echo6-docs/vault/runbooks/edge2-access-reference.md

edge2 Access Reference

SSH Access

edge2 is hardened differently from home-cluster Proxmox nodes.

Property	edge2	Home Proxmox (data, utility, etc.)
SSH user	admin (not root)	root or zvx
Auth method	Key-only	Key or password
PasswordAuthentication	no (hardened)	varies
Root login	Disabled	Allowed
Sudo	Passwordless for admin	N/A (already root)
SSH alias	ssh edge2	ssh zvx@<ip>

SSH config entry

Host edge2
    HostName 100.64.0.26
    User admin

Authorized keys

Located at /home/admin/.ssh/authorized_keys on edge2:

Key name	Source	Purpose
echo6-contabo2-184.174.35.153	cortex ~/.ssh/contabo2_ed25519	Original provisioning key
cortex (id_ed25519)	cortex default key	Normal automation
matt-desktop-wsl2	WSL2 default key	WSL/Claude sessions
cookie-sync	Windows SSH key	Native Windows terminal

Known gotcha: cloud-init conflict

/etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/50-cloud-init.conf has PasswordAuthentication yes, which contradicts the hardened no in the main config. The main config wins (loaded first), but this inconsistency should be cleaned up:

ssh edge2
sudo rm /etc/ssh/sshd_config.d/50-cloud-init.conf
sudo systemctl reload sshd

PVE API Access

The PVE web UI and REST API use a separate auth system (root@pam) with its own password (see credentials file: EDGE2_ROOT_PASSWORD).

• Web UI: https://100.64.0.26:8006 (or https://184.174.35.153:8006)
• API base: https://100.64.0.26:8006/api2/json/
• Auth: POST /access/ticket with username=root@pam&password=<EDGE2_ROOT_PASSWORD>

The PVE API is useful when SSH is unavailable (e.g., before keys are authorized). It can create/start/stop CTs, read node status, and manage storage. It cannot directly execute arbitrary commands on the host — for that, use SSH or the PVE web shell.

Container management via SSH

# List CTs
ssh edge2 'sudo pct list'

# Exec into a CT
ssh edge2 'sudo pct exec <CTID> -- bash'

# Push files into a CT
scp file.txt edge2:/tmp/
ssh edge2 'sudo pct push <CTID> /tmp/file.txt /tmp/file.txt'

# Start/stop CTs
ssh edge2 'sudo pct start <CTID>'
ssh edge2 'sudo pct stop <CTID>'

Lessons Learned (2026-06-16 deployment)

Problem: SSH "Permission denied" to edge2

Symptoms: ssh root@100.64.0.26 → Permission denied (publickey,password)

Root cause: edge2 was hardened at provisioning:

• SSH user is admin, not root — root login is disabled
• PasswordAuthentication no — only key auth works
• Only one key was authorized: echo6-contabo2-184.174.35.153, which is cortex's ~/.ssh/contabo2_ed25519 (not the default id_ed25519)

Why it was confusing:

1. The SSH error shows publickey,password as available methods — this is misleading because PasswordAuthentication no is enforced, but the SSH banner still lists both
2. We tried root@ (wrong user) and the default id_ed25519 (wrong key)
3. The environment docs didn't document the admin user or the specific key requirement

Resolution: Added cortex's default id_ed25519, WSL2 key, and Windows key to admin's authorized_keys. Added SSH config alias edge2 → admin@100.64.0.26.

Prevention:

• Always document the SSH user + required key for hardened hosts in environment.md
• Add SSH config aliases immediately when onboarding new hosts
• For Contabo VPS instances: check cloud-init config for hardening applied at provisioning

Problem: PVE API vs system passwords

Symptoms: PVE API login works with EDGE2_ROOT_PASSWORD, but SSH with same password fails.

Root cause: PVE root@pam password and the system root SSH password are managed separately. On edge2, the system root password was set by cloud-init at provisioning and may differ. Additionally, root SSH login is disabled entirely.

Prevention: Document both auth paths (SSH user + PVE API) separately in credentials and environment docs.