Constellation Network
IntroductionFundamentalsFor DevelopersNode Validators
  • Index
  • Validator Node Guides
    • πŸ’°Delegated Staking
      • What is delegated staking?​
      • For Node Operators
      • Understanding Delegated Staking
      • Prerequisites
      • Create Delegated Staking Configuration
      • First Time Configuration
      • Modify Existing Configuration
      • Add/Update Delegating Staking Parameters
      • Update Delegated Staking
      • Duplicate Update
      • Status Command
    • 🚧Build Your Node
      • Create Discord Account
      • πŸ—’οΈNode Operator Notes
      • βš™οΈNode Specifications
      • 🚧Generic Build a VPS Guide
      • ☁️Cloud Provider Specific
        • 🚧Build AWS EC2 Instance
        • 🚧Build DigitalOcean Droplet
        • 🚧Build Hetzner Server
      • πŸš‰First Time Connection Guide
      • πŸ’½The nodectl utility
      • Download nodectl
      • πŸ—οΈTurn your VPS into a Node
        • 🚩Node Prerequisites
        • πŸ‡Quick Install Guide
        • 🎨Normal Install Guide
        • πŸ› οΈManual Installation
      • πŸ†Authorize to Join Hypergraph or metagaph
    • πŸ’°Collateralize Your Node
    • 1️⃣First Time Cluster Connection
    • πŸ’«Enable Auto Restart
    • πŸ“‚Operational Guides
      • ♻️Restart Validator Node Guide
      • 🐎Upgrade Tessellation Quick Start
      • 🏭Upgrade Tessellation Guide
      • πŸ—οΈReinstallation Guide
      • ♻️Backup/Restore a P12 KeyStore
      • πŸš‹Migrate V1 to V2 - P12 Keystore
      • πŸ›«Upgrade nodectl Version
      • 🚨Alerting & Reporting Setup Guide
    • πŸ› οΈTroubleshooting Guides
      • πŸ—οΈTroubleshoot SSH Connection
      • πŸ’½Troubleshoot nodectl upgrade
      • ⛰️Troubleshoot EdgePointDown Message
      • 🚨Troubleshoot Node Alerting
  • πŸ‘‘MainNet
    • MainNet & IntegrationNet Quick Start Guide
    • 🚧Upgrade Tessellation to v3
    • 🦌Migrate an IntegrationNet Node to MainNet
  • πŸ₯…IntegrationNet
    • πŸ§ͺIntegrationNet Quick Start Guide
  • Metagraphs
    • πŸšͺDor metagraph
      • πŸšͺDor Validator Onboard Guide
      • πŸšͺUnderstanding Rewards
      • πŸšͺTechnical Procedures
        • πŸšͺBuild Dor Validator Node
  • πŸ“šReferences
    • πŸ“šnodectl Command Reference
    • Firewall Settings Table
    • πŸ”SSH Remote Access
      • πŸ”‘Create SSH Keys
      • πŸ“Upload SSH Public Key
      • πŸ”Securing SSH Access
      • ♻️How to SSH into VPS
    • 🍴Node Fork Types
    • πŸ—οΈP12 Keystore
    • 🏐Tarball
    • πŸ’»Virtual Private Server
  • GitHub nodectl utility
  • Lattice Dashboard
Powered by GitBook

Main

  • Website
  • Get DAG
  • Explore Projects
  • Partners

Socials

  • Telegram
  • Discord
  • X (Twitter)

Tools

  • Wallet
  • DAG Explorer
  • Coingecko

Β© 2025 CONSTELLATION NETWORK

On this page
  • Introduction
  • Common Steps
  • Local IP address
  • Symptoms:
  • πŸ”§ How to Fix It
  • πŸ” SSH Key Issues
  • πŸ“ Local Key Issues
  • πŸ“‘ Remote Key Issues (Accessing via Console)
  • πŸ“‘ Cloud Provider Outage
  • πŸ–₯️ VPS-Specific Issue
  • 🌍 Local Internet Outage

Was this helpful?

Export as PDF
  1. Validator Node Guides
  2. Troubleshooting Guides

Troubleshoot SSH Connection

PreviousTroubleshooting GuidesNextTroubleshoot nodectl upgrade

Last updated 19 days ago

Was this helpful?

Introduction

This guide is designed to help you troubleshoot and restore SSH access to your Validator node when it was previously working but is now unreachable.

Common Steps

βœ… Verify the username for the VPS you're connecting to

  • e.g.) nodeadmin

βœ… Check your SSH key pair file names

  • Private key must match the server's authorized key.

βœ… Confirm correct permissions

  • private key should be read-only: chmod 400

βœ… Ensure the public key exists on the server in the correct location

βœ… Confirm the private key file exists locally

  • Is it correctly referenced by your SSH command.


Local IP address

Many ISPs assign dynamic IP addresses to customer routers.

A change in your IP may cause your cloud provider’s firewall to block your SSH attempts.

Your SSH terminal or remote connection application sits idle and eventually shows Connection timed out messages.

Terminal or remote terminal application will how a blank screen only

No password or key prompts appear

Not entering the SSH connection string and attempting to run commands locally instead of through your SSH tunnel.

πŸ’‘ Example:

ssh -i ~/.ssh/my_identity_file nodeadmin@13.13.13.13
ssh: connect to host 13.13.13.13 port 22: Operation timed out

πŸ”§ How to Fix It

1

Determine your new IP address

Open your web browser and navigate to:

2

Record New IP Address

Copy your current public IPv4 address

3

Cloud Provider Console

Go to your cloud provider's web console.

4

Update Firewall Rules

Update your firewall or security group rules to allow SSH access from your new IP

  • AWS: Update the Security Group

  • DigitalOcean: Update Firewall settings

  • Hetzner: Follow DigitalOcean-style firewall update workflow

Try connecting again after updating the rules.


πŸ” SSH Key Issues

πŸ“ Local Key Issues

Ensure the private key file:

  • Still exists in the expected location

  • Has not been renamed or moved

  • Is intact and not corrupted

  • Has the proper permissions

πŸ“Œ Tip:

If in doubt, restore your key from a known-good backup.

Important: Once resolved, create a backup of your SSH keys if you haven’t already.


πŸ“‘ Remote Key Issues (Accessing via Console)

If you can still access your VPS through your cloud provider's web console:

1

Log into the Web Terminal

2

Navigate to the .ssh Directory

cd ~/.ssh
ls -l
3

Verify Public Key

Check for the authorized public key file

authorized_keys or .pub file.

If the key is missing or incorrect:

Check alternate directories:

ls -l /root/.ssh/
ls -l /home/ubuntu/.ssh/
ls -l /home/admin/.ssh/
4

Identify _backup

If you find your key with a _backup attached to the name of the file, issue the following command and check again:

Enable root SSH temporarily:

sudo nodectl enable_root_ssh
5

Copy SSH Key Back Over

Copy the key into your nodeadmin’s .ssh directory :

sudo cp /root/.ssh/mypublickey.pub /home/nodeadmin/.ssh/mypublickey.pub

Change ownership

sudo chown nodeadmin:nodeadmin /home/nodeadmin/.ssh/mypublickey.pub
6

Disable Root Access Again

sudo nodectl disable_root_ssh

Re-Attempt to create an SSH connection to your node.


πŸ“‘ Cloud Provider Outage

  • Visit your cloud provider’s main dashboard

  • Look for service alerts

  • If the console is also unreachable, check external outage reports

    • Google

    • Twitter


πŸ–₯️ VPS-Specific Issue

  • From the cloud console, check the status of your VPS instance

  • Ensure it’s running and not reporting hardware or OS-level errors


🌍 Local Internet Outage

  • If you cannot connect to any external site or service, confirm your own network is online

  • Restart your router/modem if necessary and try again later

Symptoms:

Refer to the .

πŸ› οΈ
πŸ—οΈ
🩹
🏠
♻️How to SSH into VPS
www.whatismyip.com
Cloud Provider Specific Guides
Downdetector