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'''First steps with your new dedicated server''' — this guide walks you through the essential setup process after receiving access to a new dedicated server. Following these steps ensures a secure, optimized, and production-ready environment.

== Step 1: Initial Access ==

Your hosting provider will send you an IP address, root password, and possibly a KVM/IPMI console link. Connect via SSH:

ssh root@YOUR_SERVER_IP

On first login, change the root password immediately:

passwd

== Step 2: Update the Operating System ==

Before installing anything, bring the system up to date:

# Debian/Ubuntu
apt update && apt upgrade -y

# CentOS/AlmaLinux
dnf update -y

Reboot if the kernel was updated:

reboot

== Step 3: Create a Regular User ==

Never use root for daily tasks. Create an administrative user:

adduser admin
usermod -aG sudo admin # Debian/Ubuntu
usermod -aG wheel admin # CentOS/RHEL

Test the new user:

su - admin
sudo whoami # should output "root"

== Step 4: Secure SSH ==

Edit <code>/etc/ssh/sshd_config</code>:

Port 2222 # change default port
PermitRootLogin no # disable root SSH login
PasswordAuthentication no # after setting up SSH keys
MaxAuthTries 3

Set up SSH key authentication from your local machine:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519
ssh-copy-id -p 2222 admin@YOUR_SERVER_IP

Restart SSH:

sudo systemctl restart sshd

For more details, see [[Server Security Best Practices]].

== Step 5: Configure the Firewall ==

Set up UFW (Ubuntu) or firewalld (CentOS):

# UFW
sudo ufw default deny incoming
sudo ufw default allow outgoing
sudo ufw allow 2222/tcp
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
sudo ufw enable

== Step 6: Install Essential Tools ==

sudo apt install -y curl wget htop iotop net-tools \
fail2ban unattended-upgrades git

Configure Fail2Ban for SSH protection:

sudo systemctl enable --now fail2ban

== Step 7: Set Up Automatic Updates ==

# Ubuntu
sudo dpkg-reconfigure unattended-upgrades

This ensures security patches are applied automatically.

== Step 8: Configure Hostname and Timezone ==

sudo hostnamectl set-hostname myserver
sudo timedatectl set-timezone UTC

== Step 9: Set Up Monitoring ==

Install basic monitoring to track server health:

# Install htop for interactive monitoring
sudo apt install htop

# Set up disk space alerts (add to crontab)
# Check disk usage daily
(crontab -l; echo "0 8 * * * df -h | mail -s 'Disk Report' you@email.com") | crontab -

== Step 10: Plan Your Backups ==

Before deploying any applications, set up a backup strategy. See [[Server Security Best Practices#Backup Strategy|backup best practices]] for detailed guidance.

== Recommended Providers ==

[https://powervps.net/?from=32 PowerVPS] offers dedicated servers with quick provisioning, root access, and a variety of OS options pre-installed, making these first steps straightforward.

== Next Steps ==

After completing the initial setup, you are ready to:

* Install a web server ([[Optimizing Website Performance with Dedicated Servers|Nginx or Apache]])
* Set up [[Docker and Kubernetes: Getting Started|Docker]] for containerized deployments
* Configure a database server (MySQL, PostgreSQL)

== See Also ==

* [[Server Security Best Practices]]
* [[Linux Server Administration Guide]]
* [[Choosing the Right Dedicated Server]]

[[Category:Dedicated Servers]]

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