Use the troubleshooting and diagnostic tool in the Console to identify and resolve issues with an instance. The tool observes the instance for some common potential issues and provides suggested troubleshooting steps.

1. Open the navigation menu  and select Compute. Under Compute, select Instances.
2. Click the instance that you’re interested in.
3. Click More Actions, and then click Troubleshoot instance.The Troubleshoot instance panel displays the status of the indicators that are being observed. If an issue is detected, then the panel displays recommended troubleshooting steps that you can follow to resolve the issue.
4. (Optional) To download a PDF of the troubleshooting suggestions, click Download results.

Troubleshooting the SSH Connection

If you’re unable to connect to a compute instance using SSH, review the following troubleshooting error messages and suggestions to resolve the issue.

Ensure the System has Internet Access

Ensure the Environment the SSH command is executing and has Internet Access

• Windows: Open a command prompt window.
• MacOS/Linux: Open a terminal window.
• Ping a well known host like google.com or amazon.com.
• If the ping command is successful, continue to the next option.

SSH Fails with Error: “Authentication Refused: Bad Ownership Or Modes For Directory “

This error occurs because incorrect permissions are set on the /home/<USERNAME> directory or the .ssh/authorized_keys file.

Set correct Permissions

If you have incorrect permissions set on the /home/<USERNAME> directory or the .ssh/authorized_keys file, connecting to a Linux instance using SSH can fail.

For example:

login as: <username>
Server refused our key

If you review the /var/log/secure log files on the Linux instance, you see the reason for the error:

<SERVER> sshd[6245]: Authentication refused: bad ownership or modes for directory /home/<USERNAME>

To correct the error, set the permissions on the home directory or .ssh/authorized_keys file, use the chmod command:

# chmod 700 /home/<username>
# chmod 700 /home/<username>/.ssh/
# chmod 600 /home/username/.ssh/authorized_keys

Reference: Troubleshooting Compute

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