Dedicated Server Setup Guide

A dedicated server provides an entire physical machine for your exclusive use. Here's how to set it up.

Dedicated Server Benefits

Maximum Performance — All hardware resources are yours
Complete Control — Full root access and customisation
Enhanced Security — Physical isolation from other users
High Availability — Enterprise-grade hardware and network
Custom Configuration — Choose your OS and software stack

Initial Access

After provisioning, you'll receive:

Server IP address
Root password
IPMI/iLO access (remote management)
Network configuration details

First-Time Configuration

Connect to Your Server

ssh root@your-server-ip

Secure Your Server

Change root password:

passwd

Create admin user:

adduser admin
usermod -aG sudo admin

Set up SSH key authentication
Disable root SSH login (after setting up admin user)
Configure firewall

Update System

Ubuntu/Debian:

apt update && apt upgrade -y

CentOS/RHEL:

yum update -y

Install Web Stack

LAMP Stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP)

apt install apache2 mysql-server php libapache2-mod-php php-mysql

LEMP Stack (Linux, Nginx, MySQL, PHP)

apt install nginx mysql-server php-fpm php-mysql

Control Panel Options

cPanel/WHM

Industry-standard control panel. Contact support for licensed installation.

Plesk

Alternative commercial panel with modern interface.

Free Options

CloudPanel
Webmin/Virtualmin
HestiaCP

Performance Optimisation

Configure PHP-FPM for optimal resource usage
Set up Redis or Memcached for caching
Optimise MySQL/MariaDB settings
Enable HTTP/2 in your web server
Configure OPcache for PHP

Monitoring

Set up monitoring for:

Server uptime
Resource usage (CPU, RAM, disk)
Network traffic
Security events

Backup Strategy

Configure automated backups
Use off-server backup storage
Test restore procedures regularly

Support

Need help with dedicated server configuration? Contact our expert team at support@bearhost.com.