First steps with your new dedicated server

1. Log in

Your delivery email or service page contains the IP address and credentials. Connect with SSH as described in Connect to your VPS with SSH — the steps are identical.

2. Secure it

Follow Secure a new Ubuntu VPS and Set up a firewall with UFW. A public dedicated server starts receiving scan traffic within minutes.

3. Check the hardware

lscpu                 # CPU
free -h               # RAM
lsblk                 # drives
smartctl -a /dev/sda  # drive health (apt install smartmontools)

Compare what you see with your listing. Report anything that doesn't match in a ticket.

4. Plan backups

A dedicated server is your responsibility. Copy important data off the machine on a schedule — RAID protects against a drive failure, not against deleting files or a compromised server.

5. IPMI

If your listing includes IPMI, keep its credentials safe and restrict access to it; it controls the machine at hardware level.

6. Monitor

Install simple monitoring (for example Uptime Kuma on another machine) so you know if the server stops answering.