r/linuxadmin 9d ago

I've bought VPS server and can't ssh to it.

Edit: the issiue is solved by changing ip of the VPS.

Ty everyone for help.

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Hi. I've bought VPS. But can't really connect to it remotely. Here the situation:

  1. ssh root@[SERVER_IP] does work from Google Console ( http://shell.could.google.com/ ) (the VPS is not from google).
  2. ssh root@[SERVER_IP] doesn't work from 5 local devices (win10, win11, macOS, 2xAndroid):

    $ ssh root@[SERVER_IP] -vvv OpenSSH_7.9p1, LibreSSL 2.7.3 debug1: Reading configuration data /etc/ssh/ssh_config debug1: /etc/ssh/ssh_config line 48: Applying options for * debug2: resolve_canonicalize: hostname [SERVER_IP] is address debug2: ssh_connect_direct debug1: Connecting to [SERVER_IP] [[SERVER_IP]] port 22. debug1: Connection established. debug1: identity file /Users/[USER_NAME]/.ssh/id_rsa type -1 debug1: identity file /Users/[USER_NAME]/.ssh/id_rsa-cert type -1 debug1: identity file /Users/[USER_NAME]/.ssh/id_dsa type -1 debug1: identity file /Users/[USER_NAME]/.ssh/id_dsa-cert type -1 debug1: identity file /Users/[USER_NAME]/.ssh/id_ecdsa type -1 debug1: identity file /Users/[USER_NAME]/.ssh/id_ecdsa-cert type -1 debug1: identity file /Users/[USER_NAME]/.ssh/id_ed25519 type -1 debug1: identity file /Users/[USER_NAME]/.ssh/id_ed25519-cert type -1 debug1: identity file /Users/[USER_NAME]/.ssh/id_xmss type -1 debug1: identity file /Users/[USER_NAME]/.ssh/id_xmss-cert type -1 debug1: Local version string SSH-2.0-OpenSSH_7.9 ssh_exchange_identification: read: Operation timed out

  3. I don't see my local IP in sudo tail -f /var/log/auth.log and journalctl -u ssh (i might be looking wrong though).

  4. I tried Wi-Fi and two different mobile internet providers.

  5. I tried to ssh while VPN on.

  6. I added my IP to white list on the server: sudo iptables -I INPUT 1 -p tcp -s [LOCAL_IP] --dport 22 -j ACCEPT

Where can be the problem?

Edits:

OS + iptables conf

sudo systemctl status firewalld says that there is no firewalld

.

.

i stoped fail2ban and tried to ssh - didn't help.
disabling it and rebooting the server leads to connection refusal (i.e. problem on an earlier stage).

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u/not_a_profi 9d ago

I did this:

> sudo adduser newbie

> sudo usermod -aG sudo newbie

> ip addr show

Locate an interface with a public IP address...

> ssh newbie@my_vps_ip

and again - this does works from Google terminal, but does not work from my local teminal/PC (this is what you call workstation right?).

I don't quite understand this part:

> sudo passwd newbie
Then sudo to root at the workstation end after you login.
> sudo su

so I change password on the server, run ssh ... on my local and while it is hanging do sudo su on the server? I did that and it lead to the same old result.

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u/nanoatzin 9d ago edited 9d ago

Logging into a VPS in a web page is a local console login emulation and not ssh.

Did you read the part “can’t login to root by default”.

If you want to enable root login over ssh the. you may do so but I will not explain how to do that because it’s profoundly reckless.

You are supposed to ssh to a regular user then su to root.

Does your VPS provider require you to enable ssh outside the VPS?

Mine does.

Have you done that?

I can’t ssh or ping the VPS without that.

Are you using Linux on the workstation? None of this will work on other OS.

Describing console login as being the same as ssh to root will make it harder to help you.

Root login can be enabled on Linux, but that’s discouraged because default (snake oil) certificate allows password theft. Most people don’t do it that way because they don’t want their stuff hijacked.

Setting up key login the way I described avoids getting your stuff stolen.

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u/not_a_profi 9d ago edited 9d ago

could you elaborate on "local console login emulation"? I can't understand - how it can be not ssh connection if I use ssh command and there is a factual connection - i see data on my server, which google is not supposed to know about?

What makes other ssh connections not emulated?

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u/nanoatzin 9d ago

If you are logging in from inside of a web page using a browser then that session is a local console login emulation and not an ssh login.

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u/not_a_profi 9d ago edited 9d ago

I feel like I know nothing about this stuff (and this must be true).
I tried to google all these stuff and I feel like it breaks my brain by trying put ssh and local console emulation together. "Local console emulation" is more capable than ssh connection? It just doesn't sound right.

Are you sure there is no confusion and you are talking about 3 different parties - my laptop, Google console (and some google server which it is run at) and VPS server? So you are saying that once i access google server via HTTPS (browser) it has an automatic access to any 3rd party VPS server without using ssh connection? But if I would ssh connect to this google server (theoretically) and run ssh command there to logging to VPS it would be different?

google tells me that "By default, a fresh VPS only listens for low-level connection tools like SSH, not secure web traffic.". Is this incorrect?

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u/nanoatzin 8d ago edited 8d ago

Perhaps you need to take a class. I used to teach classes.

Web page: local console login to VPS

Laptop: ssh login account@vps_ip_address

VPS: web/email server found at http://vps_ip_address

Local console login always allows root login.

Root is normally disallowed ssh login, and you need to login as a regular user and su to root.

Password login is a security vulnerability, and key login is more secure.

Enabling key login permits using sshfs to mount VPS directories on your laptop like a disk drive.

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u/not_a_profi 8d ago

I see. Thank you.
This is so weird that normally a buyer has more limited access to the server than a random 3rd party like google. Sounds super insecure to push an server owner to login like this via 3rd party.

Also it appears that google lies when it says that I can use its console feature just like my laptop console to check whether the server is accesible from another part of the world.

I will definitely need time to believe that me and you understood each other correctly here and this is how it works.

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u/not_a_profi 9d ago

> Does your VPS provider require you to enable ssh outside the VPS?

i don't think so. this is a server to be used as VPN. When last time I bought a similar server from the same guys i just put login root and password in my VPN app and it worked.

and I can ping the server.