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First steps with pre-installed applications on VPS

Stephanie R.
Updated

Learn about the initial steps for each pre-installed application image on our VPS.

OVHcloud offers VPS customers pre-installed application images for quick and easy deployment of applications with just a few clicks.

 

Requirements

  • A VPS in your OVHcloud account

 

Instructions

Install your chosen pre-installed application

Using the OVHcloud Control Panel / API, install your chosen application on your VPS.

 

cPanel

NOTE: This feature is currently unavailable for Virtual Private Servers in Local Zones.

This section will explain the first steps specifically for the cPanel pre-installed image. Steps marked with * will have an FAQ at the end of the steps.

  1. Open the email from us that contains your application login details.
  2. Click on the URL for cPanel in the email.

    If the link has expired already, please connect to your VPS via SSH using the CentOS user and execute the “sudo whmlogin” command to generate a new link.

  3. Read and accept the terms of cPanel.
  4. Provide your email and nameservers you wish to set on the server *.
  5. Set your root password, which you will use the next time you log in to WHM *.

preinstalledapps1.png

No further steps are necessary to complete the first configuration of this application.

Can I use my own nameservers?

Yes, you can. But you need to make sure you create glue records with your domain registrar. For example, if you want “ns1.mydomain.com” and “ns2.mydomain.com”, you must set up glue records for both, which must point to the IP of your server. Please note that this can take 24 hours to create.

Why set a root password?

WHM by default uses the root user for authentication, and the one-time link allows access to complete the first setup and change the root password. Next time you log in to WHM, you must use the root user and the password you have set.

Where is my license for cPanel?

You can purchase a license from OVHcloud for your VPS via the OVHcloud Control Panel.

 

Plesk

NOTE: This feature is currently unavailable for Virtual Private Servers in Local Zones.

This section will explain the first steps specifically for the Plesk pre-installed image. Steps marked with * will have an FAQ at the end of the steps.

  1. Open the email from OVHcloud that contains your application login details.
  2. Click on the URL for Plesk in the email.
  3. Log in using the username and password provided in the email.
  4. Once logged in, Plesk will ask you to provide:
    a) Your contact information
    b) A new password for the “admin” user, which you will use for login on the Plesk panel
    c) License information*
    d) Read and accept their end-user license agreement

No further steps are necessary to complete the first configuration of this application.

Where is my license for Plesk?

You can purchase a license from OVHcloud for your VPS via the OVHcloud Control Panel.

 

Docker

NOTE: This feature is currently unavailable for Virtual Private Servers in Local Zones.

This section will explain the first steps specifically for the Docker pre-installed image.

  1. SSH into the server using the login details sent in the email to you.
  2. Check that Docker is working using the “docker run hello-world” command.

No further steps are necessary to complete the first configuration of this application.

 

Let’s Encrypt SSL

This section only applies to WordPress, Drupal, Joomla!, and PrestaShop installations. It will not work for other installations.

  1. You must create or edit two A records in the OVHcloud Control Panel that point to the IP address of your server. For example, if your domain name is “personaldomain.ovh”, then you need to create A records for:
    • personaldomain.ovh
    • www.personaldomain.ovh

    If your domain is registered with another company, you will need to contact them for assistance to set up your A records.

  2. You may need to wait 24 hours before the two records propagate fully. You can always check it with mxtoolbox. If the IP for your domain is showing on MX Toolbox the same as your server’s IP address, then you can proceed to the next step.
  3. SSH into your server with the CentOS user and execute the following commands to install Certbot.

    NOTE: Replace personaldomain.ovh in the commands with your own domain name.

    sudo -i
dnf install -y epel-release
dnf install -y certbot python3-certbot-apache mod_ssl
echo "ServerName personaldomain.ovh;" >> /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf
systemctl restart httpd
  4. Generate your SSL using Certbot (follow the on-screen instructions). 
    certbot certonly -d personaldomain.ovh --webroot

    When asked about “Input the webroot”, you need to enter something like “/var/www/wordpress”. If you are installing Joomla!, you need to replace “wordpress” with “joomla”.

    Now you need to get Certbot to also place it into the ssl.conf file. To trigger this, enter:

    certbot -d personaldomain.ovh --apache

    When prompted, answer the first prompt with “1” and also the second prompt with “1”.

    You should get the following output if your SSL has been generated:

    IMPORTANT NOTES:
 - Congratulations! Your certificate and chain have been saved at:
   /etc/letsencrypt/live/personaldomain.ovh/fullchain.pem
   Your key file has been saved at:
   /etc/letsencrypt/live/personaldomain.ovh/privkey.pem
   Your cert will expire on 2020-11-12. To obtain a new or tweaked
   version of this certificate in the future, simply run certbot again
   with the "certonly" option. To non-interactively renew *all* of
   your certificates, run "certbot renew"

 

Go further

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

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