EC2 Instance Connection Issues
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This blog post was written with the assistance of ChatGPT-4o.
Recently, I encountered a problem while trying to connect to an EC2 instance using EC2 Instance Connect. The error message was:
Failed to connect to your instance EC2 Instance Connect is unable to connect to your instance. Ensure your instance network settings are configured correctly for EC2 Instance Connect. For more information, see EC2 Instance Connect Prerequisites at https://docs.aws.amazon.com/AWSEC2/latest/UserGuide/ec2-instance-connect-prerequisites.html.
Troubleshooting Steps
Check System Logs
To troubleshoot this issue, you can check the system logs by navigating to Actions -> Troubleshooting in the AWS Management Console. Often, connectivity issues can be attributed to insufficient memory or disk space.
Using journalctl to View Logs
If you’re using Amazon Linux 2023, you can use the journalctl command to view the logs. Here’s an example of what I found in the logs:
Jun 06 16:55:23 ip-172-31-xx-xxx.ec2.internal kernel: Out of memory: Killed process 142748 (python3) total-vm:1362008kB, anon-rss:660424kB, file-rss:0kB, shmem-rss:0kB, UID:1000 pgtables:1460kB oom_score_adj:0
Resolving the Issue
In my case, the issue was due to the instance running out of memory. The solution was to upgrade the instance type from t2.micro to t2.small. After the upgrade, the problem was resolved, and I was able to log in and publish content successfully.
Summary
When facing connection issues with an EC2 instance, always:
- Check the instance’s system logs for any signs of resource exhaustion.
- Consider upgrading the instance type if you’re running out of memory or disk space.
This approach helped me resolve the issue efficiently. Thanks for reading, and I hope this helps you troubleshoot similar problems in the future!