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Passwords & reset ​

Keys are the front door to your servers, but passwords still matter in three places: logging in with a password instead of a key, resetting the root password on a server when you are locked out, and resetting the password for your own GalaxyGate account. This page covers all three.

Password login vs. keys ​

You can log into a server with a password. When a server is created from an official template, a root password is set on it, so ssh root@your-server-ip and typing that password does work.

It is not the way we recommend. An SSH key is far safer than a password, for a few concrete reasons:

  • A password can be guessed or brute forced. Servers on the public internet get thousands of automated login attempts a day, and a weak password eventually falls.
  • A password travels every time you log in. A key proves who you are without ever sending the secret half over the wire.
  • A password is one shared string. A key is unique to your machine, so you can add or remove trust for one computer without changing anything else.

Use a key, keep the password as a backup

Set up a key first and log in with that day to day. Keep the root password for the one situation a key cannot help you with: getting in through the console when SSH itself is broken.

If you have not made a key yet, do that before anything else.

Generate an SSH key

Reset the root password on a server ​

If you have lost the root password, or you are logged out of a server and need a known password to get back in through the console, you can set a new one. Open the instance, click Advanced in the top right, and choose Reset Password.

dash.galaxygate.net / Instances / web-01
web-01
Instances › Overview
Open this
Advanced
Manage ISO
Update Settings
Update cloud-init
Reset Password
Sync SSH Keys
Reinstall

Reset Password sets a new root password on that server. It does not touch the disk or your data, so it is safe to use.

Pair it with the console

Resetting the password is most useful when you cannot reach the server over SSH at all. In that case, set a new password here, then open the Terminal tab (the VNC console) and log in with it directly on the machine's own screen.

Open the VNC console

Reset your account password ​

The two resets above are about servers. If you have forgotten the password to your GalaxyGate account itself, you handle that from the sign-in screen, not from inside the panel.

Go to the sign-in page and select the Reset Password link below the login form. You will get an email with a link to set a new account password. Once you are signed back in, your servers, keys, and workspace are exactly as you left them.