Compute Engine provides the interactive serial console for troubleshooting malfunctioning instances. When you connect to the serial console using an SSH client, Compute Engine provides an SSH key so that you can authenticate the connection.
As of March 31, 2025, the serial console SSH key endpoint is deprecated and a new serial SSH key endpoint is available.
- Deprecated endpoint:
https://www.gstatic.com/vm_serial_port/REGION/REGION.pub - New endpoint:
https://www.gstatic.com/vm_serial_port_public_keys/REGION/REGION.pub
To use the new endpoint, do one of the following, depending on how you connect to the serial console:
Connect using the Google Cloud console: no action is required. Connections from Google Cloud console don't use the endpoint.
Connect using the Google Cloud CLI: update gcloud CLI to version 515.0.0 or later.
Connect using third-party SSH clients: use the new endpoint, as described in Validate third-party SSH client connections.
You cannot use the deprecated endpoint after March 31, 2026.
Shutdown schedule
The following table lists the shutdown schedule for the
https://www.gstatic.com/vm_serial_port/REGION/REGION.pub
server SSH key endpoint.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| March 31, 2025 | The https://www.gstatic.com/vm_serial_port/REGION/REGION.pub server SSH key endpoint was deprecated. |
| March 31, 2026 | The https://www.gstatic.com/vm_serial_port/REGION/REGION.pub server SSH key endpoint shutdown. |