Install the OS by auto-installation

Install the OS by auto-installation

Autoinstall is a tool to install and reinstall an operating system on a dedicated server automatically through the control panel. Standard OS images and OS images with applications are available for autoinstallation .If you want to use your own image, install the OS manually.

The OS will be installed on the first disk, according to the disk installation order — NVMe → SSD → HDD.If you need to install the OS on another disk, install the OS manually.

Install the OS by auto-installation⁠

carefully

When reinstalling the OS, the data on all disks will be deleted.We recommend saving the data or creating a backup before reinstalling the OS.

Linux

For your information

When the OS installation is complete, the number of authorization attempts when connecting via SSH will be limited.After 10 unsuccessful password attempts from one IP address, this IP address will be blocked for 24 hours.If you forget the password from the server, you can reset and recover it.

1. In the Control Panel, on the top menu, click Products and select Dedicated Servers.
2. In the Servers section, open the Server page → Operating System tab.
3. Click Change OS Configuration.
4. Optional: Add an SSH key to securely connect to the server. You can add a new public SSH key or select a downloaded key from the storage for SSH keys.
5. Optional: Enter user data. Using user data helps automate server configuration. This field is not available for all operating systems. You can specify user data only for servers without hardware HBAs and RAID controllers.
6. Select an image to install the OS.
7. Optional: partition the disks. By default, the optimal RAID type is determined and only partitioned disks and disks in RAID are partitioned.
8. Click Install. The installation may take from 7 to 60 minutes, depending on the server performance and the selected distribution.If it takes longer, create a ticket.
9. After the OS installation, a password will be generated to connect to the server.The password can be viewed in the control panel on the server page → Operating System tab .It is available for viewing 24 hours after the OS installation is complete.

Windows

An evaluation version of the OS will be installed.

1. In the Control Panel, on the top menu, click Products and select Dedicated Servers.
2. In the Servers section, open the Server page → Operating System tab.
3. Click Change OS Configuration.
4. Select an image to install the OS.
5. Click Install. Installation may take from 120 minutes, depending on server performance and the selected distribution.If it takes longer, create a ticket.
6. After the OS installation, a password will be generated to connect to the server.The password can be viewed in the control panel on the server page → Operating System tab .It is available for viewing 24 hours after the completion of the OS installation.If you have forgotten the server password, you can reset and restore it.
7. Partition your disks with Windows tools or Set up software RAID.

Partition the disks⁠

Linux (partitioning for each disk)

You can partition the disks during the automatic OS installation process in step 7.

You can perform partitioning for each disk separately for the following operating systems: Ubuntu 24.04LTS, Ubuntu 22.04LTS, Ubuntu 20.04LTS, AlmaLinux 9.2x86_64, Oracle 9x86_64, Debian 12x86_64, Debian 11x86_64, Proxmox, Rocky 9.2x86_64.

1. Click Manage disk partitioning.

2. Select the desired disk.

3. Optional: Click Add to RAID.

4. If you have assembled disks in RAID, or want to RAID a single disk, define the RAID type:

   • RAID1 — mirroring. All data is written to at least two separate physical disks in a RAID set. The array is built from selected disks;
   • RAID0 — RAID distribution, disk striping. When RAID0 is selected, if one of the disks fails, all data will be lost with no possibility of recovery;
   • RAID10 (suitable only for configurations with at least four disks) — mirroring, disk striping. All data is written sequentially to multiple disks.

5. Check the disk partitioning or RAID. The partitioning table will show mandatory partitions with mount points — /boot, /, swap.

6. Optional: click Add Partition. The choice of partition file system depends on the OS limitations.

7. If you are installing an OS on the disk, make sure there is no unmapped area left on the disk.

8. Go to step 8 in the automatic OS installation process.

Linux (boot disk partitioning only)

You can partition the disks during the automatic OS installation process in step 7.

Only the boot disk will be partitioned. Other disks can be partitioned using the OS tools after installation.

1. If the server has one hard disk, skip this step. If the server has two or more hard disks, select RAID type:

   • RAID1 — mirroring. All data is written to two separate physical disks in a RAID set. The array is built from the first two disks, the remaining disks will be unmapped;
   • RAID0 — RAID distribution, disk striping. When RAID0 is selected, if one of the disks fails, all data will be lost with no possibility of recovery.

2. Select the type of post-install script — bash-script, which is run after the OS installation:

   • default — the standard post-install script for the selected OS is executed;
   • custom — allows you to edit the standard script, or add your own.

   Post-install script is not supported on all operating systems. Read more about creating post-install scripts in the official Ubuntu documentation.

3. Check the partitioning. The table with partitioning will show mandatory partitions with mount points — /boot, /, swap.

4. Optional: click Add Partition. The choice of partition file system depends on the OS limitations.

5. Make sure that there is no unallocated area left on the disk. If you need to leave an unallocated area, create an additional partition with free space and delete it when the OS installation is complete.

6. Go to step 7 in the automatic OS installation process.

Windows

1. Connect to the server via RDP or via KVM console.

2. Press the Win + R key combination.

3. Run the disk management utility:

   diskmgmt.msc

4. Right-click on the partition you want to split and select Shrink Volume.

5. In the Enter the amount of space to shrink in MB field, specify the size of the space to be allocated.

6. Click Shrink. The information about the selected space is displayed with the Unallocated mark.

7. Create a new partition by right-clicking on the highlighted space and selecting New simple volume.

8. In the Simple volume size in MB field, enter the size of the partition.

9. Optional: select a partition letter.

10. Specify the file system of the partition.

11. Click Finish.

Standard OS images⁠

Periodically, we disable the ability to auto-install unclaimed configurations and configurations that have reached their official End Of Life (EOL).

Distribution	EOL
AlmaLinux 8.4x86_64	01.05.2024
AlmaLinux 9.2x86_64	31.05.2027
MacOS BigSur	TBA
Oracle 8x86_64	31.07.2029
Oracle 9x86_64	30.06.2032
Rocky 8x86_64	01.05.2024
Rocky 9.2x86_64	31.05.2027
Windows Server 2016 Standard*	11.01.2022
Windows Server 2016 Datacenter*	11.01.2022
Windows Server 2019 Standard*	09.01.2024
Windows Server 2019 Datacenter*	09.01.2024
Windows Server 2022 Standard*	13.10.2026
Windows Server 2022 Datacenter*	13.10.2026
Ubuntu 24.04LTS	25.04.2029
Ubuntu 22.04LTS	01.04.2027
Ubuntu 20.04LTS	31.05.2025
Debian 11x86_64	14.08.2024
Debian 12x86_64	10.06.2026
Proxmox VE 7	31.07.2024
Proxmox VE 7.x	14.08.2024
Proxmox VE 8	TBA
Proxmox BS 2	31.07.2024
Proxmox BS 3	TBA
Raspberry Pi OS buster	30.06.2024
Raspberry Pi OS bullseye	14.08.2024
Raspberry Pi OS (Ubuntu 24.04)	25.04.2029
Raspberry Pi OS (Ubuntu 22.04)	01.04.2027
Raspberry Pi OS (Ubuntu 20.04)	31.05.2025

* evaluation version of the OS.

OS images with applications⁠

Distribution	EOL
ISPmanager Lite 6 (Ubuntu 24.04 LTS)	25.04.2029
Nextcloud 29 (Ubuntu 24.04 LTS)	25.04.2029
Container Ready 28.0.0 (Ubuntu 24.04 LTS)	25.04.2029
Data Science (Ubuntu 24.04 LTS)	25.04.2029