If you've lost the root password to your VPS, the portal can set a new one in a couple of clicks. You don't need a ticket, and you don't need to be able to log in first.
What this does
The portal asks the guest agent running inside your VPS to set a new password for the root user. The portal makes up the new password itself, so you don't type one. It replaces the old root password, which stops working.
Because it talks to your VPS through the guest agent, the VPS has to be running. If it's powered off, start it first. See How do I reboot, shut down or power on my Smart VPS?.
Steps
- Log in to the portal at https://noc.versaweb.com.
- Click Services, then Smart VPS Servers, then click your VPS. You land on the Overview tab.
- Find the Password row, next to Username (
root). It has a box and three buttons: an eye, a copy icon and a key. - Click the key icon (its tooltip says Reset Password).
- Read the prompt, "Are you sure you want to reset server password? This operation may reboot your server.", and confirm. The guest agent usually sets the password without a reboot, but that depends on the operating system, so save any unsaved work on the VPS first.
- The page reloads and the Password box now holds the new password. Click the eye to show it, or the copy icon to copy it. Give it a minute or two. Most of the time the VPS stays up. If yours does reboot, SSH answers again once it's back.
- Log in with
ssh root@YOUR.IP.ADDRESSand the new password, or use the Serial console from the Overview page. - Change it to one only you know by running
passwd. Once you do, the Password box in the portal no longer matches, so keep your own record.
How to check it worked
- The value in the Password box is different from before.
- You can log in as
rootwith it.
If it didn't work
- SSH warns that the host identification has changed. That can happen right after a reset or rebuild. Remove the old entry with
ssh-keygen -R YOUR.IP.ADDRESSand connect again. - The new password is rejected over SSH. Wait a minute and try again. If it keeps failing, your SSH server may have root password login turned off (our standard images allow it), which is a good security setting, not a fault. Use the Serial console instead (the button at the top of the Overview tab), log in there, and change the SSH setting or add a key.
- The VPS is off. The reset needs a running VPS. Click Startup, wait for the status to say ON, and try again.
- Nothing changed. Your VPS may not have the guest agent running, which is how the reset reaches it. Open the Serial console to get in some other way, or rebuild from a template if you don't need what's on it. See How do I rebuild my Smart VPS?.
- Still stuck? Open a ticket under Technical Support with your IP address and the time you tried.
Keep the password out of tickets and chat. When you can, add an SSH key and rely on passwords less.