Find your connection details
Record the server's primary IP address, installed operating system and administrator username. Retrieve the credential created during installation from the approved password manager and connect from a trusted administrator device. If the credential is unavailable, use the recovery procedure instead of repeatedly guessing a password.
Switch to key-based login (recommended)
Generate a key pair on the administrator device, keep the private key protected and add the public key through installation or recovery. Verify the server host fingerprint on the first connection, test key-based login in a second session and only then disable password authentication.
- Give each administrator an individual key so access can be revoked independently.
- Never paste a private key, console URL or recovery secret into a support ticket, chat message or shared document.
- For critical systems, keep an offline record of the expected host fingerprint so a man-in-the-middle warning can be investigated.
Locked out? Here's how to recover access
Do not repeatedly retry passwords. Confirm the server is running and check recent operations, then open a short-lived remote console session if normal SSH is unreachable. If the operating system needs repair, boot the appropriate rescue environment, repair access configuration and restore normal local-disk boot.
After you've recovered access
Review authorized_keys, privileged accounts, SSH daemon configuration and recent authentication logs. Rotate any credential that may have been exposed, verify monitoring and record the cause, recovery action and completion time.
