Setting Up SSH Access in Pop!_OS (Proxmox VM)

Date: June 1st, 2025
Category: Remote Access / Virtual Machine Setup
Backlink: Installing Pop!_OS (NVIDIA Edition) in Proxmox with GPU Passthrough

Goal

Enable secure remote access to your Pop!_OS virtual machine via SSH.

Step 1: Install and Enable OpenSSH Server

Open a terminal in your Pop!_OS VM and run:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install openssh-server -y

Then start and enable the service:

sudo systemctl enable ssh
sudo systemctl start ssh

Step 2: Verify SSH is Running

Check the status of the SSH server:

sudo systemctl status ssh

You should see:

• Active: active (running)

Step 3: Find the IP Address

You can find the IP address in two ways:

• From Proxmox Dashboard: Under the VM summary tab

• Inside Pop!_OS:

ip a | grep inet

Step 4: SSH From Another Machine

From your host machine or another computer on the LAN, connect:

ssh zippyb@192.168.1.151

You’ll be prompted to accept the fingerprint and then enter your user password.

Optional: Use SCP to Transfer Files

scp file.txt zippyb@192.168.1.151:/home/nate/

Or use rsync for large/recurring syncs:

rsync -avz project/ zippyb@192.168.1.151:/home/nate/project/

Step 4: Enable and Configure UFW Firewall

1. Enable UFW:

sudo ufw enable

2. Allow SSH through the firewall:

sudo ufw allow ssh

3. Check firewall status:

sudo ufw status verbose

Done

I can now securely connect to my Pop!_OS VM using SSH for remote configuration and file transfers.