Chapter 1 · 1.1
What this manual is and what you manage yourself
With a VPS, you have your own virtual server in our data centre in the Netherlands. You get root access, a fixed IPv4 address and a fixed IPv6 address, and you choose the operating system yourself. This manual takes you from your first login to a secure server running your websites and apps with Docker.
What does WebOké do and what do you do?
| WebOké takes care of | You take care of |
|---|---|
| The hardware, the power and the network | The operating system and the updates |
| The VPS screen in My WebOké: on and off, console, snapshots, backups, ISO, reverse DNS and reinstalling | Security: SSH, users, firewall and fail2ban |
| A daily backup of your entire VPS, kept for 7 days | All the software you install, such as a web server, Docker and your apps |
| Opening outgoing port 25 if you want to send mail yourself (see Reverse DNS and sending mail from your VPS) | Your own backups of your data, monitoring and reading your logs |
Please note: A VPS is unmanaged: you manage everything that happens inside your server yourself. This manual is self-help. We don't look at your server and we don't change anything on it for you.
Do you have a question about the VPS screen, your invoice or port 25? Support will be happy to help (see Submitting a ticket). For what happens on the server itself, this manual and the knowledge base are there to help you.
What do you need?
- A VPS with WebOké. Almost everything also works with another provider; only the buttons in chapter 1 have different names there.
- A computer with a terminal: PowerShell or Windows Terminal on Windows, Terminal on a Mac or on Linux.
- A domain name if you want to run a website or app with https.
- An hour for chapters 2 and 3. After that, the basics are in place.
How do you read the examples?
In the examples, your server is called web1.example.com, with IPv4 address 203.0.113.10 and IPv6 address 2001:db8::10. These addresses don't exist: fill in your own details. You'll find your own IP addresses in your VPS screen.
Each command is preceded by a prompt that shows who you are. root@web1:~# means you're logged in as root. anna@web1:~$ means you're working as the regular user anna; you create this user in Your own user with sudo. Don't type the prompt.
anna@web1:~$ sudo apt updateThe commands apply to Debian 12 and 13 and Ubuntu 24.04 and 26.04. If you use AlmaLinux or Rocky Linux, you'll find a short note wherever things work differently.
The basics are also in the knowledge base
You'll find short articles about your VPS in the knowledge base: Getting started with your VPS, Logging in to your VPS with SSH (and creating an SSH key), Securing your VPS: the first five minutes, Snapshots and backups of your VPS, Sending mail from your VPS and setting up reverse DNS, Attaching your own ISO or reinstalling your VPS, No longer have access to your VPS: what now?, Which VPS package suits me? and Increasing the disk space of your VPS. This manual goes further and gives you the complete recipes.
Do you also want to understand why?
This manual gives you the steps. Why you do something a certain way is explained in the free course on VPS and Linux server management. Start with What a VPS is and what you manage.