Elastic Compute Service:Connect to an instance with VNC

Get the instance logon username

Default usernames: root or ecs-user (Linux), administrator (Windows). To look up the initial username in the ECS console:

1. Go to ECS console - Instance.

2. Find the instance, click the icon, and click Reset Instance Password.

3. The initial logon username is displayed.

   

See Manage logon users for instances.

Reset a forgotten or missing logon password

If you forgot the password or used an SSH key pair as the credential, reset the password:

1. In the ECS console, find your instance.

2. Click the icon, then select Reset Instance Password.

   

3. Set a new password as prompted.

See Reset the logon password of an instance.

Grant permissions to a RAM user

If you use a Resource Access Management (RAM) user, attach the following policy to grant the minimum permissions. See Grant permissions to a RAM user.

{
  "Version": "1",
  "Statement": [
    {
      "Effect": "Allow",
      "Action": [
        "ecs:DescribeInstances",
        "ecs:DescribeInstanceVncUrl"
      ],
      "Resource": "*"
    }
  ]
}

ecs:DescribeInstances queries instance information. ecs:DescribeInstanceVncUrl retrieves the VNC connection URL. Use the Resource element to restrict access to specific instances. See Resource.

Step 1: Find the instance

1. Go to ECS console - Instance.

2. In the top navigation bar, select the region and resource group.

   

3. On the Instance page, click the instance ID to open its details page.

Step 2: Open the VNC connection page

1. Click Connect. In the Remote connection dialog box, click Show Other Logon Methods, then click Sign in now in the VNC section.

   Important

   If the message "You do not have the permissions to perform this operation. Ask the Alibaba Cloud account to grant the permissions in the RAM console and try again later." appears, check that your RAM user has the required permissions. See Grant permissions to a RAM user above.

Step 3: Log on to the instance OS

Log on with the instance OS username and password.

Linux instance

In this example, an instance running Alibaba Cloud Linux 3 is used.

1. Enter the username (e.g., root or ecs-user) and press Enter.

2. Enter the password and press Enter.

   Important

   Password characters are hidden as you type. If you see a Login Incorrect error, reset the logon password and try again.

3. Verify the logon succeeded.

   

Windows instance

In this example, an instance running Windows Server 2025 is used.

1. Choose Send Remote Commands > CTRL+ALT+DELETE to unlock the OS.

2. Select a username, enter the password, and press Enter. The default username is Administrator.

Copy and paste content

Direct copy-paste from your local machine to the instance is not supported. Use Enter Copy Commands instead.

1. Connect to the instance with VNC.

2. Position the cursor where you want to paste content.

3. In the upper-left corner, click Enter Copy Commands.

4. In the Copy and Paste Commands dialog box, enter content and click OK.

Send remote commands

Use Send Remote Commands to send keyboard shortcuts to the instance. For Linux, select CTRL+ALT+F1 through CTRL+ALT+F10 to switch terminals. For Windows, select CTRL+ALT+DELETE to unlock the OS.

1. Connect to the instance with VNC.

2. In the upper-left corner, click Send Remote Commands and select a command.

   In this example, Windows is used.