SSH into CWP Server as Root

This article covers how to SSH into your Control Web Panel (CWP) VPS or Dedicated server, using either PuTTY or a Terminal. Access to CWP Admin will be needed to whitelist the IP address for the connecting device in the server firewall. This will allow an SSH connection to be established.

Related Articles

Logging into Control Web Panel (CWP)
How to Log into AMP (Account Management Panel)
What is Control Web Panel?

Generate/Authorize SSH Keys

1. Log into CWP Admin from your Account Management Panel (AMP)
2. Navigate to the Server Settings section
3. Click on SSH Key Generator
4. Click on Generate New Keys
   1. Once generated, click on Add Public Key to Authorized

Save SSH Key Pair to Local

1. Copy all Public Key text in the Your Authorized Keys box 
   
   1. 1. Open your preferred text editor
         TIP: Popular text editors include Notepad and Notepad++
         
      2. Paste the copied text into a new file on the text editor
         
      3. Save the new Public Key File as "id_rsa.pub", including the quotes
         IMPORTANT: The quotation marks need to be included in the file name so that Notepad or Notepad++ doesn't add .txt to the end of the file.
         NOTE: Keep track of where you save the key file, as it will be needed later.
         
      4. Switch back to the Key info
      5. Copy all the Key Text from the Your Private Key text box
         
      6. Switch to the text editor
      7. Paste the copied text into a new file on the text editor
         
      8. Save the Private Key File as "id_rsa", including the quotes
         IMPORTANT: The quotation marks need to be included in the file name so that Notepad doesn't add .txt to the end of the file.
         

Whitelist in Firewall

IMPORTANT: You must whitelist your IP address in the firewall in order to be authorized to connect with SSH.

1. 1. 1. Back in CWP Admin, navigate to the Security section
      2. Click on CSF Firewall
      3. Obtain your Public IP Address
      4. Paste your Public IP Address into the IP box
         
         
      5. Click on Quick Allow
         Use a terminal application to connect to the CWP server as root user
         TIP: Common terminal applications include PuTTY, Windows Terminal, and Termius.

Connect via PuTTY

IMPORTANT: You must have both PuTTY and PuTTY Key Generator installed.

1. 1. 1. 1. In PuTTY Key Generator (PuTTYgen), select Load
         2. Select the private key file id_rsa noted from earlier
            TIP: If the file isn't visible, update the dropdown from PuTTY Private Key Files (*.ppk) to All Files (*.*).
         3. Click Open
         4. Add a passphrase under Key passphrase: and Confirm passphrase: if desired
         5. Select Save private key to save the key in PuTTY's PPK format
         6. Save the file as id_rsa.ppk
            NOTE: Take note of where this file is saved.
         7. In PuTTY, enter root@VPSID.inmotionhosting.com under the Host Name (or IP address)
            REPLACE: VPSID with the VPS ID.
            EXAMPLE: For the VPS vps12345, use root@vps12345.inmotionhosting.com.
         8. Ensure SSH is selected as the Connection type
         9. Navigate to Connection>SSH>Auth
         10. Under Private key file for authentication, select Browse...
         11. Choose the PPK file created earlier
         12. Select Open to connect