Regaining access to Linux server after SSH service dies?

Posted by GigaWatt on Super User See other posts from Super User or by GigaWatt
Published on 2014-06-12T15:15:17Z Indexed on 2014/06/12 15:28 UTC
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Filed under:

linux

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ssh

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Services

I recently ran into an issue with a VPS where the SSH service crashed, leaving me unable to connect to the machine. The other services were up and running; only the SSH service died.
I managed to resolve the situation with a reboot from the VPS control panel, but the incident got me thinking:

Assuming:

I don't have physical access to the machine
I have no server control panel access or means of rebooting the server
All other system services are still functioning

Then how could I recover from the SSH service dying?

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