Your new server: the steps

Before you start

You need the server's address and root password: for a server ordered from Lunida they are in our mail; otherwise they come from your provider.

For a server ordered from Lunida, give your answers (your SSH key from step 1, your websites, what to install) on the setup page linked in your order mail. We prepare the script with them, so it asks only for the passwords.

1. An SSH key on your computer

Once per computer. Open PowerShell (Windows 10 and 11) or Terminal (macOS, Linux) and run:

ssh-keygen -t ed25519

Press Enter for the file it offers. A passphrase protects the key if the computer is stolen. Then show the public half:

cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

The line it prints, starting with ssh-ed25519, is what the setup asks for. It is safe to send to us. The file without .pub is your private key: it never leaves your computer.

2. Your domains point to the server

Each name of your websites needs a DNS record of type A with the server's IPv4 address (and AAAA with its IPv6 address). For domains with Lunida we set them; tell us the names. Do this before step 4, or those names get no HTTPS certificate in the run.

3. Log in as root

ssh root@ADDRESS

with the password from the mail.

4. Run the setup

curl -fsSLO https://support.lunida.net/server-setup.sh
bash server-setup.sh

Each question shows its usual answer in brackets; Enter takes it. When in doubt: MariaDB, Apache, the PHP it offers, and 0 days for Lunida support. The extras say what they cost in memory and disk. The passwords for root and the admin need 12 characters or more; write them down, they are not stored anywhere. After the summary, yes starts it.

5. Test the new login before you close anything

In a second window:

ssh ubuntu@ADDRESS
sudo -v

(with the admin name you chose). If that works, close the root window: root can no longer log in over SSH, and passwords no longer work over SSH. If it does not work, leave the root window open and write to us.

6. Keep the report

scp ubuntu@ADDRESS:server-setup-report.txt .

then delete it on the server: rm ~/server-setup-report.txt. It lists your logins, sites, certificates and the database passwords.

Help from Lunida

Questions at any step: support (at) lunida.net.

Together: we call you and work in the same terminal; you see everything we type and type your passwords yourself. After step 3, run:

curl -fsSLO https://support.lunida.net/lunida-access.sh
bash lunida-access.sh 1
tmux new -s setup

We do it for you: after step 3 run the first two lines above with 14 in place of 1, send us your key line from step 1 and your website names, and we tell you when it is done.

Later: sudo lunida-access 7 lets Lunida support log in for 7 days, with our team's keys only. It ends on its own; sudo lunida-access 0 ends it at once, and sudo lunida-access shows whether it is on and who logged in.