How do I Connect to My Contabo Server?

What do I need to connect to my sever?

Before starting, find the username and IP address for your server. The easiest way how to do that is to access the Customer Control Panel, then either the  VDS control, VPS control or Server control section – depending on what type of server you’ve ordered. You should find the IP address in the "Server" column and the username in the "Default User" column.


You will use this username when connecting from your local computer to your new server. Remember that this default user may have restricted rights to perform some system-related actions, such as setting up a new password, changing ports or other operations. Linux users can easily elevate their rights by typing the “sudo” command at the beginning of each session.


Please make sure not to confuse credentials to the Customer Control Panel with the credentials to your server. 


There are a few ways to connect to your server depending on the operating system used on your local computer and the operating system used on your Contabo server. Below you'll find guides on how to connect to your Contabo sever based on the operating system on your local computer and the operating system of your Contabo server.


Table of Contents


How do I connect to a Windows server using a Windows local computer?

  1. First open the Remote Desktop Connection app
  2. On Windows 7: Navigate to the “Start icon” of the taskbar and search for “Remote Desktop Connection”
    On Windows 8/10: Navigate to the “Windows icon” of the taskbar and search for “Remote Desktop Connection”

    RDC intro screen
  3. When the Remote Desktop Connections opens, click on “Show Options” and then on “Local Resources”. You’ll notice “Local devices and resources” at the bottom of the options. Click on “More” and don’t forget to check your “Drives”. RDC additional settings
  4. You should now be able to connect to the IP address (e.g., “173.xxx.xxx.xxx“). Check the Customer Control Panel or the “Your Login Data!” email for the IP address.
  5. On Windows 11 first check if your Remote Desktop is allowed. To do that, access settings by pressing Windows+i.
  6. Then Click on System button placed on the left bar. Finally, allow the Remote Desktop:

    Windows 11 allowing remote desktop
  7. Once completed, you can start the Remote Desktop app.

How do I connect to a Windows server using a Linux local computer?

  1. To be able to connect from your Linux server to Windows Remote Desktop, you have to install an RDP client first. The command line-based rdesktop is available for most Linux distributions and can therefore either be installed via package manager or via Terminal.
  2. Installation (example if you run Ubuntu on your local computer):
    sudo apt-get install rdesktop
  3. The program itself can then be started via GUI or also via terminal:
    rdesktop <YOUR_IP>
  4. In order to be able to establish a RDP connection, your local Linux system must have an X11 server available. It should be installed by default if you already use a GUI (graphical desktop environment – e.g. “Gnome” or “KDE”).

How do I connect to a Windows server using a MacOS local computer?

  1. Remote Desktop Connection client is required to connect to your server. Please download the latest version from: https://apps.apple.com/de/app/microsoft-remote-desktop/id1295203466
  2. Afterwards, you can start the RDP client and entering the Windows login credentials (at the “Domain:” field, you can either use the server’s IP address or the hostname)

How do I connect to a Linux server using a Linux local computer?

  1. Start the terminal on your Linux and type in the following command to connect as a root via SSH:
    ssh -l<YOUR_USERNAME> -p22 <IP_ADDRESS>
    For example:
    ssh -lroot -p22 12.345.657.89
  2. In case this is your first attempt to connect to the server, you will have to accept its SSH certificate by typing “yes”. 
  3. Enter your servers password. Please note that SSH will not display any letters or symbols when typing the password. You can also copy and paste your password by using the right mouse key (please make sure not to copy your password with blank characters at the end – you can check so by pasting the password into an empty editor file before using it).
  4. Once you've entered the password you the connection should be established and you should see the following screen:

How do I connect to a Linux server using a Windows local computer?

  1. You will need a client to establish a remote connection via SSH to your server. We recommend using PuTTY. You can install PuTTY via the Microsoft Store or downloading it via your browser.
  2. Once installed open PuTTY. You should see a screen like this:

    PuTTY configuration window
  3. Fill in the IP address field with the IP address of your Contabo server.
  4. Fill in the Port field with the port number of your Contabo server. By default this should be 22 unless you have changed it.
  5. Click Open.
  6. If this is your first time connecting to the server you a window will pop up asking you to accept the SSH certificate. Click accept.
  7. PuTTY will now open a Linux terminal directly connected to your server as shown below:
  8. Enter the username for your server. You can find this in the Customer Control Panel, section VPS, VDS or Server control depending on which type of server you have with Contabo that you would like to connect to. Click the enter key after typing in your username.
  9. You will then be prompted for your servers password. Type in your password and click the enter key. Please note that SSH will not display any letters or symbols when typing the password. You can also copy and paste your password by using the right mouse key (please make sure not to copy your password with blank characters at the end – you can check so by pasting the password into an empty editor file before using it).
  10. You should then be successfully connected to you Contabo server via SSH and see the following screen:
     

I'm still having issues connecting to my server, what can I do?

If you're still having issues trying to connect to your server please take a look at the article here. It should provide a number of solutions to help you connect to your server.


Was this article helpful?

That’s Great!

Thank you for your feedback

Sorry! We couldn't be helpful

Thank you for your feedback

Let us know how can we improve this article!

Select atleast one of the reasons
CAPTCHA verification is required.

Feedback sent

We appreciate your effort and will try to fix the article

Modified on 20 Mar 2024

Can’t find what you’re looking for?

Get in Touch

Do you have a pre-sales question?