Managing ECS ​​instances through the Alibaba Cloud client

  View ECS instances

1. On the Alibaba Cloud client homepage , click ECS .

2.   Select the region where the instance is located above the instance list.

3. On the instance list page, you can view ECS instances by following the steps below.

   

   • ①: The location information of the current ECS instance. Click the region to switch the region.

   •   ②: ECS instance list

   •   ③: Click the paging bar to page independently

   •   ④: ECS instance search box

     1. Enter the instance ID, public IP address, private IP address, instance name, etc.

     2. Press Enter to search in the current region. You can fuzzily search by instance name.

   •   ⑤: ECS instance operation menu

     •   Instance connection operations

     •   Instance start, stop, and release operations

     •   Add instance release protection (supported only by pay-as-you-go instances)

     •   View instance monitoring information, security groups, and instance details

  Remotely connect to an ECS instance

  Connect via Remote Desktop (Windows)

You can use the Alibaba Cloud client to connect to your ECS instance using a remote desktop through a public IP or with the help of Cloud Assistant (when there is no public IP). The steps are as follows:

1. On the Alibaba Cloud client homepage , click ECS .

2.   Select the region where the instance is located above the instance list.

3. You need to select the corresponding operation based on whether the Windows instance is configured with the public network and whether the cloud assistant is online.

   • If the ECS instance has been configured with a public network IP Address , it is recommended to log in as follows:

     1. Find the instance you want to connect to and select Remote Desktop (RDP)... in the Action column.

     2. In the dialog box that pops up, confirm your user name and password, set the full screen mode and audio playback. Then click Connect . The Alibaba Cloud client will start the Windows Remote Desktop Connection application.

     3. In the Remote Desktop Connection dialog box, click Connect .

     4. Follow the prompts, enter your login password, and then click OK .

   • If the ECS instance is not configured with a public network IP The address is not available, but the cloud assistant service is online . It is recommended to log in as follows:

     1. Find the instance you want to connect to and select Remote Desktop (Cloud Assistant)... in the Action column.

     2. In the dialog box that pops up, configure port mapping and click Start .

        Enter the server port number (the access port for the instance's internal services) and the local port number (the port that starts listening on the local machine) in sequence, and select whether to print the request/response content and whether to start port forwarding to open the web page corresponding to the local port.

     3. In the Remote Desktop Connection dialog box, click Connect .

     4. Follow the prompts on the interface, enter your login password, and then click OK to log in to the ECS instance through the remote desktop.

  Remote connection via SSH (Linux)

You can use SSH to remotely connect to your ECS instance through the public IP or cloud assistant in the Alibaba Cloud client. The steps are as follows:

1. On the Alibaba Cloud client homepage , click ECS .

2.   Select the region where the instance is located above the instance list.

3. Select Remote Connection (SSH)... in the Action column.

4. Enter the login username (default root, configurable default value), port (default 22, configurable default value), and select the authentication method .

     You can choose from the following authentication methods:

   • Password : You need to enter the password of the ECS instance.

       illustrate

     You can choose to set up SSH on the client and save the set password to a local file or KMS service so that you can directly choose to use it next time. For specific operations, see System Settings .

   • Key file : Use the SSH private key file to log in. You can obtain the SSH key file required for login in the following two ways:

     • Method 1: Create an SSH key pair (.pem file) in the ECS console, bind it to the ECS instance, and then use the SSH key to log in. For information about how to create an SSH key pair and bind it to the ECS instance, see Create a Key Pair .

     • Method 2: Do not use the ECS console. Use ssh-keygen to generate an SSH key locally and bind it to the ECS instance. Then use the SSH key to log in. For details, see Manually bind a key pair. SSH Password-free login .

         illustrate

       You can select Instance System Management in the client to add SSH Key , bind the SSH key to the ECS instance, and you can log in directly without a password later.

   • Temporary key : Generate a temporary key pair and send it to the instance. The key pair is valid for 1 minute. This method avoids the management of passwords and key files and is more convenient.

   It is recommended that you choose the temporary key method, which allows you to connect to the instance with one click without a password or a public IP address, and the connection permissions can be controlled by RAM.

5. Click Connect to log in to the ECS instance remotely through SSH.

  Connection management through sessions

In the following scenarios, you can use the session management function of Cloud Assistant to log in to the ECS instance through session management in the Alibaba Cloud client.

•   No ECS instance password

•   The ECS instance has no public IP address

•   The ECS instance cannot open the SSH and RDP ports

  The steps are as follows:

1. On the Alibaba Cloud client homepage , click ECS .

2.   Select the region where the instance is located above the instance list.

3. Find the instance you want to connect to and select Start remote session... in the Action column.

   Connect to the instance with one click. By default, you log in as the ecs-assist-user user for Linux instances and as the system user for Windows instances.

  Connect via port forwarding (Cloud Assistant)

  The port forwarding function has the following advantages:

•   Terminal operation content can be audited and is safe and controllable.

•   Connection permissions can be controlled via RAM.

• By forwarding the port, you can connect to port 22 of the instance and use the specified user to perform an SSH connection.

• By connecting to the HTTP port of the instance through port forwarding, you can browse the web applications in the instance without a public IP address.

  The steps are as follows:

1. On the Alibaba Cloud client homepage , click ECS .

2.   Select the region where the instance is located above the instance list.

3. Find the instance you want to connect to and select Port Forwarding (Cloud Assistant)... in the Action column.

4. Enter the server port number (the access port for the instance's internal services) and the local port number (the port that starts listening on the local machine) in sequence, and select whether to print the request/response content and whether to start port forwarding to open the web page corresponding to the local port.

5.   Click Start .

  Managing ECS ​​instances

  Managing instance states

You can change the status of an ECS instance on the Alibaba Cloud client according to actual needs, including starting, stopping, restarting, and releasing instance operations.

  Reset instance password

1. On the Alibaba Cloud client homepage , click ECS .

2.   Select the region where the instance is located above the instance list.

3. Find the instance to be operated, select Instance System Management in the Operation column and then Reset the instance password .

4. In the Reset Instance Password dialog box, enter and confirm the new password, select Enable or Keep the original password login method, and then click Reset Instance Password .

   •   The new password is transmitted in encrypted form and takes effect immediately without restarting the instance.

   • When the background task progress of your password reset is completed , your ECS instance password is reset successfully, and you can use your new password to manage the ECS instance.

  Add release protection to the instance

1. On the Alibaba Cloud client homepage , click ECS .

2.   Select the region where the instance is located above the instance list.

3. Find the instance to be operated on, and select Change instance status in the Operation column to add instance protection .

  View basic instance information and monitoring and security group information

  Uploading and downloading files (SFTP)

You can view and manage files or file directories on the target instance in the Alibaba Cloud client, such as creating new directories, uploading or downloading files, etc.

  The steps are as follows:

1. On the Alibaba Cloud client homepage , click ECS .

2.   Select the region where the instance is located above the instance list.

3. Find the instance to be connected and select File Management (SFTP)... in the Action column.

4. Enter the login username (default root, configurable default value), port (default 22, configurable default value), and select the authentication method .

     You can choose from the following authentication methods:

   • Password : You need to enter the password of the ECS instance.

       illustrate

     You can choose to set up SSH on the client and save the set password to a local file or KMS service so that you can directly choose to use it next time. For specific operations, see System Settings .

   • Key file : Use the SSH private key file to log in. You can obtain the SSH key file required for login in the following two ways:

     • Method 1: Create an SSH key pair (.pem file) in the ECS console, bind it to the ECS instance, and then use the SSH key to log in. For information about how to create an SSH key pair and bind it to the ECS instance, see Create a Key Pair .

     • Method 2: Do not use the ECS console. Use ssh-keygen to generate an SSH key locally and bind it to the ECS instance. Then use the SSH key to log in. For details, see Manually bind a key pair. SSH Password-free login .

         illustrate

       You can select Instance System Management in the client to add SSH Key , bind the SSH key to the ECS instance, and you can log in directly without a password later.

   • Temporary key : Generate a temporary key pair and send it to the instance. The key pair is valid for 1 minute. This method avoids the management of passwords and key files and is more convenient.

   It is recommended that you choose the temporary key method, which allows you to connect to the instance with one click without a password or a public IP address, and the connection permissions can be controlled by RAM.

5.   Click Connect .

   In the file list, you can view and manage files and file directories on the Linux instance according to actual needs. The main functions include:

   • Create a new directory : Create a file directory on the ECS instance.

   • Upload a local directory : upload the local directory to the ECS instance.

   • Upload local files : upload local files to the ECS instance.

   • download OSS File : Download the file in the OSS Bucket to the ECS instance.

   • Download this directory : Download the directory in the ECS instance to your local computer.

   • Create a compressed file : compress the directory in the ECS instance. Supports creation of .tar and .tgz formats.

   • Upload to OSS : Upload files in the ECS instance to the specified OSS Bucket directory.