Server deployment
Server deployment with UpCloud is easy. You can start by logging into your UpCloud Control Panel and clicking the Deploy server button at the Servers view.
The server deployment page shows several options for customizing a new Cloud Server. This article provides helpful information about various server configurations.
Notice that while configuring your server deployment, you can always see the Summary of your selections and the corresponding pricing as you change your configuration.
Location
Begin by selecting the physical location of your new server. The closest location to you offers the lowest latency when connecting remotely. UpCloud currently offers infrastructure in Sydney, Frankfurt, Madrid, Helsinki, Amsterdam, Warsaw, Singapore, London, Chicago, New York and San Jose.
Note that pricing varies between Helsinki and the other sites. The total monthly and hourly prices in the Summary reflect this.
Server plans
CPU, RAM, and storage space define your Cloud Server’s basic capabilities. You can select between preconfigured General Purpose, High CPU, and High Memory plans.
For a start-up web server, the first General Purpose plan of 1 GB RAM, 1 CPU, and 25GB MaxIOPS is often sufficient and a great starting point as a highly cost-effective choice.
If you have particularly specific system requirements, you can choose one of the High CPU or High Memory plans to customize your server resources, up to 64 CPU cores and 384GB of RAM.
You can also change the server configuration later and easily move between the configurations. Find out more about the configuration options in our article about working with Cloud Server plans.
Storage
In the Storage section, you can attach 16 storage devices with a maximum size of 4 TB each. You can choose between our blazingly fast MaxIOPS and the cost-effective HDD in selected zones for each additional storage device on your server.
The server’s monthly plans include the first MaxIOPS storage device up to a specific size. If you prefer having more storage space, you can add more storage devices to your configuration by clicking the Add new device button and assigning storage size with the slider under the name field.
Like most other options, you can change your server’s storage configuration later by adding and removing storage devices or resizing the storage.
If you are wondering why UpCloud does not offer SSD storage, the simple answer is that MaxIOPS is just better, up to 100k IOPS, SSD-based block storage backend. Your server will perform far better using MaxIOPS, even on a 10GB storage device. It is an all-around improved option over the standard SSD storage solutions.
The storage devices can also be fully encrypted at rest using the built-in option. Block storages include normal block storages, backups, and custom images. Any block storage device, including the storage device holding the Cloud Server’s operating system, can be encrypted. The encryption is fully transparent to the Cloud Server and requires no additional software to be installed or encryption keys to be managed on the server.
Automated backups
You can also enable Automated Backups by clicking the toggle button on the right side. You can choose between a Day, Week, Month, or Year plan. If you enable automated backups, the Day plan is included for free. However, it is important to note that if the automated backups are left off, then this free Day plan is not included. This means that no automated backups are made.
The Day plan will be backed up once every 24 hours, replacing the backup from the previous 24 hours. With the other paid plans, you’ll have access to more backups for a longer period. For instance, the Week plan keeps seven concurrent daily backups simultaneously. After choosing the right plan for your server, you can choose a backup schedule in the drop-down menu below.
Operating system
After configuring the hardware, you must choose the operating system for the new server. Choose from the public templates with the most common modern server OS options for the easiest and fastest deployment.
Advanced users may wish to install the server from various distributions by selecting their favourite OS from the CDROM tab and installing it manually at the first boot-up.
It is also possible to download and install nearly any other OS with custom media or import an existing server. To learn more, follow our guides for using your installation media and importing your server image.
Network
All Cloud Server plans include public IPv4 and IPv6 addresses and a private Utility Network connection by default. These can be configured in the Network section.
Additionally, you can create and attach SDN Private Networks to the new server at the configuration stage. Doing this at deployment allows the server to automatically configure the new network interface and IP address without manual setup.
Optionals
You can enable or disable IPv6 support and metadata service in this section. Click More Settings to set the desired time zone and choose between network and display adapters.
We recommend keeping most of these options in their default settings for your convenience.
Login method
In this section, you choose your login method. Linux servers use SSH keys, while Windows servers are limited to a one-time password. SSH keys are the required login method on Linux, as they are the most secure option.
SSH keys are generated pairs of long and practically impossible-to-break codes that allow automated user authentication. SSH key pairs work in two halves: the public key, which acts as a lock, and the private key, which can open the lock. The public key can be safely passed to your cloud servers, while the private key should be kept securely stored on your computer.
The SSH key feature at your UpCloud control panel provides easy public key storage and allows you to apply authentication to any new Linux server.
Public keys stored in the control panel can be directly applied to your Cloud Servers at deployment. Click to select the keys you wish to use on the new server. The keys are added to the default root account, allowing you to harden the server’s security immediately. If you do not yet have SSH keys, you should check out our guide to using SSH keys for authentication to improve your server security.
You can also click the Add new button to import your keys right at the deployment without losing your server setup selections. This opens the editing window where you can name the key, copy it into your public key, and save the SSH key.
As mentioned, Windows servers will need to use a one-time password. The one-time password will be generated for the Administrator account and delivered using the selected method. You will be prompted to set a new password after the first time you log into this server. You can choose to have the password provided via email or text message (SMS), or you can choose not to send it at all, in which case the one-time password is only shown in your UpCloud Control Panel after server deployment.
Initialization scripts
You can also select initialization scripts. These are user-defined automation scripts supported by all of the public Linux templates. Selecting one of your stored scripts will bring it to the edit field below. You can make any last-minute changes to the script before deployment or write a completely new script right on the spot. The server will perform the actions dictated by the script during the first bootup, allowing you to save considerable time and effort.
Server configuration
Finally, name your new Cloud Server. The server hostname should be in a fully qualified domain name format, for example, webserver1.domain.com. Linux systems set this as the hostname on your Cloud Server. You should use your domain name if available, but it is not required if you have not registered one.
Write a name in the second text field to help you quickly identify the server. The server name will be shown as the server title on the list of servers.
Notice that you also have the option to deploy up to 10 Cloud Servers simultaneously using the current configuration. This can be useful for creating clusters or worker nodes for redundancy and load-balancing.
Deploy server
Once you are done configuring your new server, check the details again. If everything is in order, click the Deploy button at the bottom of the page to launch your new Cloud Server. You can then follow the deployment in the Servers view and get notified when the process is complete.
Congratulations on deploying your first server with UpCloud!
If you are unsure what to do next, check out our guide about connecting to your server. Or, if you chose a Windows-based server, follow the instructions to finalize the deployment.
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