Recovery Console
The recovery console is a special console that allows you to access your computer even if you don't have network access or you can't access your SSH key. It comes in very handy when debugging issues with your computer.
Behind the scenes
Recovery console uses VNC protocol under the hood. And is powered by Guacamole!
Requirements
- You need to have a user with a password configured on your machine.
How to access the recovery console
Locate the computer you want to access, then navigate to the Console tab under your computer page.
How to use the recovery console
Here's a quick guide to help you explore the recovery console and its features:
Connect to a recovery console
Connect to any computer you have using the recovery console. A window like this one will appear:
Typing inside the console
You may notice a warning above your console to the left " Console keyboard is off, click on console to enable it"
This is normal, it simply means that the keyboard is not enabled yet. In order to start typing inside your console, you need to click on the console frame.
Full screen and detached window
- You can toggle full screen mode by clicking on the icon on the top right corner of the console.
- You can also detach the console to another window by clicking on the icon on the top right corner of the console.
Clipboard
Recovery console doesn't support Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V to copy and paste text between your local machine and the recovery console. However, you can use the clipboard
In recovery console, the only option available is "Write to Console". To use it, simply write or paste text to the text area and click on the "Write to Console" button. Your text will be automatically typed to the console.
Known issues
Recovery console can be very helpful and accessible, but it suffers from some issues:
- Some keys may not work as expected in the recovery console if you use a non-US (QWERTY) keyboard.
- The clipboard tool suffers from the same issue as above even with a US keyboard. For instance underscores "_" will be typed as a dash "-".
To avoid these issues, only use Recovery Console when absolutely necessary.