SSH
SSH is access to the asic console over the network. It helps you read logs and restart processes, and it turns into an open door once it faces the internet.
What SSH on a miner is
A web interface shows what the maker decided to show. SSH gives you a console where the whole system log is visible, along with the state of the miner process and what happens to the boards at driver level. For picking hangs apart it is the most honest source there is.
On stock Bitmain firmware SSH access is usually closed; on custom builds it is more often open and stated in the description. A separate story is the control boards on Amlogic, where the maker limited access: for those there is a dedicated unlocking guide.
SSH has one danger and it is a big one: default passwords. An asic with a factory password and a port reachable from the internet gets found by scanners in hours, not months. The result is usually the same: a swapped payout address, and the work of the miner goes to somebody else's worker.
The rule is simple. An asic's ports are never exposed to the internet at all, neither SSH nor the web interface. If you need access from far away, you need a VPN into your own network. Monitoring has no use for a console; a key with read rights only is enough for it.
Quick reference table
| What it gives | the asic console over the network |
| Port | 22 |
| On Bitmain stock | usually closed |
| Main risk | the factory password |
| Access from far away | over VPN rather than a forwarded port |
How to handle it
Change the password before the asic sees the network, not after. A factory password is no default setting. It is a key everyone knows.
Do not forward the port outward. Forwarding gets done once for convenience, then it lives for years, and one day somebody finds it.
For monitoring take an API key with read rights instead of a console. The rights are covered on the page about the API key.
Keep logs, not memories. If an asic hangs once a week, the only way to understand why is the log from that moment.
An example from the bench
An asic drops off once every two days, and by the time anyone checks, the web interface is already unreachable. Over SSH you can see the miner process falling after an error on one chain while the system itself stays alive. The diagnosis changes: the hashboard needs repair, not the network and not the power supply.
Related terms
Where to go next on the site
Software
- Software firmware
- HashCore Toolkit firmware
- Bitmain Stock Firmware firmware
Hardware
- ASIC Miner knowledge base
Questions and answers
Is there SSH on stock firmware
Usually not, or it is closed. On custom builds access is more often open, but that depends on the particular firmware.
Can you log in over SSH from the internet
Technically yes, and you should not. The right way is a VPN into your own network.
What should you do if the password is unknown
On most asics a reset to factory settings with the reset button helps. On boards with Amlogic access can be limited by the maker, and there a separate procedure is needed.
How the terms connect
Every link in the chain is clickable. Orange marks where you are now.
Looking for an ASIC miner
The catalog holds 212 models. You can compare them by hashrate and by joules per terahash, then plug your own rate into the calculator and see what stays in your pocket.
Page written and checked by Denys Klimchuk. Updated .