Linux VPS hosting with root access

Plans scale from 1 core and 1 GB of RAM to 24 cores and 96 GB. Standard is the usual starting point for a website with its own database, and Starter is enough for a test server or a small tool.

Every plan has one dedicated IP, a 1 Gb LAN port and high-bandwidth connectivity. Backups and snapshots are not part of the plans, so the backup section below shows how to protect your data yourself. You can compare these sizes with every other option on the pricing page.

Choose an Ubuntu VPS if you are not sure. It has the largest library of tutorials, the newest packages among the three, and a predictable long-term release every two years.

A Debian VPS is the quieter option. It ships older, well-tested packages and a small default footprint, which suits a server you want to leave alone for a long time.

An AlmaLinux VPS makes sense when your software targets Red Hat Enterprise Linux, or when you use tools and hosting panels written for that family. AlmaLinux is binary compatible with RHEL and uses dnf for packages.

You can reinstall a different distribution from the control panel at any time, so the first choice is not permanent.

• Websites and stores: WordPress, WooCommerce or Magento on Nginx or Apache with PHP-FPM and MariaDB
• Application runtimes: Node.js, Python with Django or FastAPI, Ruby, Go and Java
• Containers: Docker and docker compose, with your own images and networks
• Databases and caches: PostgreSQL, MySQL, MariaDB and Redis
• Developer tools: build servers, CI runners, Git hosting and staging copies of client sites
• Self-hosted software: file sync, monitoring dashboards, wikis and internal tools
• Game servers for titles that provide a Linux server package

The acceptable use policy lists what is not allowed, such as spam, attacks and illegal content.

Do these ten things before anything goes live. The commands are for Ubuntu and Debian, and AlmaLinux uses dnf and firewalld for the same jobs.

1. Update everything: run apt update && apt upgrade, then reboot if the kernel changed.
2. Create a normal user, add it to the sudo group and log in as that user from now on.
3. Use SSH keys: copy your public key with ssh-copy-id and confirm it works in a second window.
4. Turn off root login and password login by setting PermitRootLogin no and PasswordAuthentication no in /etc/ssh/sshd_config.
5. Enable a firewall such as ufw, allow only the ports you use, and deny the rest.
6. Install fail2ban to block addresses that keep guessing passwords.
7. Turn on automatic security updates with unattended-upgrades.
8. List listening services with ss -tlnp and remove anything you do not need.
9. Set the time zone and keep the clock synced so logs and certificates stay correct.
10. Review logins now and then with last and journalctl -u ssh.

Nothing here replaces monitoring. A server that nobody checks will fall behind on updates, so put a reminder in your calendar.

Follow the 3-2-1 rule: three copies of your data, on two kinds of storage, with one copy off the server. A backup on the same disk as the data it protects is not a backup.

For files, restic and borg make encrypted, deduplicated backups to another server or object storage, and rsync covers simple copies. For databases, take a dump with pg_dump or mysqldump before you copy the files, so the copy is consistent.

Schedule the job with a systemd timer or cron, keep your configuration in Git, and restore to a test folder once a month. A backup you have never restored is a guess.

Watch the server as well. An uptime check from outside, a disk space alert at 80 percent and a notice when updates fail will catch most problems early.

Every location runs Linux and Windows on the same plans. For a North American audience, start with the USA VPS. For Europe, the Germany VPS, Netherlands VPS and UK VPS are the usual choices.

For Asia and the Pacific, look at the Singapore VPS, the India VPS and the Australia VPS. For the Gulf, the UAE VPS covers the region. The full list of 47 countries is on the VPS server locations page.

• Are the CPU and RAM reserved, or can neighbours take them?
• Is the storage NVMe, and how much do you get?
• What is the renewal price, not only the first month?
• Are backups included, or do you provide your own?
• Is the location close to most of your users?
• Can you reinstall the operating system yourself?
• Are there bandwidth or port limits written into the terms?
• What is the refund policy if it does not suit you?

Our answers are on this page, in the refund policy and in the service level agreement. If something is unclear, contact support before you order.