Odd problem with SSH access

[Numberman]

I'm using a RH9 server which is hosted remotely. Recently I've found that when I try to connect to it via SSH (using PuTTY), I get the following error: 'Network error: Connection refused'.

As far as I'm aware, I'm the only user with SSH access, and I haven't changed anything that I can think of that might cause this problem. In fact, all I've actually done is make a few user-accounts and uploaded files. I haven't changed any system settings or installed anything new.

Apache, IRC, and FTP still function on the server, and restarting it has no effect (I've got a web-based administration system that lets me do some things).

I'd appreciate any help with this, as my host says it can reset the entire server, but I'd rather not do that because over the course of the last year I've put several GBs of work on it that'll be hell to download and reput when the server is fixed.

Help appreciated,
Numberman

[mcavic]

Hmm. First, I'd check that either /etc/rc.d/init.d/ssh or /etc/xinetd.d/ssh exists -- they're responsible for starting ssh on the server.

Then reboot again, try connecting via ssh, then look at the last few pages of /var/log/messages (if you can download or view it) to see if there are any messages about not being able to start ssh.

[MattyMoose]

Is putty still using port 22? I've found that sometimes my users enter a different port accidentally (thinking it's and FTP client or whatever).

Are you able to verify that sshd is listening on port 22 through netstat?
Can you get a process list, and see if sshd is listed?
Can you enable telnet access for the moment to get a shell, and run other commands?

If you have a port scanner at home (or wherever you are), and check what ports are open on that server? (22 is the one you're looking for).

It may be on your end or the server's end that they're blocking port 22.

[bartek]

I'm the only user with SSH access

Is it a regualr account or are you logging in directly as root? On some systems direct root login is disabled. Have a look at the sshd_config file...
hth