Documentation

Everything you need once your server is live.

Connecting to your server

Your welcome email contains the IP address and root password. Connect over SSH:

ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP

On first login, change the root password immediately with passwd, and consider creating a non-root user for day-to-day work.

Recommended first steps

# Update the system
apt update && apt upgrade -y

# Create a regular user with sudo
adduser yourname
usermod -aG sudo yourname

# Basic firewall
apt install -y ufw
ufw allow 22/tcp
ufw allow 80/tcp
ufw allow 443/tcp
ufw enable

# Enable automatic security updates
apt install -y unattended-upgrades

Reinstalling the operating system

You can reinstall to any supported OS at any time from your dashboard. This erases all data on the server, so back up first. There is no charge for reinstalls.

Upgrading your plan

vCPU, memory and storage can all be increased from your dashboard. Changes take effect after a reboot and the price difference is prorated to your billing date. Downgrades are available on request.

Backups

If you enabled daily off-site backups, your server is snapshotted every night and retained for 14 days. Restores can be triggered from your dashboard. To restore a single file rather than the whole server, mount the snapshot read-only and copy what you need.

Monitoring and reboots

If your server becomes unresponsive, use the power controls in your dashboard (graceful reboot, then hard power cycle if needed). This is equivalent to pressing the power button — it does not affect your data, but unsaved work in memory is lost.

Bandwidth

Bandwidth is pooled monthly across your server. Inbound traffic is not counted. If you approach your limit we will email you before anything is throttled.

Getting help

Open a ticket from your dashboard or email support@givelanternhost.com. Include your server IP and what you were doing when the problem started — it usually cuts the back-and-forth in half.

Looking for the acceptable use policy? It is in our Terms.