Takes about three minutes, and your VPS has been waiting patiently since it deployed.
Steps
Your welcome email lists your IP address and Root password. You can also find them in the portal at https://noc.versaweb.com under your VPS. You'll need an SSH client: Terminal on Linux and macOS, or the built-in ssh in Windows PowerShell.
- Open a terminal on your computer.
- Connect with
ssh -l root YOUR.IP.ADDRESS. If you have more than one IP, use the main one shown on the Overview page. - The first time, SSH asks whether to trust the server's fingerprint. Type
yesand press Enter. - Paste the Root password from your welcome email when asked. The cursor won't move while you paste or type. That's normal, not broken.
- Once you see a shell prompt, change the root password right away by running
passwd. It asks for the new password twice and shows nothing as you type. - Update the system. On Debian or Ubuntu run
apt update && apt upgrade -y. On AlmaLinux rundnf upgrade -y. - Reboot if the update asks you to (a kernel update does, and Debian and Ubuntu leave a file at
/var/run/reboot-required):reboot. Your VPS is back in about a minute.
Next, consider creating a regular user, adding your SSH key, and turning on a firewall. Our other Smart VPS articles walk through each one, starting with the firewall and SSH keys.
If it didn't work
- Check the IP address matches the portal exactly, and that the VPS shows as running there.
- If SSH warns that the host identification has changed, remove the old entry with
ssh-keygen -R YOUR.IP.ADDRESSand try again. - If the password is rejected, wait a minute (a brand-new or just-reset VPS can need a moment) and retry. Still no good? Reset it from the portal (see "How do I reset the root password on my Smart VPS?").
- If SSH times out, open the Serial console from the portal. If the console works but SSH doesn't, a firewall on the VPS is the usual cause.
- Still stuck? Open a ticket under Technical Support with your IP address and the exact error message.