--- title: "Getting Started with Your Dedicated Server | PowerDedi" description: "Order a dedicated server, pay in crypto or from your balance, log in over SSH for the first time and run through the essential first-ten-minutes checklist." url: "https://powerdedi.com/docs/getting-started" last_updated: "2026-09-26" publisher: "PowerDedi (https://powerdedi.com)" --- # Get started with your dedicated server From order to first SSH login: choose a server, pay in crypto, connect, then run the first-ten-minutes checklist. Updated September 26, 2026 · 4 min read · 6 sections ### All guides Filter the guides ### Getting started - [Get started with your dedicated server](https://powerdedi.com/docs/getting-started) ### Server management - [Use the IPMI/KVM console](https://powerdedi.com/docs/ipmi-kvm-console) - [Reinstall the operating system](https://powerdedi.com/docs/reinstall-os) - [Repair your server with rescue mode](https://powerdedi.com/docs/rescue-mode) - [Monitor and repair software RAID](https://powerdedi.com/docs/software-raid) ### Networking - [Configure IPv6 on your server](https://powerdedi.com/docs/ipv6-configuration) - [Test your server’s network speed](https://powerdedi.com/docs/network-speed-test) - [Set up reverse DNS (PTR records)](https://powerdedi.com/docs/reverse-dns) ### Billing - [Pay with cryptocurrency](https://powerdedi.com/docs/pay-with-crypto) ### Security - [Secure your server in the first hour](https://powerdedi.com/docs/secure-your-server) - [Create and use SSH keys](https://powerdedi.com/docs/ssh-keys) This guide takes you from choosing a server to a first secure login. You need an email address, an SSH key pair (see [Create and use SSH keys](https://powerdedi.com/docs/ssh-keys)) and a wallet or exchange account holding one of the accepted cryptocurrencies. ## Choose a server Every server comes with its own 10 Gbps unmetered port, IPMI/KVM console access, one dedicated IPv4 address and a routed /64 IPv6 prefix. Servers listed under [Instant servers](https://powerdedi.com/dedicated-servers/instant) are in stock and ready about 15 minutes after your payment is confirmed. Other configurations show their delivery time, 24 or 72 hours, on the product page. The full range is on [Dedicated servers](https://powerdedi.com/dedicated-servers). Pick the location closest to your users. If you are unsure, [compare the locations](https://powerdedi.com/locations) first. ## Place your order 1. Open the server’s order page and choose a **location**. 2. Choose an **operating system**: Debian, Ubuntu, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux, Proxmox VE or FreeBSD. You can switch later at any time; see [Reinstall the operating system](https://powerdedi.com/docs/reinstall-os). 3. Click **Continue** and create your account with an email address and a password, without leaving the page. No ID documents are required. 4. On the checkout page, paste your **SSH public key**: the single line from your `.pub` file, starting with `ssh-ed25519`. You can manage saved keys later under **Account → SSH keys**. ## Pay Your order creates an invoice in US dollars. If your account balance covers it, pay it from the balance in one click. Otherwise choose Bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero, USDT (TRC-20) or Solana: the payment page shows its own deposit address, a QR code and an exact crypto amount, locked for 30 minutes (45 for Bitcoin and Monero). Send exactly that amount on exactly that network; the invoice is paid automatically when the payment confirms. > Some exchanges deduct their withdrawal fee from the amount you enter, so the deposit address receives less than it asks for. Enter the amount the recipient should receive. [Pay with cryptocurrency](https://powerdedi.com/docs/pay-with-crypto) covers networks, confirmation times and late payments. ## Wait for provisioning Provisioning starts once the payment is confirmed on the blockchain. That takes under a minute for Solana, about a minute for USDT (TRC-20), a few minutes for Ethereum and 10–30 minutes for Bitcoin and Monero. An in-stock server is ready about 15 minutes later. The server’s page in the client area follows each step, then shows its IP address and login details. Select the server to see its tabs: **Overview**, **Network**, **Console**, **Reinstall**, **Rescue** and **Settings**. The **Network** tab lists your IPv4 address, its gateway and your IPv6 prefix. ## Log in for the first time Connect with the private key that matches the public key you pasted. Replace the address with your server’s IPv4 address, and use the username shown in the client area if it isn’t root: ```bash ssh root@203.0.113.10 ``` On the first connection, SSH asks you to confirm the server’s host key. Answer `yes`. If SSH later warns that the host key has changed and you haven’t reinstalled the server, stop and find out why before you continue. If the connection fails, add `-v` to see which keys SSH offers, or point it at your key with `-i ~/.ssh/id_ed25519`. The **Console** tab shows the server’s screen if you need to rule out a boot problem; see [Use the IPMI/KVM console](https://powerdedi.com/docs/ipmi-kvm-console). ## First ten minutes checklist Run these commands as root, or prefix them with `sudo`. 1. **Install updates**, then reboot if a new kernel was installed. ```bash apt update && apt full-upgrade # Debian, Ubuntu, Proxmox VE dnf upgrade # AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux freebsd-update fetch install && pkg upgrade # FreeBSD ``` 2. **Create a personal user with sudo rights** and copy your key to it. Give it a password: sudo asks for it, and you need it to log in on the console in an emergency. ```bash adduser alice && usermod -aG sudo alice # Debian, Ubuntu useradd -m -G wheel alice && passwd alice # AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux install -d -m 700 -o alice -g alice /home/alice/.ssh install -m 600 -o alice -g alice /root/.ssh/authorized_keys /home/alice/.ssh/ restorecon -R /home/alice/.ssh # AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux ``` If sudo is missing, as on Proxmox VE, install it first with `apt install sudo`. On FreeBSD, create the user with `adduser` and add it to the `wheel` group. Test `ssh alice@203.0.113.10` and `sudo -v` from a second terminal before you close the root session. 3. **Lock down SSH and enable a firewall.** Allow SSH before you turn the firewall on. [Secure your server in the first hour](https://powerdedi.com/docs/secure-your-server) has the exact steps. 4. **Set up reverse DNS** for your hostname, especially if the server will send email. See [Set up reverse DNS (PTR records)](https://powerdedi.com/docs/reverse-dns). 5. **Turn on two-factor authentication** for your client area account under **Account → Security**. Whoever controls that account can reinstall your server. 6. **Plan backups.** We don’t back up your data, and RAID doesn’t replace a backup. To confirm the network performs as expected, see [Test your server’s network speed](https://powerdedi.com/docs/network-speed-test). If you install a system yourself, [Configure IPv6 on your server](https://powerdedi.com/docs/ipv6-configuration) explains the /64 setup. [Next → **Use the IPMI/KVM console**](https://powerdedi.com/docs/ipmi-kvm-console) **Still stuck?** Customers with an active server open a support ticket: tell us what you tried and an engineer takes it from there, usually within a few hours. [Open a ticket](https://powerdedi.com/account/support) ## Related guides [All guides](https://powerdedi.com/docs) [Server management](https://powerdedi.com/docs/category/server-management) Updated September 25, 2026 ### [Use the IPMI/KVM console](https://powerdedi.com/docs/ipmi-kvm-console) See your server’s screen in the browser, control power, mount an ISO and reach the BIOS, even when the OS won’t boot. 4 min read [Server management](https://powerdedi.com/docs/category/server-management) Updated September 25, 2026 ### [Reinstall the operating system](https://powerdedi.com/docs/reinstall-os) Wipe and reinstall with the operating system, SSH keys and RAID layout you choose. 3 min read [Server management](https://powerdedi.com/docs/category/server-management) Updated September 25, 2026 ### [Repair your server with rescue mode](https://powerdedi.com/docs/rescue-mode) Boot a Debian-based live system to mount your disks, fix boot problems, reset passwords or copy data off. 3 min read --- PowerDedi — Dedicated servers with 10 Gbps unmetered, paid in crypto. 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