Knowledge base

Documentation: how to run your server at HostKontor

This knowledge base collects the essentials for running your server at HostKontor: access via SSH and RDP with root rights from the first minute, the KVM console for emergencies, snapshots and the backup add-on, the operating-system selection including custom ISOs — and the upgrade path for when your project grows.

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From order to running server

Provisioning is fully automatic: after payment the platform sets up your server, and it is usually reachable within a few minutes — there is no manual approval step. Ordering runs through the customer portal at id.hostkontor.de, with payment by credit card, bank transfer or cryptocurrency; all prices on this website are net, excluding VAT. One IPv4 and one IPv6 address are already configured, so your server is reachable over both protocols from the start. There are 16 packages across two locations to choose from — eight in Istanbul with 1 to 10 cores on a 25 Gbit uplink, eight in New York with 1 to 20 cores on 10 Gbit, each with 20 to 240 GB of NVMe SSD storage and net prices from EUR 2.00 per month plus VAT.

Access: SSH on Linux, RDP on Windows Server

On Linux you connect via SSH, on Windows Server via RDP — in both cases with full root or administrator rights from the first minute. There are no tiered permissions and no locked-off areas: kernel, package sources, services and firewall are entirely under your control. Thanks to KVM virtualisation, the server behaves like a standalone machine with its own kernel, not like a restricted area on someone else's system. Sensible first steps are the same as on any freshly installed system: a dedicated user, current updates and a basic firewall configuration.

The KVM console: access that stays

If a firewall rule locks you out or the system no longer boots after a kernel update, the KVM console is your way in. It works below the operating system and therefore stays reachable when SSH and RDP no longer are: you watch the boot process, fix the configuration or start a reinstallation. The console is part of every one of the 16 packages — at no extra charge and with no separate booking. Especially when experimenting with network and boot configuration, it is the safety net that keeps a slip from becoming an emergency.

Operating systems: six families plus your own ISO

The platform installs Ubuntu 18.04 to 25.04, Debian 9 to 13, AlmaLinux 8 and 9, Rocky Linux 9, Windows Server 2019 and 2022, and MikroTik RouterOS. The selection is identical for all packages and at both locations — a setup you have proven in Istanbul works the same way in New York. If none of these fits, you mount your own ISO image and install whatever your project requires, from specialised systems to appliances. That way, classic web servers, Windows applications and networking tasks all run on the same platform.

Snapshots included, backups as an add-on

Three snapshots per server are included free: before every update, configuration change or experiment you set a restore point, and if something goes wrong you simply return to the saved state instead of rebuilding. Snapshots are the tool for planned interventions — they do not replace a lasting protection strategy. For that, you add scheduled automated backups as a paid option: they run without manual effort and protect the server even when nobody is thinking about it. The proven approach is to combine both — snapshots before changes, backups against the unplanned emergency.

The upgrade path: grow without starting over

When a package is no longer enough, you move up to a larger one at any time: the tiers range from 1 to 10 cores in Istanbul and from 1 to 20 cores in New York, with up to 24 GB of DDR4 RAM and 240 GB of NVMe SSD. Moving back down to a smaller package is not supported — so pick your starting size to match the load you expect. For strongly fluctuating demand, the cloud server is the fitting complement: top up your balance, launch servers, pay hourly from the balance — CPU, RAM and storage can be increased and decreased at any time, and you run as many servers as you need in one account. The current hourly rates are shown in the customer portal before you start.

Operating rules, guarantee and the customer portal

Traffic is not metered; a fair-use rule applies against continuously saturating the port speed — ordinary web, application and database workloads are unaffected. Administering the operating system is up to you: updates, hardening and application operations are your side of the division of labour, full root control the other. Availability of 99.98% is contractually guaranteed; if we fall short, the unusable time is credited back to your account — the details of calculation and claiming are set out in the terms in the customer portal. The same portal is where you order additional servers and top up the balance for the cloud server. HostKontor is a brand of the White Label Services group (USA), which serves more than 50,000 active customers group-wide — if the fundamentals fit, your next step is choosing a location and a package.

Next useful step

Review the configuration. Order in the customer portal.

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