Connect to an instance by using the Management Terminal

You can use the Management Terminal, also known as VNC, to connect to an ECS instance. Specifically, when the remote access software programs that you are using, such as PuTTy, Xshell, or SecureCRT, do not work.

Scenarios

The Management Terminal can be used to:

• Check the status of an ECS instance if it starts slowly.

• Reconfigure the firewall if a remote connection fails because of any software error within the ECS instance.

• End abnormal processes that consume excessive CPU usage or bandwidth.

Note: The Management Terminal can be used to connect to an instance even if no public IP address is assigned to your instance.

Prerequisites

• You have an ECS instance. For more information, see Create an ECS instance.

• You have set the logon password of the ECS instance. If not, use the Reset Password feature to set a password.

Procedure

The following figure illustrates how to use the Management Terminal to connect to an ECS instance.

To connect to the ECS instance by using the Management Terminal, follow these steps:

1. Log on to the ECS console.

2. In the left-side navigation pane, click Instances.

3. Select a region.

4. In the instance list, find your instance, and in the Actions column, click Connect.

5. In the Management Terminal page, follow the instructions to connect to the Management Terminal:

   • If you connect to the Management Terminal for the first time, follow these steps:

     1. In the VNC Connection Password dialog box, copy the password and click Close.

        Note: The VNC password appears only once. You must save and secure password immediately for future use. If you need to change the VNC password, see Change the VNC connection password.

     2. In the Enter VNC Password dialog box, paste the VNC connection password that you have copied, and click OK.

   • If this is not your first connection to the Management Terminal, enter the VNC connection password in the Enter VNC Password dialog box and click OK.

   • If you have forgotten the VNC connection password, follow these steps to connect to the Management Terminal:

     1. Change the VNC connection password.
     2. In the upper-left corner of the Management Terminal page, select Send Remote Command > Connect to Management Terminal.
     3. In the Enter VNC Password dialog box, enter the new password and click OK.

6. To log on to the ECS instance, follow the steps according to the operating system:

   • For a Linux instance: Enter the user name (root) and the logon password.

     Note:

     • If you have forgotten the logon password of your instance, reset the password.
     • The logon password input is invisible.
     • If you want to do different operations within the instance, in the upper-left corner of the Management Terminal page, select Send Remote Command > CTRL + ALT + Fx, of which Fx can be any key from F1 to F10, to switch the interfaces for different operations.
     • In case you see a black screen, the Linux instance may be in sleep mode. To exit sleep mode, click the mouse or press any key.

   • For a Windows instance: In the upper-left corner of the Management Terminal page, select Send Remote Command > CTRL+ALT+DELETE. The Windows logon interface is displayed. Enter the user name (Administrator) and the logon password.

     Note: If you have forgotten the logon password of your instance, reset the password.

Change the VNC connection password

If you have forgotten the VNC connection password, follow these steps to change the password.

Note: If the instance that you are connecting to is not I/O optimized, you must restart your instance to apply new VNC password. The restart operation stops your instance and interrupts your business operations. Therefore, proceed with caution.

1. Open the Management Terminal page.

2. Close the VNC Connection Password dialog box or the Enter VNC Password dialog box.

3. In the upper-right corner of the Management Terminal page, click Modify Management Terminal Password.

4. Enter a new password, which must be six characters in length and may contain uppercase letters, lowercase letters, and digits. Special characters are not supported.

5. A new password can be effective in the following events:

   • For an I/O-optimized instance, the new password takes effect immediately.
   • For a non-I/O-optimized instance, restart the instance in the ECS console.

     Note: Restarting the operating system cannot apply the new password.

Input commands

If you are connecting to a Linux instance, you can use the Input Commands feature to type long text, such as a complex command or a URL.

Follow these steps:

1. Open the Management Terminal page.

2. In the upper-right corner of the Management Terminal page, click Input Commands.

3. In the Copy Commands dialog box, enter the commands and click OK.

4. Press the Enter key to run the commands.

FAQ

Can multiple users simultaneously connect to the Management Terminal?

No. Only one user can connect to the Management Terminal at a time.

Why am I unable to connect to an instance by using the Management Terminal even after changing the password?

Make sure that you enter the correct VNC password. If the instance that you are connecting to is not I/O optimized, you must restart the instance in the ECS console. This action helps the new VNC password to take effect.

Why do I see a black screen after logging on to my instance?

A black screen indicates that the instance is in sleep mode.

For a Linux instance, click mouse or press any key to activate the screen.

For a Windows instance, click Send remote command > CTRL+ALT+DELETE to have logon interface displayed.

Why am I unable to access the Management Terminal?

To resolve logon issues, open your browser and connect to the Management Terminal. Press F12 to open the developer tool. The Management Terminal information can be analyzed to locate errors under the Console tab.

Can I use IE or Firefox to access the Management Terminal?

You can access the Management Terminal only if you have IE10 or later versions installed. Only certain versions of Firefox are supported. You can resolve this issue by updating or changing your browser to a recommended version.

Note: We recommend that you use Google Chrome because it offers the best support for the Management Terminal function.