How to Connect to a Vultr Bare Metal Instance Using OpenSSH

Updated on November 27, 2024

OpenSSH is a connection protocol that enables SSH access on a server. It's available and active on Vultr Bare Metal instances by default to enable secure connections.

Follow this guide to connect to a Vultr Bare Metal instance using SSH on your workstation.

Connect to an Instance Using the Default User Credentials

  1. Access your Vultr Bare Metal instance's management page.

  2. Note the default credentials within the Overview tab and copy the user password to your clipboard.

    Access the instance

  3. Open a new terminal window on your workstation.

  4. Connect to your Vultr Bare Metal instance using SSH.

    console
    $ ssh username@SERVER-IP
    
  5. Enter yes and press Enter when prompted to add the instance's public key to your known hosts.

    The authenticity of host '192.0.2.123 (192.0.2.123)' can't be established.
    ED25519 key fingerprint is SHA256:gTAOuCiCa3Us4tpVaVHVk9d3qOjKrsqXPOsAFQbB8xw.
    This key is not known by any other names
    Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])? yes
  6. Paste your instance password when prompted and press Enter to log in.

    username@SERVER-IP's password:
  7. View the active user information in your SSH session.

    console
    $ whoami
    

Connect to an Instance Using SSH Keys

Note
Generate an SSH key on your workstation and add it to your instance before deployment. Adding an SSH key to an existing instance will result in data loss and wipe your instance to install the new key.
  1. Open a new terminal window on your workstation.

  2. Connect to your instance using a specific SSH key on your workstation.

    console
    $ ssh -i /path/to/private/key username@SERVER-IP
    
  3. Enter yes and press Enter when prompted to add the instance's public key to your known hosts.

    The authenticity of host '192.0.2.123 (192.0.2.123)' can't be established.
    ED25519 key fingerprint is SHA256:gTAOuCiCa3Us4tpVaVHVk9d3qOjKrsqXPOsAFQbB8xw.
    This key is not known by any other names
    Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])? yes
  4. View the active user information in your SSH session.

    console
    $ whoami