The console gives you the server's screen and keyboard independently of the network and the operating system. It is what you use when the usual routes no longer work — the server does not boot, the network is misconfigured, or a firewall rule has locked you out of SSH or RDP.
Access details for the server are sent to your main email address when the server is set up. Keep them: the moment you need the console is rarely the moment you want to be searching for credentials.
Virtual servers
The console is in your client area. Open the service and use the noVNC function on the server management page — it runs in the browser, with nothing to install.
It works even when the network on the server is broken, which is precisely why it is there. See Managing your CloudVM virtual server in the client area.
Dedicated servers
Dedicated servers have IPMI, whose console function is also called IP-KVM. It is opened from your client area as well, and gives you access at hardware level: the boot process, the BIOS/UEFI, and the operating system as it starts.
See What is IPMI (IP-KVM) and how do I connect to it? for how access is provided, and Working with the IPMI interface for what you can do once you are in.
When the console is the right tool
- the server does not respond to SSH or RDP, but is running;
- a network or firewall change has cut off your own access;
- the server does not boot, and you need to see why;
- you need the BIOS/UEFI or the boot menu;
- you are installing an operating system from your own image — see Can I use my own ISO image to install an operating system?
For ordinary work, SSH or RDP are quicker and more comfortable: the console transmits a screen image, so it is slower and does not support copy and paste in the usual way.
Worth knowing before you need it
Find the console once while everything is working. People typically look for it for the first time when the server is already unreachable, under time pressure, and that is a poor moment to discover that the access details are in an email nobody can find.
A fast, stable internet connection helps — the console sends the screen as an image, and a poor connection makes it awkward to use.
If you cannot open the console, or it does not behave as expected, open a ticket with our Technical Support department from your client area.
