Order your first VPS

A VPS (virtual private server) is a slice of a physical machine with its own OS, disk, and network identity. You typically get root (on Linux) or administrator access (on Windows), which means you—not the shared-hosting stack—choose web server, database versions, and firewall rules. BillySoft exposes ordering through Order VPS and lifecycle through My Instances and My Orders.

Plan before you click

List what you will run: web app, API, database, background workers, VPN, game server, etc. Each consumes CPU, RAM, and disk I/O. A staging server can be tiny; a production database on the same node as a heavy app may need more RAM than you first guess.

Pick a region close to users (latency) or compliant with data residency if that matters. Changing region later usually means new instance + migrate, not a toggle.

The Order VPS form

Open Order VPS from the sidebar. Hostname (or label) is for your own recognition in lists—it may map to reverse DNS or internal naming depending on automation; keep it short and unique.

Choose datacenter next. The menu lists regions our cloud integration supports. If you are serving Zimbabwe and South Africa, a regional EU or African POP might be acceptable—test latency after deploy.

Instance size maps to vCPU, RAM, and SSD. Start conservative if cost-sensitive; monitor load after go-live. Oversizing on day one wastes money; undersizing causes slow pages and OOM kills.

Operating system images typically include popular Linux distros and sometimes Windows Server. Select LTS releases for production unless you have a specific reason to chase bleeding edge.

Billing period (monthly, quarterly, etc.) changes total at checkout. Longer terms sometimes discount—read the line items.

Payment and provisioning

Confirm the price summary, ensure wallet balance, then pay. Provisioning is asynchronous: the cloud API creates the VM, attaches disk, injects SSH keys or passwords, and assigns a public IP.

Watch My Orders for payment confirmation and My Instances for active state. Times vary from minutes upward if queues are busy or Windows images are large.

Do not panic if the instance is pending briefly. If it stays pending well beyond the usual window, contact Support with the order ID.

First access and hardening

When the instance shows running, open its detail view for IP address, username, and password or SSH key instructions—exact fields depend on admin configuration.

Immediately:

• Patch the OS (`apt update && apt upgrade` or Windows Update)\n- Create a non-root sudo user and disable password SSH if using keys\n- Configure firewall (allow only 22/80/443 unless you need more)\n- Set automatic security updates where appropriate

Ongoing operations

Snapshot or backup strategy is your responsibility on unmanaged VPS. Use provider snapshots if exposed, or rsync/restic to another location. BillySoft may add tooling over time; check announcements.