Getting started with a VPS – Support Guides

Learn how to manage a VPS in your OVHcloud Control Panel and discover the first steps of its use, including remote connections and security measures.

A Virtual Private Server (VPS) is a server that you fully administer.

Unlike a managed web hosting service, you are responsible for the following:

Configuration: managing and setting up your server.
Security: protecting your VPS against attacks.
Maintenance: keeping the server up to date and operational.
Backups: regularly testing your backups to ensure data recovery.

Requirements

An active Virtual Private Server in your OVHcloud account
Access to the OVHcloud Control Panel

Instructions

To understand the management interface of your VPS and the available actions in the OVHcloud Control Panel, refer to our guide dedicated to getting started with the OVHcloud Control Panel for VPS.

Content overview:

Step 1: Initial connection
- GNU/Linux distribution
- Windows distribution
Step 2: Using the root account
Step 3: Securing your VPS
Step 4: Linking a domain name

Step 1: Initial connection

Linux

When you connect to your VPS for the first time, note that the account you connect with is not root.

At OVHcloud, for security reasons and to protect our customers' services, we automatically create a username linked to the operating system you selected when you placed your order.

The exact username to use for the connection is clearly indicated in your VPS delivery email.

For example:

For Debian, the username will be debian.
For Ubuntu, the username will be ubuntu.
For Rocky Linux, the username will be rocky.

The temporary password associated with this account is sent to you via a secure link in your delivery email.

Important note: during your first connection, you will be asked to change this temporary password.

Once the password is changed, the session will be automatically closed. This is normal behavior. You will then need to reconnect using your new password.

ssh username@IPv4_VPS

Replace "username" with the user corresponding to your OS.
Replace "IPv4_de_votre_VPS" with the IP address indicated in your delivery email.

Finalize the Windows installation

Once the Windows operating system is installed, you receive an email with the default username Windows user.

You will then need to complete the Windows installation process by defining your display language, your keyboard layout, and your administrator password.

This is done in the VPS KVM console:

Log in to the OVHcloud Control Panel, go the the Bare Metal Cloud section.
Click on Virtual Private Servers and select your server.
In the Home tab, click the more options ... button next to the VPS name in the Your VPS panel and select KVM.

Find more information about this tool in our KVM guide.

Click here for instructions to complete the initial setup of your Windows VPS.

Local settings

Once the KVM session is established, complete the initial setup of Windows by configuring your country/region, the preferred Windows language, and your keyboard layout. Then click on the button Next at the bottom right.

Administrator password

Set a password for your Windows Administrator / admin account, confirm it, then click on Finish.

Login screen

Windows will apply your settings and then display the login screen. Click on the Send CtrlAltDel button in the top right corner to sign in.

Administrator login

Enter the Administrator password you have created in the previous step and click on the Arrow button.

Connecting to the server with RDP

On your local Windows device, you can use the Remote Desktop Connection client application to connect to the VPS.

vps_getting started12.png

Enter the IPv4 address of your VPS, then your username and passphrase. Usually, a warning message will appear asking to confirm the connection because of an unknown certificate. Click on Yes to log in.

You can also use any third-party application compatible with RDP. This is a requirement if your local device does not have Windows installed.

If you experience any issues with this procedure, verify that remote (RDP) connections are allowed on your device by checking your system settings, firewall rules and possible network restrictions.

In the event of problems, you can facilitate troubleshooting by enabling Windows boot logs. See our dedicated guide for more information.

Step 2: Using the root account (optional but recommended)

The root user is disabled by default for the security of your product.

For administrative tasks, use sudo from your main user:

sudo command

If you wish to enable root:

sudo passwd root

Step 3: Securing your VPS

If you wish to secure your VPS, we recommend following our guide "Securing a VPS". This guide walks you through the process and details the following actions:

Updating the system.
Changing the default SSH listening port.
Configuring the internal firewall.
Installing fail2ban to block repeated login attempts.
Backing up your system and data.

Step 4: Linking a domain name (optional but recommended)

Putting your VPS online usually involves using and configuring a domain name.

For this, we recommend performing the following actions:

Point the domain to the IPv4 address of your VPS.
Enable a free SSL certificate (Let's Encrypt) to secure access to your websites via HTTPS.

Go further

For more information and tutorials, please see our other VPS support guides or explore the guides for other OVHcloud products and services.