Perfect — installing and enabling SSH (OpenSSH) on your Rocky Linux 10 VM is the best and most reliable way to enable copy/paste and file transfer between your Hyper-V host and guest.
Here’s a step-by-step setup that will get SSH working quickly and securely 👇
🧩 Step 1: Install OpenSSH Server
Log into your Rocky Linux VM console and run:
sudo dnf install -y openssh-server
This installs both the SSH client and server components.
⚙️ Step 2: Enable and Start the SSH Service
Enable the SSH service to start on boot and launch it immediately:
sudo systemctl enable --now sshd
Verify it’s running:
sudo systemctl status sshd
You should see:
Active: active (running)
🔥 Step 3: Allow SSH Through the Firewall
Rocky Linux uses firewalld by default, so open port 22:
sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=ssh
sudo firewall-cmd --reload
You can confirm with:
sudo firewall-cmd --list-all
🖥️ Step 4: Find the VM’s IP Address
Run:
ip addr show
Look for an interface like eth0 or ens33 — note the IP (e.g. 192.168.122.45).
💻 Step 5: Connect from Your Windows Host
On your Windows machine, open PowerShell or Command Prompt and connect:
ssh youruser@192.168.122.45
Replace youruser with your Rocky username and the IP with your VM’s.
You’ll be asked to accept the host fingerprint and enter your password.
✅ You can now copy & paste text into your SSH terminal using:
- Ctrl + Shift + C / Ctrl + Shift + V in PowerShell
- Right-click → Paste in Windows Terminal or PuTTY
📁 Step 6: Transfer Files Between Host and VM
You can use SCP or WinSCP for files.
From PowerShell:
scp C:\localfile.txt youruser@192.168.122.45:/home/youruser/
Or install WinSCP — drag-and-drop works perfectly and uses SSH under the hood.
🧠 Optional: Harden SSH
For better security:
sudo cp /etc/ssh/sshd_config /etc/ssh/sshd_config.bak
sudo nano /etc/ssh/sshd_config
Then:
- Change
PermitRootLogin no - Ensure
PasswordAuthentication yes(or use key-based auth later) - Restart SSH:
sudo systemctl restart sshd
✅ Summary
| Task | Command |
|---|---|
| Install SSH | sudo dnf install -y openssh-server |
| Enable + Start | sudo systemctl enable --now sshd |
| Allow in Firewall | sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=ssh && sudo firewall-cmd --reload |
| Check IP | ip addr show |
| Connect from host | ssh user@<vm-ip> |
| Copy files | scp file user@<vm-ip>:/path/ |
Would you like me to include setup for key-based SSH authentication (so you can connect and copy files without entering a password every time)?