Upgrading your HIP server plan: more CPU, RAM, or disk

The server is visibly running out of room: swap keeps climbing, the site slows down under load, disk space keeps shrinking. None of that calls for a reinstall. The HIP panel has a separate operation that upgrades the server's plan, meaning it hands the server more CPU, RAM, or disk, without touching your files, configuration, or installed software. This guide covers how to upgrade a HIP server plan from the Scale tab, how Standard differs from Memory, why the new plan's disk can never be smaller than the current one, and how to confirm afterward that the resources actually grew.

In short. Server page -> Scale tab -> pick a line (Standard or Memory) -> pick a specific plan in the table whose disk is at least as large as your current one -> confirm. Data and configuration stay untouched, only the resources change. The upgrade comes with downtime: the panel states outright that the server has to power off first for the disk to update correctly, and the surcharge depends on how much of your billing period is left. Take a backup before you start, this touches the server's disk parameters. Once it's applied, check nproc, free -h and df -h to see the new numbers for yourself.

When to upgrade the plan and when to reinstall instead

These are two different operations with two different outcomes. Upgrading the plan increases the resources allocated to the server, CPU, RAM, disk, and leaves everything already installed and configured exactly as it was. Reinstalling the OS, on the other hand, wipes the disk completely and rebuilds the system from scratch, which is what you want when switching to a different distribution or starting over clean (see How to create a server in the HIP panel and the separate guide on reinstalling itself).

If the server just needs more CPU, RAM, or disk, that's a plan upgrade. If you need a different distribution, or the system has gotten so tangled that starting fresh is faster than untangling it, that's a reinstall, and a plan upgrade doesn't factor into it at all.

Standard and Memory: what actually differs

On the Scale tab, plans are grouped into lines. The difference between them is the ratio of CPU to RAM at a given price point, not one line simply being "stronger" than the other:

This is a general way of thinking about the two lines, not a guarantee from HIP tuned to your specific software. For a heavily loaded database or cache, check what your server is actually bottlenecked on before picking a line.

The rule that matters most: the new plan's disk can't be smaller than the current one

It's easy to get this wrong if you're only comparing CPU and RAM. Next to the pricing table on the Scale tab there's a note: the disk on the new plan has to be at least as large as the disk on the current one. If the server currently has, say, 40 GB in use, you can't move to a plan with less than 40 GB of disk, even if it's a stronger match on CPU and RAM otherwise.

The practical takeaway: look at the disk column first, not CPU or RAM. Filter down to plans whose disk is equal to or larger than what you're using now, and only then pick among those by CPU/RAM ratio. A plan that looks like a good fit on price and power but has a smaller disk will most likely not even be selectable in the upgrade list.

What "Sold out" means on a plan

Some lines or individual plans on the Scale tab may carry a "Sold out" badge. This isn't a limit on your account, it means that specific location currently has no free physical capacity for that configuration. Other customers have already taken up the available resources of that type in that data center.

What to do about it: check whether the resources you need are available in a different location (moving a server to a different location is a separate topic from upgrading in place), or wait, capacity frees up as other customers change plans or release servers. Chasing one specific sold-out row in the table isn't worth it if a similar option without the badge is sitting right next to it.

Step 1. Open the Scale tab

In the my.hip.hosting panel, pick the server and go to the Scale tab. This is the screen with the list of lines and the pricing table shown in the screenshot above.

Step 2. Pick a line

Work out what the server is actually short on, CPU or memory (check top and free -h on the server itself if you're not sure), and pick the matching line, Standard or Memory.

Step 3. Pick a specific plan in the table

Find the row with the CPU and RAM you need in the pricing table, but check the disk column first, it needs to be at least as large as what's currently in use (see the rule above). At research time, the Standard line's price range ran from $2.40 a month for 1 GB RAM up to $76.80 for 64 GB RAM, but check the actual table for your location, both prices and availability change.

As soon as you pick a row, the Scale button below the table, disabled until then, becomes active, and two notes appear on screen. The red one warns that for the disk volume to update correctly, the server must first be powered off, that's the upgrade's downtime. The blue one says the cost of the plan increase depends on the time remaining until the server's next renewal date, so the surcharge isn't fixed, it's tied to how many days are left until renewal.

Step 4. Confirm the plan change

Double-check you've picked the right plan and that its disk isn't smaller than your current one, read both notes, and click Scale. Once you confirm, the server powers off, the panel applies the new resources, and it powers back on, treat this as planned downtime rather than kicking it off during peak traffic. The server's status on its page should return to the usual "Running" once it's done, now on the new plan.

Take a backup before you upgrade

A plan upgrade isn't supposed to erase anything, that's the whole point compared to a reinstall. But it does change parameters on the server's disk rather than just handing over more RAM in memory, so a reasonable precaution is having a recent backup in case something goes wrong while it's being applied. For setting up regular copies, see Back up your HIP server yourself. If the upgrade is planned rather than urgent, it's usually enough to confirm the last automated backup ran recently, rather than kicking off a fresh copy specifically for this.

What to check after the upgrade

The panel shows the plan as changed, but it's worth confirming that on the server itself, with commands rather than by eye.

CPU core count:

nproc

Returns a single number, the logical cores the system can see. It should match the new plan's CPU.

RAM:

free -h

• the Mem: row, total column, is the overall RAM figure, and it should now match the new plan
• the -h flag prints numbers in human-readable units (GB/MB) instead of raw bytes

Disk space:

df -h

Look at the row for the root partition (usually / under Mounted on), the Size column should show the new, larger figure. If the plan's disk grew but df -h still shows the old size, the partition or filesystem may not have grown automatically and needs a manual resize, typically growpart for the partition and resize2fs for an ext4 filesystem, with the exact commands depending on your disk layout (CHECK whether HIP does this automatically on upgrade before treating it as a required step for everyone).

Common questions

How do I increase disk on a HIP VPS

Open the Scale tab on the server page and pick a plan with more disk than you currently have. The new plan's disk can never be smaller than the current one, only equal or larger. After it applies, check with df -h; if the partition size didn't grow on its own, you may need to resize the filesystem manually.

Can I downgrade my server plan

The tab is called Scale, not Upgrade, but the one confirmed rule is that the new plan's disk can't be smaller than the space currently in use. If a plan has less disk than you're using, the panel likely won't let you switch to it. The exact interface behavior when attempting a downgrade is worth checking separately before relying on it.

What does "Sold out" mean on a plan

A "Sold out" badge on a line or a specific plan means that particular location has no free physical capacity for that configuration right now, it isn't a limit on your account. The fix is to check whether the resources you need are available in a different location, or wait until capacity frees up.

How much does upgrading a server cost

The new plan's monthly price is listed in the pricing table on the Scale tab, but the surcharge for the upgrade itself isn't a fixed amount: the panel states outright that the cost of the plan increase depends on the time remaining until the server's next renewal date. The closer you upgrade to your renewal date, the smaller the surcharge for the remaining stretch.

Do I need to reboot to upgrade a plan

Yes. When you select a plan, the panel states outright that for the disk volume to update correctly, the server must first be powered off. The upgrade comes with downtime, the server shuts down, gets the new resources, and powers back on, so plan for it in advance rather than during peak traffic.

Takeaways

• A plan upgrade adds CPU, RAM, or disk and leaves your data alone, unlike an OS reinstall, which wipes everything.
• It's done from the Scale tab: pick a line, pick a specific plan, confirm.
• The main constraint is that the new plan's disk can't be smaller than what's currently in use. Check disk first, CPU and RAM second.
• A "Sold out" badge means a capacity shortage in that location, not a problem with your account.
• The upgrade comes with downtime: the panel warns that the server powers off first so the disk can update correctly.
• The surcharge isn't fixed, it depends on how much time is left until the server's renewal date.
• Make sure you have a recent backup before upgrading, this touches the server's disk.
• Confirm the growth yourself afterward: nproc, free -h, df -h.

Next steps

• Back up your HIP server yourself - set it up ahead of time so a pre-upgrade backup is already there rather than a last-minute scramble.
• Secure a fresh VPS - if the plan upgrade is just one part of setting up a new server more broadly.
• How to create a server in the HIP panel - if you need another server instead of upgrading this one.