VPS guides: choose, set up, secure and back up your server
Practical, step-by-step guides from the ONIE engineering team. Each guide uses commands you can copy, explains why a step matters and links to the official documentation it is based on.
What is a VPS
A VPS is a virtual machine with its own CPU, RAM, disk and root access. Learn how it works, what it is used for and when to rent a VPS instead of hosting.
Read the guide →Choose VPS specs
Not sure how much CPU, RAM and disk a VPS needs? Use these sizing rules for websites, databases, game servers and Windows, then resize later if needed.
Read the guide →Install WordPress on a VPS
Step-by-step WordPress install on an Ubuntu VPS with Nginx, MariaDB, PHP-FPM and a free HTTPS certificate, with copy-paste commands and a security checklist.
Read the guide →Secure SSH on a VPS
Harden SSH on a new Linux VPS: create a sudo user, use SSH keys, disable password and root login, enable a firewall, Fail2ban and automatic security updates.
Read the guide →VPS vs shared hosting
Compare VPS and shared hosting on resources, speed, control, security, price and scaling, and see which one fits your website or application best.
Read the guide →Windows or Linux VPS
Windows VPS or Linux VPS? Compare license cost, resource use, software, remote access and security to choose the right operating system for your project.
Read the guide →VPS backup and snapshot
Learn the difference between a VPS snapshot and a backup, how to back up files and databases with rsync and restic, and how to test that a restore really works.
Read the guide →Protect a VPS from DDoS
Understand DDoS attack types and apply practical steps to protect a VPS: edge filtering, firewall rules, Nginx rate limits, monitoring and incident response.
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