How to create a server in the HIP panel: step by step

From an empty account to a working server you can SSH into. Five steps in the panel, plus the first things to do once it is up.

In short. Sign up at hip.hosting and top up your balance. Open my.hip.hosting/hiplets/new, choose a location, an OS image and version, optionally add an SSH key, pick a plan and click Create instance. Within a minute or two the panel shows the IP address and the root password. The first boot upgrades all system packages, which can take up to 15 minutes.

Before you start

• Sign up. Use the form at hip.hosting/#register: email and password. Confirm via the link in the email you receive.
• Top up the balance. In the left menu, open Balance and payments. Add enough to cover the server's first billing period. Methods: card, YooMoney, cryptocurrency. No domain or prior setup is needed - everything is chosen in the order form.

1. Open the page and configure the server

Direct URL: my.hip.hosting/hiplets/new. Or in the left menu: the CREATE section → Compute instance. The Create instance page opens, with four blocks - let's go through them in order.

Location

The Location block. Filter tabs at the top: World, Europe, North America. Below - city tiles with flags.

• Click the city you want - the radio dot next to its name fills in.
• Dimmed, non-clickable tiles (for example Stockholm, Moscow, Tallin, Vilnius) have no free servers in that location right now.

How to choose a location

The closer the server is to your users, the lower the latency. For an audience in the CIS and the EU, Helsinki, Frankfurt and Riga work well. For the US - Secaucus (NJ). If your users are worldwide, location barely matters - choose on price and availability. Full breakdown: see "How to choose a VPS location by latency".

Image - the operating system

The Image block. Two tabs:

• Operating system - a clean OS; you install software yourself. The usual choice.
• Application - prebuilt images with software already set up.

A row of icons: Ubuntu, Debian, CentOS, Rocky Linux, Arch Linux, Fedora, Windows. Click the one you need. Below is the Version dropdown (for Ubuntu, for example, 24.04 LTS).

Which OS to pick

For most workloads - the current LTS release of Ubuntu: fresh packages, long support, lots of documentation. Debian - when maximum stability and minimalism matter more. Rocky Linux / CentOS - for specific enterprise software. Windows - only if you need Windows programs or RDP access.

SSH key (optional)

The SSH keys block. The line "0 of 10 keys will be added" shows how many keys will be attached to the new server.

What an SSH key is

It is a pair of files: a private one (stays on your computer, never shared) and a public one (goes on the server). The server lets in whoever holds the private half. This is safer and more convenient than a password: nothing to type, nothing to brute-force.

• Add SSH key - paste the contents of your public key: a single line like ssh-ed25519 AAAA... comment. Where to get it: run ssh-keygen -t ed25519 on your machine; the public half is the file ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub.
• Manage keys - the section where keys are saved between orders: add one once, then just tick a checkbox.

You can skip this: access will then be by the root password the panel shows after creation. A key can be added later on the server page.

Plan

The Plans range block - three families:

• Standard - balanced, for most daily tasks.
• Memory - more RAM per core (databases, caches).
• Hi-CPU - CPU-heavy (builds, data processing).

Below them - a reminder: game servers are not allowed.

Then the Plan table: columns vCPU, RAM, Disk, Bandwidth, Cost/mo. The small number in a pill next to the price is how many of that configuration are in stock right now. Click a row to select it. The Servers count field - if you need several identical servers at once.

The plan can be changed later without reinstalling the OS - the Scale tab on the server page. Start with the smallest that fits.

2. Review and create

At the bottom - the Confirmation block: final price, location, OS, configuration and project. A Project is a folder for grouping servers; you can leave it as Unassigned.

Click Create instance. The first period's charge is taken from your balance.

3. The server is provisioning

A screen appears with the IP address, the login root and a password. Status - Installing, with a progress bar.

First boot - up to 15 minutes

On the first start the server upgrades all system packages, so you may not be able to connect right away. That is normal - wait it out. You do not have to stay on this screen: the Control panel button takes you to the server management page.

Copy the IP address and the password somewhere safe right away. You can change the password later.

4. Find the server in the list

In the left menu - Dashboard. The table shows your server: name, number (for example #117445), configuration, OS icon, location, status and cost. Status Active - the server is ready. Click the row to open management.

5. The server management page

At the top - the server name (pencil = rename), the IP address with a copy button, and three icons on the right: power on/off, reboot, force action.

Tabs:

• Information - configuration, cost, expiry date (the Prolong button extends it) and autorenew. Also the How to connect? block: PuTTY steps (Windows) and a ready command ssh root@YOUR-IP for macOS and Linux, plus the Change password button for the root password. The Reverse DNS (PTR) block - a reverse name record, mostly needed if you run your own mail server.
• Power control - power on, power off, reboot.
• Rebuild - reinstall the OS from scratch. Everything on the disk is wiped.
• Scale - change the plan: add vCPU, RAM, disk. No reinstall, a short reboot.
• Console - a web console: access to the server straight from the browser when SSH is unavailable (for example after a network or firewall mistake).
• History - a log of actions on the server.
• Open support ticket - a ticket to support about this server.

Each tab will get its own article.

First connection

Take the IP address and password from step 3 (or use your SSH key if you added one).

• Windows: open Windows Terminal or PowerShell and run the command below. Or use PuTTY following the steps in the "How to connect?" block.
• macOS and Linux: the same command in a terminal.

ssh [email protected]

On the first connection the system asks once to confirm the server's key fingerprint - type yes. The password is not shown as you type - that is normal.

What to do right after (the first 10 minutes)

• Update the system: apt update && apt upgrade -y.
• Create a regular user with sudo, set up SSH-key login and disable root login by password.
• Enable the firewall (ufw).

More in the separate article "Securing a new server: the first 10 minutes".

FAQ

How long does creating a server take?

The server itself is provisioned in a minute or two after payment. But on the first boot it upgrades all system packages, which can take up to 15 minutes, and SSH may be unavailable during that time. The panel already shows the IP and password by then.

What do I need to order a server?

An account with a confirmed email and a balance that covers the first billing period. No domain or prior setup required.

What is a Hiplet?

A Hiplet is HIP's unit of a virtual server - what people commonly call a VPS or VDS. One Hiplet is one virtual machine with dedicated vCPU, RAM and an SSD disk.

Can I change the location or plan after ordering?

The plan - yes, in the Scale tab: add vCPU, RAM or disk without reinstalling, with a short reboot. The location is tied to the machine: to change country, create a new server in the target location and migrate the data.

What if I cannot connect over SSH?

First wait: the first boot runs a package upgrade for up to 15 minutes. If it is still unreachable after that, open the "Console" tab on the server page - a browser web console that works independently of SSH.

What is the "Change password" button for?

The root password is issued at creation and shown in the panel. Change it to your own right after the first login - or better, set up SSH-key login and disable the password entirely.