Logging in with SSH

Created by Former user (Deleted)

Regardless of whether you're logging from a Linux, Mac, or a Windows machine,

  1. add SSH keys to your account and
  2. copy the instance IP address, either from the confirmation email or from the IP address displayed in the My Instances list.
  3. Or if you want to use password authentication (not recommended but sometimes necessary) use the web shell and log in and type 'sudo passwd your_username'.


MacOS X & Unix/Linux

  1. For Mac OS X open a terminal window (from Finder, go to Applications, click Utilities, and then double-click Terminal).
    For Linux, there are many terminal options, including xterm, konsole, or gnome-terminal.
  2. In the terminal window, enter the following command, using your XSEDE username and the instance IP address:

    ssh your_xsede_username@instance_ip_address

  3. Press Enter.

A successful login will look similar to the following:






Windows using PuTTY

PuTTY is an SSH client for Windows.  It operates a bit differently than Terminal to make the initial SSH connection. For a useful guide to using PuTTY, see PuTTY – Remote Terminal and SSH Connectivity.

  1. Download the PuTTY application.
  2. Launch PuTTY.
  3. The first time PuTTY is used for login, add your private key. 
    1. Single click the "Default Settings" session to save your private key for all future sessions.
    2. Click on the + symbol next to the 'SSH' category on the left hand side. 
    3. Click on the 'Auth' category to bring up the PuTTY Configuration screen (see screenshot below).

    4. The key is set down at the bottom under 'Private key file for authentication'. Click on the Browse button next to the 'Private key file for authentication' field and locate your private key file on the file system. Select the file and press 'Ok'. (It is probably in your My Documents folder. )

    5. Click the 'Session' category from the left hand side.
    6. Make sure "Default Settings" is still selected.

    7. Click Save.

  4. Enter the IP address, either copied from your My Instances list or from the confirmation email, and click Connect.
  5. Enter your XSEDE username when prompted for a login name and click Enter.