Overview

If SSH refuses to connect, the cause is usually a network, firewall or service issue rather than a problem with your Pod itself. Work through the checks below in order.

Before you begin

• Your Pod's IP address and the SSH username and port.
• Access to the ALYPOD Console so you can use the VNC console as a fallback.

Steps

1. Confirm the Pod is running. Open the ALYPOD Console and check the Pod's status and power state.
2. Test basic reachability from your own machine:

bash ping -c 4 <pod-ip> nc -vz <pod-ip> 22

If ping fails but the Pod is running, ICMP may simply be blocked — try the port test instead.

1. Check the port. If you changed the SSH port, connect with -p:

bash ssh -p 2222 user@<pod-ip>

1. Look at the exact error.
   • Connection refused: the SSH service is not listening — see step 5.
   • Connection timed out: a firewall, network or IP problem.
   • Permission denied: the service is reachable but credentials or keys are wrong.
2. Use the VNC console in the ALYPOD Console to log in locally and check the service:

bash systemctl status ssh ss -tulpn | grep ssh

Restart it if needed:

bash sudo systemctl restart ssh

1. Review the firewall. If you enabled UFW, firewalld or a cloud firewall, ensure the SSH port is allowed:

bash sudo ufw status sudo firewall-cmd --list-all

1. Check Fail2ban. You may have been temporarily banned for failed attempts:

bash sudo fail2ban-client status sshd sudo fail2ban-client set sshd unbanip <your-ip>

1. Verify your key. Use ssh -v user@<pod-ip> to see which key is offered and confirm the public key is in ~/.ssh/authorized_keys with 600 permissions.

Troubleshooting

• Problem: You changed the port or disabled root login and locked yourself out. Solution: Use the VNC console to correct /etc/ssh/sshd_config, then restart SSH.
• Problem: Nothing works and the VNC console is also unreachable. Solution: Reboot the Pod from the ALYPOD Console, then contact support with your Pod ID and the exact error.

Related articles

• [Hardening SSH]
• [My server is unreachable (network troubleshooting)]
• [Auditing logins and access]