How to Connect to a pdfRest Self-Hosted EC2 from Windows

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Connect to a pdfRest EC2 Instance from Windows

pdfRest API Toolkit on AWS runs inside infrastructure that your organization controls. When you deploy the pdfRest API Toolkit EC2 product through its Amazon Machine Image or CloudFormation fulfillment option, you may need an SSH connection to the underlying Linux-based EC2 instance for configuration, maintenance, or troubleshooting.

Windows users can connect with the built-in OpenSSH client or with PuTTY. OpenSSH can use an AWS .pem private key directly. PuTTY uses a .ppk key, which you can select when creating the AWS key pair or generate from an existing .pem file with PuTTYgen.

If your team prefers a container-native deployment, pdfRest also offers a separate API Toolkit Container Image on AWS Marketplace. The Container can be deployed through services such as Amazon ECS, EKS, or Fargate and does not follow the same single-instance SSH setup described in this tutorial.

Gather the EC2 Connection Details

Before connecting, confirm that the EC2 instance is running and has passed its AWS status checks. You will also need:

The instance's public DNS name or an address reachable from your network
The Linux username shown by AWS for the selected AMI
The private key associated with the instance
A security-group rule that permits inbound SSH traffic on port 22 from your IP address

If the instance is private, your organization may require a VPN, bastion host, EC2 Instance Connect Endpoint, or AWS Systems Manager Session Manager instead of a direct public SSH connection.

Option 1: Connect with OpenSSH on Windows

Current Windows versions commonly include the OpenSSH client. Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run ssh to confirm that it is available. Then connect with the private key, instance username, and DNS name supplied by AWS:

ssh -i "C:\path\to\your-key.pem" <instance-user>@<instance-public-dns-name>

Windows must protect the private key from access by other users. If SSH reports that the key permissions are too open, follow the AWS instructions for limiting permissions on the .pem file before retrying the connection.

Option 2: Connect with PuTTY

PuTTY remains useful for teams that prefer a graphical SSH client. If your AWS key pair was downloaded as a .pem file, open PuTTYgen, import the .pem file, and save it as a .ppk private key. You can skip the conversion if you selected the .ppk format when creating the key pair in AWS.

In PuTTY, enter the EC2 username and public DNS name as the host, keep the SSH port set to 22, and select the .ppk file under the SSH authentication settings. Save the session if you expect to reconnect to the same deployment.

Troubleshoot an EC2 SSH Connection

If the connection times out, verify the instance state, route to the instance, public or private address, and security-group source IP. If authentication fails, confirm that you are using the key pair and Linux username associated with the deployed instance. AWS also provides browser-based connection options that may be appropriate when an organization does not permit direct SSH access.

Store private keys securely and never place them in source control. For deployment-specific configuration, use the current pdfRest API Toolkit on AWS documentation. For the connection methods and security prerequisites maintained by AWS, see Connect to your Linux instance using SSH.

If you need help at any point, the pdfRest Support team is available to assist with deployment or configuration questions.