Create your first virtual machine

A virtual machine (VM) is a server of your own: you get root access and an IP address, and you pay for it by the hour from your credit. A small one is running about a minute after you ask for it.

Before you start

• A Doprax account. Sign up if you do not have one.
• Credit on the account. Doprax is prepaid: add credit under Billing in the dashboard. A plan of $30 a month or more also needs 10% of its monthly price available before it can be created.

Create the VM

1. In the dashboard, open Virtual Machines, then Create Virtual Machine.

2. Choose a provider. ProVM is Doprax’s own hardware and is selected for you. The other providers (Hetzner, OVH, DigitalOcean and more) are run through the same account and the same credit.

3. Choose a location. Pick the country closest to the people who will use the server.

4. Choose a size. Each plan shows its price per hour and the roughly equal price per month. The smallest ProVM plan, P1, is enough to try things out. See Plans and prices.

5. Choose an image source. Pick an operating system and its version, or start from one of your own snapshots.

6. Choose an access method.

   • Password: a strong password is generated for you. You read it in the dashboard after the VM is created.
   • SSH key: you log in with your own key and no password. This is the safer choice. Add your public key first under Virtual Machines, SSH Keys.

7. Enter a name, or keep the suggested one, and select Create Virtual Machine. The bar at the bottom shows the hourly price and a summary of your choices before you confirm.

Log in

The new VM is listed under My Virtual Machines. When its status is Running, open it: the IP address is shown at the top of its page.

• With a password: open the Access tab to read the username and password, then connect:

  ssh root@YOUR_VM_IP

• With an SSH key: the same command, and no password is asked.

• Without any SSH client: select Terminal on the VM’s page to open a terminal in the browser.

A stopped VM still costs money

Stopping a VM keeps its disk and its IP address reserved for you, so it is charged at the same price as a running one. To stop paying for a VM, delete it. Take a snapshot first if you want to keep what is on it.

Next

• When your credit runs low: the warnings you get and what happens at zero.
• Create a VM with the API: the same thing from a script.