
2. In the Category pane, choose Session and complete the following fields:
   1. In the Host Name box, do one of the following:
      • (Public DNS) To connect using your instance’s public DNS name, enter instance-user-name@instance-public-dns-name.
      • (IPv6) Alternatively, if your instance has an IPv6 address, to connect using your instance’s IPv6 address, enter instance-user-name@instance-IPv6-address.
   2. For information about how to get the user name for your instance, and the public DNS name or IPv6 address of your instance, see Get information about your instance.
   3. Ensure that the Port value is 22.
   4. Under Connection type, select SSH.
3. 
4. (Optional) You can configure PuTTY to automatically send ‘keepalive’ data at regular intervals to keep the session active. This is useful to avoid disconnecting from your instance due to session inactivity. In the Category pane, choose Connection, and then enter the required interval in the Seconds between keepalives field. For example, if your session disconnects after 10 minutes of inactivity, enter 180 to configure PuTTY to send keepalive data every 3 minutes.
5. In the Category pane, expand Connection, expand SSH, and then choose Auth. Complete the following:
   1. Choose Browse.
   2. Select the .ppk file that you generated for your key pair and choose Open.
   3. (Optional) If you plan to start this session again later, you can save the session information for future use. Under Category, choose Session, enter a name for the session in Saved Sessions, and then choose Save.
   4. Choose Open.
6. If this is the first time you have connected to this instance, PuTTY displays a security alert dialog box that asks whether you trust the host to which you are connecting.
   1. (Optional) Verify that the fingerprint in the security alert dialog box matches the fingerprint that you previously obtained in (Optional) Get the instance fingerprint. If these fingerprints don’t match, someone might be attempting a “man-in-the-middle” attack. If they match, continue to the next step.
   2. Choose Yes. A window opens and you are connected to your instance.