Compute – SSH Keys¶

SSH keys are used to securely access Verda compute instances. With Terraform, you can manage SSH keys declaratively and attach them to instances as part of your infrastructure-as-code workflow.

Managing SSH keys in Terraform ensures access is reproducible, auditable, and version controlled.

What this page covers¶

• Creating and managing SSH keys with Terraform
• Attaching SSH keys to compute instances
• Using existing SSH keys
• Rotating and removing keys safely

Basic example¶

resource "verda_ssh_key" "main" {
  name        = "admin-key"
  public_key = file("~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub")
}

Once created, the SSH key can be attached to one or more compute instances.

Required fields¶

The following arguments are required when creating an SSH key:

• name (String)\ A human-readable name for the SSH key.
• public_key (String)\ The SSH public key material (for example, the contents of id_rsa.pub).

Attaching SSH keys to instances¶

To allow SSH access to an instance, reference one or more SSH key IDs in the instance configuration:

resource "verda_instance" "example" {
  description   = "GPU instance for training"
  hostname      = "training-01"
  image         = "ubuntu-22.04"
  instance_type = "1B200.30V"

  ssh_key_ids = [
    verda_ssh_key.main.id
  ]
}

You can attach multiple SSH keys if multiple users or automation systems require access.

Using existing SSH keys¶

If an SSH key already exists in Verda, you can reference it by ID without recreating it:

resource "verda_instance" "example" {
  # ...

  ssh_key_ids = [
    "existing-ssh-key-id"
  ]
}

This is useful when gradually adopting Terraform for existing infrastructure.

SSH key generation¶

If you do not already have an SSH key pair, you can generate one locally:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "[email protected]"

Then reference the generated public key file in Terraform:

public_key = file("~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub")

Key rotation and removal¶

To rotate an SSH key:

1. Create a new verda_ssh_key resource
2. Attach it to your instances
3. Apply the Terraform changes
4. Remove the old key from configuration
5. Apply again

This avoids accidental lockout during key rotation.

Importing existing SSH keys¶

You can import an existing SSH key into Terraform state:

terraform import verda_ssh_key.main <ssh-key-id>

After importing, run:

terraform plan

Update your configuration until Terraform reports no changes.

Best practices¶

• Use one SSH key per user or automation system
• Avoid sharing private keys between users
• Rotate keys periodically
• Manage SSH keys through Terraform for consistent access control

Troubleshooting¶

• SSH access denied\ Ensure the correct SSH key is attached to the instance and that you are using the matching private key.
• Key not applied to instance\ Confirm the instance was updated after adding the SSH key and that ssh_key_ids is set correctly.
• Lost access after changes\ Always add new keys before removing old ones when rotating credentials.