Support

Troubleshooting Guide

Solutions to common issues and problems.

Table of Contents

Connection Issues

Cannot Connect via SSH

Symptoms:

  • Connection timeout
  • Connection refused
  • Permission denied

Diagnosis:

# Check instance status
lambda status inst_abc123

# Check firewall rules
lambda firewall list inst_abc123

# Verify SSH key
lambda ssh-keys list

# Test connection
ssh -v lambda@instance-ip

Solutions:

Instance Not Running

# Start instance
lambda start inst_abc123

# Wait for ready
lambda wait inst_abc123

Firewall Blocking SSH

Via Dashboard:

  1. Go to Dashboard → Instances
  2. Click on your instance
  3. Go to "Firewall" tab
  4. Check if there's a rule allowing port 22 from your IP
  5. If missing, click "Add Rule":
    • Port: 22
    • Source: Your IP (auto-detected) or 0.0.0.0/0 for anywhere
    • Click "Save"

Via CLI:

# Check if port 22 is open
lambda firewall list inst_abc123 | grep "22"

# Allow SSH from your IP
lambda firewall allow inst_abc123 --port 22 --source $(curl -s ifconfig.me)/32

Wrong SSH Key

Via Dashboard:

  1. Go to Dashboard → Settings → SSH Keys
  2. Check which keys are registered
  3. Add your key if missing: Click "Add SSH Key" and paste public key
  4. Go to your instance → "SSH Keys" tab
  5. Add the key to the instance

Via CLI:

# List keys on instance
lambda ssh-keys list --instance inst_abc123

# Add correct key
lambda ssh-keys add --name my-key --file ~/.ssh/id_rsa.pub

# Update instance
lambda ssh-keys update inst_abc123 --add key_new123

Wrong Username

Default username is lambda, not root or ubuntu:

# Correct
ssh lambda@instance-ip

# Incorrect
ssh root@instance-ip  # ✗
ssh ubuntu@instance-ip  # ✗

Instance Problems

Instance Won't Start

Symptoms:

  • Instance stuck in "starting" state
  • Timeout errors

Diagnosis:

# Check instance status
lambda status inst_abc123

# Check quotas
lambda quotas

# Check billing
lambda billing status

Solutions:

Quota Exceeded

# View current usage
lambda quotas

# Request quota increase
lambda quotas request --instances 20 --vcpu 100

Billing Payment Failed

# Check billing status
lambda billing status

# Update payment method
lambda billing payment-method update

# Pay outstanding balance
lambda billing pay --invoice inv_abc123

Region Capacity

Try a different region:

lambda create instance \
  --name my-instance \
  --type compute-4x \
  --region eu-west-1  # Different region

Instance Won't Stop

Symptoms:

  • Instance stuck in "stopping" state

Solutions:

# Force stop
lambda stop inst_abc123 --force

# If still stuck, contact support
lambda support create-ticket \
  --subject "Instance stuck in stopping state" \
  --instance inst_abc123

Instance Deleted Accidentally

Recovery:

# List recent snapshots
lambda snapshot list --instance inst_abc123

# Restore from snapshot
lambda create instance \
  --from-snapshot snap_most_recent \
  --name restored-instance

Prevention:

Enable snapshot protection:

# Schedule automatic snapshots
lambda snapshot schedule inst_abc123 \
  --frequency daily \
  --retain 7 \
  --protect true  # Cannot be deleted accidentally

Performance Issues

High CPU Usage

Diagnosis:

# Check CPU metrics
lambda metrics inst_abc123 --metric cpu --period 1h

# SSH in and investigate
lambda ssh inst_abc123
top -bn1

Common Causes:

  1. Insufficient Resources

    # Resize to larger instance
lambda resize inst_abc123 --type compute-8x

  2. Runaway Process

    # Identify process
ps aux --sort=-%cpu | head -10

# Kill if necessary
kill -9 <PID>

  3. Crypto Mining / Compromise

    # Check for suspicious processes
ps aux | grep -E "(xmrig|minerd|cryptonight)"

# If compromised, destroy and rebuild
lambda destroy inst_abc123
lambda create instance --from-snapshot snap_clean_backup

High Memory Usage

Diagnosis:

# Check memory metrics
lambda metrics inst_abc123 --metric memory

# SSH in and investigate
lambda ssh inst_abc123
free -h
ps aux --sort=-%mem | head -10

Solutions:

  1. Resize Instance

    lambda resize inst_abc123 --type memory-8x

  2. Identify Memory Leak

    # Monitor memory over time
watch -n 1 'free -h'

# Check application logs for leaks

  3. Add Swap (temporary)

    sudo fallocate -l 4G /swapfile
sudo chmod 600 /swapfile
sudo mkswap /swapfile
sudo swapon /swapfile

Slow Disk I/O

Diagnosis:

# Check IOPS
lambda metrics inst_abc123 --metric disk_iops

# Test disk performance
lambda ssh inst_abc123
sudo fio --name=test --size=1G --rw=randrw --bs=4k --ioengine=libaio --iodepth=16

Solutions:

  1. Upgrade to Storage-Optimized

    lambda resize inst_abc123 --type storage-4x

  2. Use High-Performance Volumes

    lambda create volume \
  --name high-perf \
  --size 500GB \
  --type nvme-high-performance

Network Latency

Diagnosis:

# Check network metrics
lambda metrics inst_abc123 --metric network_latency

# Test latency
ping instance-ip
traceroute instance-ip

Solutions:

  1. Choose Closer Region

    # Migrate to closer region
lambda snapshot create inst_abc123
lambda create instance \
  --from-snapshot snap_abc123 \
  --region closest-region

  2. Use CDN for static assets

  3. Enable HTTP/2 or HTTP/3

Storage Issues

Volume Won't Attach

Symptoms:

  • Error: "Volume already attached"
  • Error: "Volume in use"

Solutions:

# Check volume status
lambda volume info vol_abc123

# Detach from previous instance
lambda volume detach vol_abc123

# Attach to new instance
lambda volume attach vol_abc123 --instance inst_xyz789

Disk Full

Diagnosis:

lambda ssh inst_abc123
df -h
du -sh /* 2>/dev/null | sort -rh | head -10

Solutions:

  1. Clean Up Space

    # Remove old logs
sudo journalctl --vacuum-time=7d

# Clean package cache
sudo apt clean

# Remove old kernels
sudo apt autoremove

  2. Expand Volume

    # Resize volume
lambda volume resize vol_abc123 --size 200GB

# Extend filesystem
lambda ssh inst_abc123
sudo resize2fs /dev/vdb

  3. Add New Volume

    lambda create volume --name extra-storage --size 500GB
lambda attach volume vol_new123 --instance inst_abc123

Failed Snapshot

Diagnosis:.

lambda snapshot list --filter failed
lambda snapshot info snap_failed123

Solutions:

# Retry snapshot
lambda snapshot create inst_abc123 --name "retry-$(date +%s)"

# If volume is too active, stop instance first
lambda stop inst_abc123
lambda snapshot create inst_abc123 --name "snapshot-while-stopped"
lambda start inst_abc123

Network Issues

Cannot Reach Instance

Diagnosis:

# Check instance public IP
lambda network info inst_abc123

# Test connectivity
ping instance-ip
telnet instance-ip 80

# Check firewall
lambda firewall list inst_abc123

Solutions:

# Ensure firewall allows traffic
lambda firewall allow inst_abc123 --port 80 --source 0.0.0.0/0

# Check instance has public IP
lambda network info inst_abc123

# If no public IP, assign one
lambda network assign-public-ip inst_abc123

High Network Usage

Diagnosis:

# Check network metrics
lambda metrics inst_abc123 --metric network_bytes

# SSH in and investigate
lambda ssh inst_abc123
sudo iftop

Solutions:

  1. Identify Traffic Source

    sudo nethogs

  2. Check for DDoS

    # View connection count
netstat -ntu | wc -l

# Enable DDoS protection
lambda firewall enable-ddos-protection inst_abc123

  3. Rate Limit with Firewall

    lambda firewall rate-limit inst_abc123 \
  --connections-per-minute 100

CLI Issues

CLI Command Not Found

Solution:

# Reinstall CLI
curl -fsSL https://get.lambda.io/install.sh | bash

# Or via npm
npm install -g @lambda/cli

# Verify installation
lambda --version

CLI Authentication Failed

Solutions:

# Re-authenticate
lambda login

# Or set API key
export LAMBDA_API_KEY="λ_sk_your_key_here"

# Verify authentication
lambda whoami

CLI Slow or Hanging

Diagnosis:

# Enable debug mode
lambda --debug command

# Check network
ping api.lambda.io

Solutions:

  1. Update CLI

    lambda update

  2. Clear Cache

    lambda cache clear

  3. Use Different Region

    lambda config set region eu-west-1

API Issues

401 Unauthorized

Cause: Invalid API key

Solution:

# Check API key
echo $LAMBDA_API_KEY

# Create new key if needed
lambda api-keys create --name "new-key"

429 Too Many Requests

Cause: Rate limit exceeded

Solution:

# Check rate limit status
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $LAMBDA_API_KEY" \
  https://api.lambda.io/v1/account/rate-limit

# Wait and retry with exponential backoff
# Or upgrade plan for higher limits

500 Internal Server Error

Solution:

# Check status page
curl https://status.lambda.io/api/status

# Retry request
# If persists, contact support with request ID

Billing Issues

Payment Failed

Solutions:

# Update payment method
lambda billing payment-method update

# Retry payment
lambda billing retry-payment

# View outstanding invoices
lambda billing invoices --status unpaid

Unexpected Charges

Diagnosis:

# View detailed usage
lambda billing usage --month current --detailed

# Export for analysis
lambda billing export --format csv --output usage.csv

Common Causes:

  1. Forgotten Running Instances

    # List all instances
lambda list instances --all-regions

# Stop or destroy unused
lambda stop inst_forgotten123

  2. Large Snapshots

    # List snapshots by size
lambda snapshot list --sort-by size

# Delete old snapshots
lambda snapshot delete snap_old123

  3. Committed Use Not Applied

    # Contact billing support
lambda support create-ticket --category billing

Getting More Help

Collect Diagnostics

# Generate diagnostic report
lambda diagnostics inst_abc123 --output diagnostics.txt

# Include in support ticket
lambda support create-ticket \
  --subject "Issue description" \
  --attach diagnostics.txt

Contact Support

Support Response Times

PlanResponse TimeChannels
Community48 hoursEmail, Forum
Professional12 hoursEmail, Chat, Forum
Enterprise1 hourEmail, Chat, Phone, Forum

Preventive Measures

Enable Monitoring

lambda monitoring enable inst_abc123 \
  --alerts cpu,memory,disk \
  --notify email:you@example.com

Schedule Backups

lambda snapshot schedule inst_abc123 \
  --frequency daily \
  --time "02:00 UTC" \
  --retain 7

Set Budget Alerts

lambda billing set-budget \
  --limit 500 \
  --alert-at 80 \
  --notify email:billing@example.com

Review Security

# Security audit
lambda audit inst_abc123

# Apply recommendations
lambda security harden inst_abc123

Next Step

Return to the documentation overview.

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Last Updated: January 24, 2026

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Table of ContentsConnection IssuesCannot Connect via SSHInstance Not RunningFirewall Blocking SSHWrong SSH KeyWrong UsernameInstance ProblemsInstance Won't StartQuota ExceededBilling Payment FailedRegion CapacityInstance Won't StopInstance Deleted AccidentallyPerformance IssuesHigh CPU UsageHigh Memory UsageSlow Disk I/ONetwork LatencyStorage IssuesVolume Won't AttachDisk FullFailed SnapshotNetwork IssuesCannot Reach InstanceHigh Network UsageCLI IssuesCLI Command Not FoundCLI Authentication FailedCLI Slow or HangingAPI Issues401 Unauthorized429 Too Many Requests500 Internal Server ErrorBilling IssuesPayment FailedUnexpected ChargesGetting More HelpCollect DiagnosticsContact SupportSupport Response TimesPreventive MeasuresEnable MonitoringSchedule BackupsSet Budget AlertsReview SecurityNext Step