Windows doesn't have SSH built in like Linux or OSX. In order to SSH to an EC2 instance under Windows there are a few more steps involved.
There are two programs required to do SSH in Windows, puTTYgen and puTTY. These can both be obtained from the puTTY download page.
Since putty requires a .ppk
file rather than .pem
file (they're essentially the same just a different extension to store the .pem
data) for private key authentication. Fire up puTTYgen.exe
and load the .pem file you just. Select file > load private key
. Change the file type filter to all files (.), select your .pem
file and will bring up a dialog that you have successfully imported a foreign key. Select file > save private key
.
We know have our private key in the right format (.ppk
). Close puTTYgen and and open puTTY.
Under sessions enter your public DNS of your instance you just created, prefix the address with ubuntu@ so it will automatically use that as your username to login. Make sure port is 22 and SSH is selected in connection type.
In the same window go to Connection > SSH > Auth
. Click browse for Private key file for authentication file input and select your newly generated .ppk
file.
To avoid repeating these steps you can save your session details for easier connecting. Jump back to Sessions
and enter a name under Saved Sessions
and click Save
. Now all you do is double click you saved session to connect.
Head back to the install instructions to continue your setup.