Getting Started with Your Cloud VPS

GrabbyHost's Cloud VPS is a different kind of product from shared or WordPress hosting: instead of a control panel like cPanel or DirectAdmin, you get a full, dedicated Linux server that you manage yourself. This guide covers what that means and how to get started safely.

What's Different About a VPS

• No control panel is pre-installed. You choose the operating system when the server is built (AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, CentOS Stream, Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, and a few GPU/AI-ready images are available), and you install and configure whatever software your project needs yourself – a web server, database, or a control panel if you want one.
• Access is via root/SSH, not a client-area login. There's no "Login to Control Panel" button here – you connect directly to the server with an SSH client using the root account.
• You're responsible for security and updates. Shared hosting handles OS patching for you; on a VPS, keeping the operating system and any software you install up to date is on you.

Finding Your Server's Details

1. Log in to your GrabbyHost client area and go to Services.
2. Open your Cloud VPS service and click Manage Server. This opens a dedicated VPS dashboard, separate from the usual hosting service page.
3. The Overview tab shows your server's status, IPv4/IPv6 addresses, hostname, region, size, and operating system, plus live CPU and network usage for the last 24 hours.

Logging In for the First Time

1. In the VPS dashboard, go to Setting > Access to see your root username and password.
2. Connect from your computer's terminal with: ssh root@your-server-ip (use the IPv4 address shown on the Overview tab), then enter the password when prompted.
3. There's no direct "reset password" option in the dashboard – if you ever lose the password, use Rebuild instead to get a fresh, GrabbyHost-delivered one. Note that rebuilding erases everything on the server first, so this is a last resort, not a routine reset.

First Security Steps

• Set up SSH key authentication and disable password-based SSH login once you've confirmed key login works – this is the single biggest security improvement you can make.
• Enable the Firewall under Networking > Firewall in the VPS dashboard. It's free to turn on and lets you set inbound/outbound rules without installing anything extra.
• Create a non-root user for day-to-day work and reserve root for administrative tasks.
• Keep the OS updated with your distribution's package manager (for example apt update && apt upgrade on Ubuntu/Debian, or dnf update on AlmaLinux/Rocky Linux).

Pointing a Domain at Your VPS

Use Networking > Domains in the VPS dashboard to manage DNS for any domain pointed at GrabbyHost's nameservers – it's free, with no charge for domains or records. If your domain is registered elsewhere, point its nameservers to GrabbyHost first (see How to Point Your Domain to GrabbyHost), then add an A record here pointing to your server's IPv4 address.

What's Next

For a full walkthrough of every tab in the VPS dashboard – power controls, backups and snapshots, volumes, and resizing – see Cloud VPS Features Guide: Everything You Can Do in Your VPS Dashboard.

Related Articles

• Cloud VPS Features Guide: Everything You Can Do in Your VPS Dashboard
• How to Choose the Right Hosting Plan (and When to Upgrade)
• How to Point Your Domain to GrabbyHost (Nameservers)
• How to Keep Your GrabbyHost Account Secure