How do I have my dedicated server reinstalled?
How to have your dedicated server reinstalled through support: make a backup first, provide your SSH key and then log in.
By Hermie Updated
You request a reinstall of your dedicated server from support. All data on the server is lost in the process, so make a backup first.
All data is lost
A reinstall wipes your disks. Copy everything you want to keep to another place first.
What you need
- A backup of your data, off the server.
- An SSH public key. If you don't have one yet, create one with
ssh-keygen -t ed25519. Your public key is then in~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub.
Request a reinstall
- Make a backup and check that it's complete.
- Open a ticket.
- Include:
- which server it's about
- which operating system you want
- your SSH public key
- Support reinstalls the server and lets you know when it's ready.
Which operating systems are possible? Ask support in your ticket.
Log in after the reinstall
The first time, log in with the operating system's default user instead of root. On Ubuntu that's ubuntu:
ssh ubuntu@<ip-address>
Logging in over SSH works the same as on a VPS; see logging in to your VPS.
Your IPv6 address may change
After a reinstall, your server may have a different IPv6 address. Check it with ip -6 addr and update your DNS records if needed.
Check
- Log in with your SSH key.
- Check with
cat /etc/os-releasethat the right operating system is running. - Check your IP addresses with
ip addr. - Restore your backup.
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