Workbench is a more efficient and convenient connection tool than Virtual Network Computing (VNC) and allows multiple users to connect to a single Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance at the same time. Workbench supports the following authentication methods for logons to instances: password-based authentication, key-based authentication, and credential-based authentication.
Prerequisites
A logon password is set for or a key pair is bound to the Linux instance to which you want to connect. For more information, see Reset the logon password of an instance or Bind an SSH key pair to an instance.
The instance is in the Running state.
Security group rules that allow the IP addresses related to the Workbench service to access the instance are added. The security group rules vary based on the network type of the instance.
Procedure
By default, a Workbench remote connection persists for 6 hours. If you do not perform operations for 6 hours, the remote connection is closed. You must reconnect to the instance.
Log on to the ECS console.
In the left-side navigation pane, choose .
In the upper-left corner of the top navigation bar, select a region.
On the Instances page, find the instance to which you want to connect. In the Actions column, click Remote connection.
In the Remote connection dialog box, click Workbench in the Sign in now section.
In the Instance Login dialog box, configure parameters.
The following table describes the required parameters.
Parameter
Description
Instance
The information of the current instance is automatically populated. You can manually enter the IP address or name of another instance.
Connection
To connect to an instance that resides in a VPC, use the public or private IP address of the instance.
To connect to an instance that resides in the classic network, use the public or internal IP address of the instance.
For information about different network types, see Overview and IP addresses of ECS instances in the classic network.
Authentication
Select an authentication method. The following authentication methods are supported:
Password-based: Enter a username, such as root or ecs-user, and a password.
SSH Key Authentication: Enter a username, such as root or ecs-user, and then enter or upload a private key file. If the private key file is encrypted, enter the passphrase of the private key.
Credential-based: Select or create a credential.
Credentials are used to store instance information such as usernames, passwords, and keys. You can use credentials to connect to instances in a secure manner without the need to enter usernames or passwords. If no credentials exist for an instance in Workbench, create a credential for the instance. For more information, see Create a credential to allow password-free logon section of this topic.
In the lower part of the dialog box, click More Options to show the optional parameters. The following table describes the parameters.
Parameter
Description
Resource Group
By default, All is selected. You can select a resource group from the drop-down list.
Region
By default, All is selected. You can select a region from the drop-down list.
Protocol
By default, Terminal Connection (SSH) is selected.
NoteTo use Remote Desktop (RDP) to connect to the instance, install an RDP service such as xrdp and a graphical desktop on the instance. For information about how to install a graphical desktop on a Linux instance, see Installing a graphical desktop environment for a Linux instance.
Port
If Protocol is set to Terminal Connection (SSH), this parameter is automatically set to 22.
If you specified a different port as the remote connection port, enter the port number.
NoteIf Protocol is set to Remote Desktop (RDP), this parameter is automatically set to 3389.
Language
Select your preferred language. The selected language affects the outputs of the instance. We recommend that you select Default. This way, Workbench detects the language settings of the instance and configures appropriate settings.
Character Set
Select your preferred character set. The selected character set affects the outputs of the instance. We recommend that you select Default. This way, Workbench detects the character set settings of the instance and configures appropriate settings.
Click OK.
If all of the prerequisites are met but the instance cannot be connected, perform the following operations on the instance:
Check whether the sshd service (such as sshd in Linux) is enabled. If not, enable the sshd service.
Check whether the required SSH port (typically port 22) is open. If not, open the port.
To use the root username to connect to the Linux instance, make sure that the /etc/ssh/sshd_config file contains the
PermitRootLogin yesandPasswordAuthentication yessettings. For more information, see the Enable root logon over SSH on a Linux instance section of this topic.
Create a credential to allow password-free logon
This section describes how to create a credential for an instance in Workbench. After the credential is created, you can use the credential when you connect to the instance.
Log on to the ECS console.
In the left-side navigation pane, choose .
In the upper-left corner of the top navigation bar, select a region.
On the Instances page, find the instance to which you want to connect. In the Actions column, click Remote connection.
In the Remote connection dialog box, click Workbench in the Sign in now section.
In the Instance Login dialog box, configure parameters.
Create a credential.
The following table describes the required parameters.
Parameter
Description
Instance
The information of the current instance is automatically populated. You can select another instance from the drop-down list.
Connection
To connect to an instance that resides in a VPC, use the public or private IP address of the instance.
To connect to an instance that resides in the classic network, use the public or internal IP address of the instance.
Authentication
Select Credential-based.
Select Create Credential from the Credential drop-down list.
In the Add Credential dialog box, configure the parameters that are described in the following table.
Parameter
Description
Credential Name
Enter a name for the credential.
Username
Enter a username, such as root or ecs-user.
Credential Type
Select a credential type. Valid values:
Password: If you select this value, you must continue to enter the password that is used to connect to the instance.
Private Key: If you select this value, you must continue to enter the content of the private key file or upload a private key file. If the private key file is encrypted, enter the passphrase of the private key.
Material Name
Enter a name for the authentication material.
Password
Enter the password that is used to connect to the instance.
Fingerprint
The fingerprint is automatically generated based on the authentication material.
Click OK.
In the Instance Login dialog box, select the credential that you created from the Credential drop-down list and click OK.
Enable root logon over SSH on a Linux instance
In specific Linux operating systems, sshd disables root logon by default. If this occurs, when you attempt to connect to an instance as the root user over SSH, you are prompted that your username or password is invalid. To enable root logon over SSH on a Linux instance, perform the following steps:
Connect to the Linux instance by using VNC.
For more information, see Connect to an instance by using VNC.
Open the SSH configuration file.
vim /etc/ssh/sshd_configPress the
Ikey to enter Insert mode.Set both the
PermitRootLoginandPasswordAuthenticationparameters toyes, as displayed in the following lines:PermitRootLogin yes PasswordAuthentication yesPress the
Esckey and enter the :wq to save the changes.Restart sshd.
systemctl restart sshd.service