Description

Hands-on Challenge Day - Troubleshooting SSH Connection Issues on AWS EC2

Introduction

Understanding EC2 and VPC on AWS

Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) provides scalable computing capacity in the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud, allowing developers to launch virtual servers, manage storage, and scale applications. An essential component of AWS EC2 is the Virtual Private Cloud (VPC), which offers a logically isolated section of the AWS cloud where resources can be launched in a defined virtual network.

The Challenge of SSH Connections

Secure Shell (SSH) is a protocol used to securely log onto remote systems. It's a common practice to use SSH to connect to EC2 instances. However, various issues can prevent successful connections, such as misconfigured security groups, incorrect SSH keys, or network ACL settings.

Challenge Scenario

"DevOps Dynamos" is a software development team working on a cutting-edge project. They've deployed their application on an AWS EC2 instance within a VPC. Recently, team members are experiencing difficulties connecting to the EC2 instance via SSH to update the application, hindering their development process.

Problem Statement: The DevOps Dynamos team cannot establish SSH connections to their EC2 instance, impacting their productivity and project timeline.

Your Mission: Identify and troubleshoot common issues preventing SSH connections to an AWS EC2 instance. Ensure the team can connect securely to their instance to maintain their application.

Challenge: Troubleshooting Failed SSH Connections to an AWS EC2 Instance

Requirements:

1. AWS Account: Access to an Amazon Web Services account.

Steps:

1. Verify SSH Key Pair:
   • Ensure you have the correct private key file corresponding to the key pair associated with the EC2 instance.
2. Check Security Group Rules:
   • Inspect the instance's security group rules to ensure there is an inbound rule allowing SSH traffic (port 22) from your IP address.
3. Inspect Network ACLs:
   • Review the VPC's network ACLs to confirm they allow inbound and outbound SSH traffic.
4. Ensure Correct Public IP:
   • Confirm you are using the correct public IP address or DNS name of the EC2 instance for the SSH connection.
5. Troubleshoot with AWS EC2 Instance Connect (Optional):
   • If available, use AWS EC2 Instance Connect to establish an SSH connection without needing to manage SSH keys manually.