Error in console access

Hi,

Could you please check if your Red Hat, SUSE, or Debian instances have EC2 Instance Connect installed?

According to the AWS documentation, it is one of the prerequisites for using it but is pre-installed in only some AMIs (including Amazon Linux or Ubuntu):

• AL2023 standard AMI
• Amazon Linux 2 2.0.20190618 or later
• macOS Sonoma 14.2.1 or later
• macOS Ventura 13.6.3 or later
• macOS Monterey 12.7.2 or later
• Ubuntu 20.04 or later

The issue you're experiencing with EC2 Instance Connect for Red Hat, SUSE, or Debian machines is not uncommon and can occur due to several reasons. Here are some potential causes and solutions:

1. EC2 Instance Connect Prerequisites: Ensure that all prerequisites for EC2 Instance Connect are met. This includes having the correct security group settings, network configuration, and instance metadata options.

2. Security Group Configuration: Verify that your security group allows inbound traffic on port 22 (SSH) from the EC2 Instance Connect IP range for your specific region. You may need to add these IP ranges to your security group rules.

3. Instance Metadata: Check if the instance metadata service is enabled and accessible. Some Linux distributions may have different default settings for this.

4. SSH Configuration: The sshd_config file on these distributions might need adjustments to allow EC2 Instance Connect.

5. EC2 Instance Connect Agent: Ensure the EC2 Instance Connect agent is installed and running on these instances. It may not be pre-installed on all Linux distributions.

6. IAM Permissions: Verify that you have the necessary IAM permissions to use EC2 Instance Connect.

7. Network Configuration: Ensure the instance is in a public subnet with internet connectivity, or has the proper routing set up if in a private subnet.

If these steps don't resolve the issue, you might need to:

1. Use alternative connection methods like AWS Systems Manager Session Manager.
2. Temporarily enable password authentication and connect using a different method to troubleshoot.
3. If possible, stop the instance, detach the root volume, attach it to a working instance, and check/modify the SSH configuration.

For immediate access, consider launching new instances with Amazon Linux or Ubuntu as you mentioned they work, then migrate your data and applications. In the long term, work on resolving the connection issues with the problematic distributions.
Sources
Unable to connect to EC2 using EC2 instance connect | AWS re:Post
Failed to connect to your instance | AWS re:Post
How can I regain access to my EC2 Linux instance ? | AWS re:Post
About instance ssh connect issue . | AWS re:Post