Bind an SSH key pair to an instance

You can specify an SSH key pair when you create an instance, or bind an SSH key pair to the instance after the instance is created. This topic describes how to bind an SSH key pair to an ECS instance after the instance is created. If your ECS instance originally adopts password-based authentication, the password-based authentication is automatically disabled after the key pair is bound.

1. Log on to the ECS console.
2. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Network & Security > SSH Key Pairs.
3. In the top navigation bar, select a region.
4. Find the key pair to be bound and click Bind in the Actions column.
5. Select the target ECS instance in the Select Instance section, and then click the > icon to move the target instance to the Selected section.
   If instance names in the Select Instance section are dimmed, the instances are Windows instances and cannot be bound with SSH key pairs.
6. Click OK.
7. If the selected ECS instance is in the Running (Running) state, complete the following operations to restart the instance to make the binding operation take effect:
   1. In the left-side navigation pane, choose Instances & Images > Instances.
   2. Find the target instance, and choose More > Instance Status > Restart in the Actions column.
   3. In Restart Instance dialog box that appears, click OK.