In short: Use the browser console for a VPS or IPMI console for a dedicated server when SSH is unreachable. Diagnose the cause before changing authentication or firewall rules, and keep the working console session open until SSH is proven.
Confirm the scope
- Check Network Status and test from another network.
- Confirm the correct IP address and SSH port.
- Distinguish timeout, connection refused and authentication failure.
- Check whether only one source address is blocked.
Open out-of-band console access
Use the console link supplied with the VPS service, or the dedicated server's IPMI access. Sign in locally and check that the operating system has completed booting.
Check the service and network
- Confirm the SSH service is running and listening on the expected address and port.
- Review firewall rules before altering them.
- Check address, prefix, gateway and routing configuration.
- Review authentication and security logs for the failed attempts.
- Check storage is not full and the filesystem is writable.
Recover access safely
Correct the identified configuration, create or repair a named administrator and SSH key, then test a new SSH session before closing the console. Keep a rollback route for changes to SSH configuration.
If the server will not boot
Capture the console message and avoid repeated hard resets. Open a support ticket with the server identifier, time, last known change and visible error.
