How to get started with a dedicated server

Objective

A dedicated server is a physical server ("bare metal") located in one of our data centres. Unlike Web Hosting plans (also referred to as "shared hosting"), which are technically managed by OVHcloud, you are fully responsible for the administration of your dedicated server.

This guide provides all the information required for your first steps with a dedicated server.

Requirements

• A dedicated server in your OVHcloud account
• Administrative access via SSH or remote desktop (Windows) to your server
• For the OVHcloud API: API credentials. If needed, refer to the guide "First Steps with the OVHcloud APIs".
• For the OVHcloud CLI: the OVHcloud CLI installed and authenticated with ovhcloud login. If needed, refer to the guide "Getting Started with OVHcloud CLI".
• For Terraform: Terraform installed and the OVHcloud provider configured. If needed, refer to the guide "How to use Terraform".

OVHcloud Control Panel Access

• Direct link: Dedicated Servers
• Navigation path: Bare Metal Cloud > Dedicated servers > Select your server

Instructions

Content overview

• Installing or reinstalling an operating system
• Logging on to your server
• Restarting your dedicated server
• Securing your dedicated server
• OVHcloud Monitoring
• Network configuration
• Rescue mode
• Access using IPMI
• Backup storage

Installing or reinstalling an operating system

OVHcloud Control Panel

OVHcloud API

OVHcloud CLI

Terraform

From your OVHcloud Control Panel, you can install or reinstall your server's operating system.

From the General information tab, click ... next to the operating system, then click Install my server or Reinstall my server.

Info

Some proprietary operating systems or platforms such as Plesk and Windows require licences which generate additional fees. You can buy licences via OVHcloud or from an external reseller. You will then need to register your licence, in the operating system itself or by using your OVHcloud Control Panel.

You can manage all your licences in the Bare Metal Cloud section under Licenses. In this section, you can also order licences or add existing ones via the Actions button.

Select the type of OS, then the operating system from the list.

If you need to modify the partitioning scheme of your operating system, check the box Customise the partition configuration before clicking on Next.

In this step, you can configure the number of disks to be used for installation, along with RAID and partitioning options, all within the constraints of the server's hardware and operating system.

Info

By default, the operating system installation is performed on all disks of the targeted disk group. However, for Windows, this installation is limited to a maximum of two disks.

Info

When multiple disks are selected for installation, RAID 1 (disk mirroring) is configured by default for data replication. Data is replicated across the disks, so the usable capacity is that of a single disk.

Once you have adjusted the partitions, click Next to go to the summary page.

You will find additional options that are specific to the chosen operating system.

If you have selected a compatible operating system, you can provide a public SSH key that will be installed on the target OS. You have two options:

• Manually copy the key string and paste it into the Your Public SSH key field.
• If you have previously stored a public key in your OVHcloud Control Panel, select the desired key from the SSH key to pre-install drop-down menu.

To find out more about this topic, consult our guides:

• How to Create SSH Keys for Dedicated Server Access
• How to use PuTTY for SSH connections and authentication

Finally, click Confirm to trigger the operating system installation on your dedicated server.

Open the API console and go to the /dedicated/server section.

To list all compatible OSes for a specific dedicated server, use the following API call:

🇪🇺EU▾

GET/dedicated/server/{serviceName}/install/compatibleTemplates

Then, to get details about an operating system, use the following API call:

🇪🇺EU▾

GET/dedicated/installationTemplate/{templateName}

Once you have gathered the information you need, create the OS reinstallation task with the following API call:

🇪🇺EU▾

POST/dedicated/server/{serviceName}/reinstall

The following payload will install Debian 13 (Trixie) with SSH key-based authentication and a custom bash post-installation script:

{
  "operatingSystem": "debian13_64",
  "customizations": {
    "hostname": "mon-tux",
    "sshKey": "ssh-ed25519 AAAAC3NzaC1lZDI1NTE5AAAAIH4kQ2vRtL9mXsPzB7cYnD3fWjA6eUuKgT1oNhV5ZqwE my-nuclear-power-plant",
    "postInstallationScript": "IyEvYmluL2Jhc2gKZWNobyAiY291Y291IHBvc3RJbnN0YWxsYXRpb25TY3JpcHQiID4gL29wdC9jb3Vjb3UKY2F0IC9ldGMvbWFjaGluZS1pZCAgPj4gL29wdC9jb3Vjb3UKZGF0ZSAiKyVZLSVtLSVkICVIOiVNOiVTIiAtLXV0YyA+PiAvb3B0L2NvdWNvdQo="
  }
}

For more details and advanced examples, see our guide on Install an OS via the OVHcloud API on a Dedicated Server.

Use the interactive wizard to reinstall the OS on your dedicated server:

ovhcloud baremetal reinstall nsxxxxxxx.ip-xx-xx-xx.eu --wizard

Alternatively, use the non-interactive, scriptable way:

ovhcloud baremetal list-compatible-os nsxxxxxxx.ip-xx-xx-xx.eu -o json
ovhcloud baremetal reinstall nsxxxxxxx.ip-xx-xx-xx.eu --os debian13_64 --ssh-key="ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAAAgQC9xPpdqP3sx2H+gcBm65tJEaUbuifQ1uGkgrWtNY0PRKNNPdy+3yoVOtxk6Vjo4YZ0EU/JhmQfnrK7X7Q5vhqYxmozi0LiTRt0BxgqHJ+4hWTWMIOgr+C2jLx7ZsCReRk+fy5AHr6h0PHQEuXVLXeUy/TDyuY2JPtUZ5jcqvLYgQ== my-nuclear-power-plant" --post-installation-script="IyEvYmluL2Jhc2gKZWNobyAiY291Y291IHBvc3RJbnN0YWxsYXRpb25TY3JpcHQiID4gL29wdC9jb3Vjb3UKY2F0IC9ldGMvbWFjaGluZS1pZCAgPj4gL29wdC9jb3Vjb3UKZGF0ZSAiKyVZLSVtLSVkICVIOiVNOiVTIiAtLXV0YyA+PiAvb3B0L2NvdWNvdQo=" --wait -o json

For more details, use the built-in help:

ovhcloud baremetal reinstall nsxxxxxxx.ip-xx-xx-xx.eu --help

Complete configuration example:

data "ovh_dedicated_server" "server" {
  service_name = "nsxxxxxxx.ip-xx-xx-xx.eu"
}

data "ovh_dedicated_installation_template" "template" {
  template_name = "debian13_64"
}

resource "ovh_dedicated_server_reinstall_task" "server_reinstall" {
  service_name = data.ovh_dedicated_server.server.service_name
  os           = data.ovh_dedicated_installation_template.template.template_name
  customizations {
    hostname                 = "mon-tux"
    post_installation_script = "IyEvYmluL2Jhc2gKZWNobyAiY291Y291IHBvc3RJbnN0YWxsYXRpb25TY3JpcHQiID4gL29wdC9jb3Vjb3UKY2F0IC9ldGMvbWFjaGluZS1pZCAgPj4gL29wdC9jb3Vjb3UKZGF0ZSAiKyVZLSVtLSVkICVIOiVNOiVTIiAtLXV0YyA+PiAvb3B0L2NvdWNvdQo="
    ssh_key                  = "ssh-rsa AAAAB3NzaC1yc2EAAAADAQABAAAAgQC9xPpdqP3sx2H+gcBm65tJEaUbuifQ1uGkgrWtNY0PRKNNPdy+3yoVOtxk6Vjo4YZ0EU/JhmQfnrK7X7Q5vhqYxmozi0LiTRt0BxgqHJ+4hWTWMIOgr+C2jLx7ZsCReRk+fy5AHr6h0PHQEuXVLXeUy/TDyuY2JPtUZ5jcqvLYgQ== my-nuclear-power-plant"
  }
}

Refer to the Terraform Provider Registry for more details and advanced examples.

Logging on to your server

Linux

If you have installed an OVHcloud OS template on your server, a user with elevated permissions is created automatically. This user will be named according to the operating system, for example "ubuntu" or "rocky".

You will then receive an email containing the information needed to establish a first connection with SSH. SSH is a secure communication protocol, used to establish encrypted connections to a remote host. You can find more detailed information in our guide on How to get started with SSH connections.

Most current desktop operating systems will have an OpenSSH client natively installed. This means that your access credentials allow you to quickly establish a connection to your server in the appropriate command line application (Terminal, Command prompt, Powershell, etc.). Enter the following command:

ssh username@IPv4

Example:

ssh ubuntu@203.0.113.1

You can use any third-party application compatible with OpenSSH as well.

Once connected, you can replace the predefined password for the current user with a better passphrase by using this command:

passwd

On a GNU/Linux distribution, a password prompt will not display your keyboard inputs.

Type your current password and press Enter. Enter the new passphrase and type it again at the next prompt to confirm it.

Changing password for ubuntu.
Current password:
New password: 
Retype new password: 
passwd: password updated successfully

Unless stated otherwise, all administrative actions described in our documentation can be accomplished by the default user account, i.e. typing sudo followed by the respective command. Learn more about this topic in our guide on How to configure user accounts and root access on a server.

Depending on your requirements for security, mobility and convenience, SSH keys can serve as an additional connection method or replace logins with username and password. Find out how to use them in our guides:

• How to Create SSH Keys for Dedicated Server Access
• How to use PuTTY for SSH connections and authentication

Windows

Once the installation is completed, you will receive an email with your Windows login credentials. You can then connect to your server via RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol). On your local Windows device, open the Remote Desktop Connection client application.

Enter the IPv4 address of your server, 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 use also use any third-party application compatible with RDP. This is a requirement if your local device does not have Windows installed.

As a fallback option, you can use the IPMI console in your OVHcloud Control Panel to connect.

Enabling Windows boot logs (optional)

Windows boot logs can be helpful for server error diagnostics.

To activate them, follow the steps below by navigating through the tabs:

1. Connect to the server

2. Open the "Run" utility

3. Open "msconfig"

4. Activate logs

Connect to your server via RDP or IPMI.

Open the Windows start menu and click on Run.

Enter "msconfig" and click on OK.

In the new window, activate the logs option next to Boot log. Click on OK.

The next time your server boots, logs will be saved into a .txt file. The file path is: C:\Windows\ntbtlog.txt.

To access the log file in rescue mode, please follow the instructions in the guide How to activate and use rescue mode.

Restarting your dedicated server

A reboot might become necessary in order to apply updated configurations or to fix an issue. Whenever feasible, perform a "soft reboot" via the command line:

reboot

However, you can carry out a "hard reboot" at any time in your OVHcloud Control Panel. From the General information tab, click on ... next to "Status" in the Service status box, then click Restart and Confirm the action in the popup window.

Securing your dedicated server

You can learn more about securing your server in our guide How to secure a Dedicated Server.

If your server runs Windows, use our guide Configure the Windows Firewall on a Dedicated Server instead.

OVHcloud Monitoring

You can set the monitoring status for a dedicated server from the General information tab in your OVHcloud Control Panel (section Service status).

Click Enable interventions — or Disable interventions, depending on the current status. In the popup window, you have three options for the monitoring behaviour:

• Disabled: This option stops alert messages and interventions by OVHcloud. Choose this if you are executing pertinent administrative actions on the server which prevent an ICMP response.
• Enabled with proactive intervention: If the server stops responding, an alert email is sent to you and the server will be checked by a technician.
• Enabled without proactive intervention: You will receive an alert message by email in case the server stops responding. To initiate an intervention, enable your server monitoring with proactive intervention.

Click on Confirm to update your monitoring configuration.

You can find more information about OVHcloud Monitoring in our guide What are the IP addresses of the OVHcloud monitoring?.

Network configuration

Network bridging

Network bridging is the action taken by network equipment to create an aggregate network from either two or more communication networks, or two or more network segments. Bridging is distinct from routing, which allows the networks to communicate independently while remaining separate.

The Network Bridge configuration is most commonly used in the context of virtualisation, to allow each Virtual Machine to have its own public IP address.

For more information on network bridging, see our guide on Configuring Additional IPs in bridge mode on your virtual machines.

IP aliasing

IP aliasing is the process of associating two or more IP addresses to the same network interface. This allows your server to establish multiple connections to a network, each serving a different purpose.

For detailed instructions on how to configure IP aliasing, see our guide Configure IP Aliasing on a Dedicated Server.

IPv6 configuration

All OVHcloud dedicated servers are delivered with a /64 IPv6 block. To use the addresses in this block, you will need to make some network configuration changes. See our guide on Configuring IPv6 on dedicated servers.

Rescue mode

For any kind of issue, the first general troubleshooting step to take is rebooting your server into rescue mode from your OVHcloud Control Panel. It is important to identify server issues in this mode to exclude software-related problems before contacting our support teams.

Please refer to the How to activate and use rescue mode.

Access using IPMI

OVHcloud deploys all dedicated servers with an IPMI (Intelligent Platform Management Interface) console which runs in your browser or from a Java applet, and enables you to connect directly to your server even if it has no network connection. This makes it a useful tool for troubleshooting issues that may have taken your server offline.

For more information, see our guide on How to use the IPMI console with a dedicated server.

Backup storage

OVHcloud dedicated servers have an access-controlled storage space as a gratuitous service option. It is best used as a complementary backup option in case the server itself suffers data loss.

To activate and use the backup storage, see our guide How to use the backup storage on a dedicated server.

Go further

How to configure user accounts and root access on a server

Securing a dedicated server

How to activate and use rescue mode

Install an OS via the OVHcloud API on a Dedicated Server

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