Chapter 1 · 1.2
Installing your VPS: operating system, password and SSH key
After you place your order, your VPS is ready with a fixed IP address. It is still empty: you choose the operating system yourself. You do this in the VPS screen.
How to open the VPS screen
- Log in to My WebOké and go to My Products.
- Click your VPS. You will see the Your VPS card with your IP address, your IPv6 address and your package.
- If it says Ready to install, you will see the Install your VPS block.
What do you fill in?
| Field | What do you choose? |
|---|---|
| Operating system | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, Ubuntu 26.04 LTS, Debian 13, Debian 12, AlmaLinux 10, AlmaLinux 9, Rocky Linux 10 or Rocky Linux 9. Not sure? Choose Debian 13 or Ubuntu 24.04 LTS: this manual is based on those. |
| Root password | At least 12 characters, with a lowercase letter, an uppercase letter and a digit. We do not store it. Keep it in your password manager. |
| SSH key (optional) | Your public key, the line that starts with ssh-ed25519. Recommended: you can then log in straight away without a password. To find out how to create a key, read Creating an SSH key on Windows, Mac and Linux. |
Click Install. You will see Being installed and the screen updates itself. After a few minutes it says Active and you receive an email with your IP address. Below your details you will find the command to log in, for example ssh root@203.0.113.10.
Tip: Don't have a key yet? Create one first (it takes a minute, see Creating an SSH key on Windows, Mac and Linux) and paste it here. That way you never have to open up the server with just a password.
Which operating system suits you?
- Debian: calm and stable. Each version gets three years of full support, followed by two years of LTS.
- Ubuntu LTS: a lot of guides on the internet assume it. Each LTS version gets five years of standard security updates.
- AlmaLinux and Rocky Linux: useful if your software is only made for Red Hat-like systems. The commands are sometimes different (
dnfinstead ofapt, firewalld instead of ufw).
You can check how long your version will keep receiving updates at debian.org/releases and ubuntu.com/about/release-cycle.
Next steps
Log in as described in Logging in with SSH for the first time and update everything first (see Updates and automatic updates). Then make a snapshot before every major change (see Snapshots: a safety net for every major change).