Operate

Choose a provider for your own server

What the panel needs from a server, and where to rent one.

You'll need · An account with a VPS provider · A domain you control

Goal

A server that meets what the panel needs, with its IP address at hand for Connect your own VPS.

What the panel needs from the server

System: Linux with apt: Debian, Ubuntu or a derivative. We recommend the latest Ubuntu LTS or Debian stable. Hardening the host, which is optional, only runs on Ubuntu 22.04 or 24.04 and Debian 12 or newer.
Access: SSH as root, or as a user with passwordless sudo.
Disk: at least 10 GB free. Below that, Check marks the host Unsupported.
Memory: an instance at the panel's default limits reserves 3.75 GB of RAM and 3.75 CPUs. Count 4 GB of RAM per instance you plan to run on it.
Network: a public IP address, outbound internet access, and ports 80 and 443 free: the proxy takes them.
Domain: a domain you control, with a wildcard DNS record (*.your-domain) pointing at the server's IP. The panel asks for it as Wildcard Domain. No domain of your own? Order the server from the panel instead: on the paid plans of the hosted platform, Hire a VPS gives it a name under incubacloud.io and creates the DNS record for you.

The SSH key

You do not need to create a key. When you add the host, the panel generates a key pair and shows the public half with a copy button: paste it in the provider's SSH key field when you create the server. If the server already exists, the panel also shows the command that adds it to the user's authorized_keys. The private half stays in the panel, stored encrypted.

Keep the panel's form open while you order the server: the key is saved when you create the host. If you prefer a key of your own, you can upload its private half instead; it must have no passphrase.

Ports to open

If you create a firewall at the provider, allow these inbound TCP ports. The panel connects from where it runs, not from your computer, so do not limit SSH to your own address.

22, or the SSH port of the server.
22000 to 29999, if you will harden the host: hardening moves SSH to a random port in that range.
80 and 443, for the proxy and the HTTPS certificates.

Providers

Any provider whose server meets the list above works. Some of the most used:

Prefer not to deal with a provider?

On the paid plans of the hosted platform, Hire a VPS orders the server from the panel and hands it back set up and hardened, with no provider account and no key to manage.

Check the server is ready

Before you connect it in the panel, check two things:

The server is running: the provider's console shows it on, with its public IP address.
Your domain points to it. From your computer, ask for any name under your domain (the record is a wildcard, so any name works):
```
dig +short test.your-domain
```
It must print the server's IP address. If it prints nothing, the record is missing or has not spread yet: wait a few minutes and try again. On Windows, without dig: nslookup test.your-domain.