This guide explains how to optimize the site you manage on a Web Hosting to make it faster and allow all visitors to browse it from the Internet without difficulty, regardless of their connection speed.

The role of the hoster

1. … your hosting server is functioning normally and has not encountered any issues in the last 48 hours.
2. … the network infrastructure has not experienced any disruptions in the last 48 hours.

The role of the site owner and the webmaster

Infomaniak does not intervene in the content of the servers or the development of websites. The creation or maintenance of a site is a different job, although it is related to its activities since the tools and services that a webmaster uses to create websites are offered.

Analyzing the cause of slowdowns

Here is what you should do if you notice slowness with your site:

1. Follow the Google PageSpeed Insights recommendations to optimize your website... The points highlighted concern the design of the website and not the server configuration; refer to this other guide if the test result suggests enabling resource compression on your site.
2. In case of slowness from abroad, consider activating DNS Fast Anycast.
3. Install and configure a cache system on your site to avoid redundant access to databases and speed up the display of your site.
4. Consider a CDN.
5. Test the server's response speed (TTFB).
6. Scan your hosting for viruses.
7. Purge the databases regularly and delete unnecessary entries.
8. Use the latest PHP version compatible with your site/CMS/Web application.
9. Avoid using images, counters, CGI, or media hosted by external providers, as if they are unreachable, your site will seem slow.
10. Disable any unnecessary WordPress extensions that consume a lot of resources in your CMS.
11. Keep your CMS/Web applications up to date regularly.
12. Implement a crawl delay for indexing bots, as some have a very "aggressive" operation; it is possible to limit their impact by implementing a Crawl-delay.
13. Check the possible error-logs which group all the errors generated by your site; by correcting these errors, your site will be more performant.
14. Check the slowlogs: they group the queries that take more than 5 seconds to execute; it is important to correct the queries listed in this file (SQL optimization examples).
15. Add a server cache system like Memcached (Cloud server only).
16. Increase the max_children value (Cloud server only).

If a problem persists...

As a site owner, if you are a webmaster or have hired a webmaster who also cannot find the cause of the slowness, contact Infomaniak support in writing only after obtaining the following information:

1. Hosted site name.
2. Dates and times when slowness was encountered.
3. Name of the database potentially involved / same for FTP account.
4. Your public IP address at the time of the tests (visible for example on https://www.infomaniak.com/ip).
5. Type of slowness observed (site display, FTP transfers...).
6. Issues (such as slowness) accessing the Infomaniak site intermittently?
7. Result of a traceroute to 84.16.66.66 and copy-paste the complete results (screenshot if necessary).
8. Result of a speedtest by choosing Infomaniak as the destination (speedtest.net — click on Change Server to select Infomaniak).

If your needs skyrocket…

If shared hosting no longer suits your site, you should consider moving to a Serveur Cloud. Your site can be easily moved to this type of server where it will be alone and on which you can install a cache engine, for example.

This guide explains how to transfer an Infomaniak product from one Organization to another.

Preamble

• You can move almost all products subscribed with Infomaniak to a different Infomaniak Manager interface than the one on which the product is currently located; this is therefore an internal transfer.
• If your user has access to several Organizations it is even easier to send to one of them the product of your choice.
• This operation does not cause any interruption.
• The users currently having access to the selected products will not be transferred (and therefore may no longer have access to the products).
• The invoices for the selected products will not be transferred.
• kSuite cannot be transferred.

Generate a transfer link

Prerequisites

• Be Administrator or Legal Representative‍ within the Organization.

To transfer a product:

1. Click here to access product transfer management on the Manager Infomaniak (need help?).
2. Click on the Transfer products button:
   
3. Check the product(s) to be moved.
4. Read and accept the general terms.
5. Click on the Transfer button.

The transfer has started. Now, you have a choice:

1. Copy the transfer link.
2. Send it to the email address of your choice.
3. Complete the transfer by selecting one of the Organizations to which your user is attached, and the selected product will be transferred there:
   

Alternative method

In the case of a one-time transfer, you can also go directly to the dashboard of the product in question and click on Manage (example in the image below). However, since this menu is not always present, it is better to prioritize the first method above, which also allows for batch transfer:

Refer to this other guide regarding Jelastic Cloud.

Receive the product

Once a transfer has started:

1. Click here to access the Organization that must receive the product(s) (the user must have administrative rights).
2. Run the link obtained in the first step above.
3. If necessary, select the destination Organization using the drop-down menu.
4. Read and accept the General Terms.
5. Click on the button Receive the product (if the button is not clickable, make sure you have selected the Organization).

Find an ongoing transfer at any time from the bottom icon on the left sidebar of the Manager Infomaniak:

This guide allows you to quickly use the essential functions of your new Cloud Server.

Install an application

• Create a WordPress website
• Install a Web application (ownCloud, Joomla, Typo3, Drupal, phpBB, Simple Machines Forum, Magento, Prestashop, …)
• Install applications/technologies on Cloud Server (Fast Installer)

Configure the server

• Manage your MySQL databases
• Manage MySQL limits
• Manage your FTP accounts/users
• Manage and publish files on your hosting via FTP
• Modify the resources and configuration

Manage the sites and domains

If your domain name is not managed by Infomaniak or if your hosting is not managed under the same user account as your domain name, refer to this other guide to configure the DNS or records to link the domain name to your hosting. Also:

• Transfer a shared web hosting to a Cloud Server
• Add a site or subdomain to your hosting (multisite)
• Preview your site even if your domain name is not yet pointing to Infomaniak's servers

This guide explains how to modify the automatic backup configuration for Infomaniak Web Applications (Joomla, Drupal, Typo3, PrestaShop, ownCloud, etc.) included in the paid Web Hosting offers.

Preamble

• This does not apply to WordPress, which can be backed up and then restored via:
  • the automatic backup of hosting,
  • extensions allowing you to manually back up everything, including an easy reinstallation file.

Set up backups

To manage the backups of the Apps:

1. Click here to access the management of your product on the Infomaniak Manager (need help?).
2. Click directly on the name assigned to the relevant product:
   
3. Click on the action menu ⋮ located to the right of the relevant Web Application.
4. Click on Settings for the application:
   
5. Click on Edit to the right of the Application:
   
6. Under the Configuration tab, click the box to access advanced configuration:
   
7. Choose the desired update and backup modes:
   • 7 recent backups are kept, as well as those from 15 and 30 days ago.
8. Save the changes using the button at the bottom right.

Learn more

• Install or uninstall a Web Application
• Change the domain name associated with the Web Application
• Restore a Web Application

This guide explains how to allow certain incoming and/or outgoing ports in the firewall of a Web hosting or a Cloud Server.

Preamble

• On a shared Web hosting, it is only possible to open ports for outgoing traffic.
• On a Cloud Server, it is possible to open ports for inbound and outbound traffic.
• Opening ports ensures the proper functioning of certain applications but may decrease the security of your hosting.

Access the tool and add a rule

To manage port opening from the Manager:

1. Click here to access the management of your product on the Infomaniak Manager (need help?).
2. Click directly on the name assigned to the relevant product.
3. Click on Security in the left sidebar.
4. Click on Port Opening in the left sidebar.
5. Click on the Open a port button:
   

It is only possible to enter one IP address or host per line, and one port per rule.

By specifying an IP address or host, the connection will only be allowed in these cases:

• Incoming rule: if the connection comes from this IP or the indicated host
• Outgoing rule: if the connection is made to this IP or host

Same goes for the Typeof connection, if the protocol used for the connection is not the one indicated in the rule, the connection is not allowed.

Open outbound port 25 globally

You can open the outgoing port 25 from the manager if a destination host is specified.

With a Cloud Server, to open this port to the entire world, contact support Infomaniak and justify your request.

Default open ports

Once you have accessed the port opening tool, you will find the list of ports open by default on the page.

With a Cloud Server, to close some of the listed ports, contact support Infomaniak and justify your request.

The display may sometimes span multiple pages:

MySQL Ports

Regarding database ports, refer to these guides:

• Database access from another hosting
• Connect a Cloud Server to an external database
   

Check the activity of a port (Cloud Server)

On a Cloud Server, to check if an application is listening on a particular port (1234 in the example below) and to know the name of the application in question, run in SSH:

netstat -anpe | grep "1234" | grep "LISTEN"

This guide contains essential resources to help you get started with your VPS Cloud or VPS Lite offered by Infomaniak.

Preamble

• It is not planned to support UEFI and Secure boot in the VPS Cloud / VPS Lite offer.
• It is not possible to migrate a vmdk file to work on OpenStack because KVM is used for virtualization.
• Regarding port opening, refer to this other guide.

Which VPS version to choose?

• The configurations (vCPU / RAM / disk space) vary depending on the VPS offers, starting at 1 vCPU with very competitive prices - make your choice according to your needs; upgrading from a VPS Lite to a VPS Cloud is not yet possible automatically and it is not possible to downgrade a subscribed offer.
• The same Linux distributions and Windows versions are offered (Windows is not available on the smallest configurations).
• On VPS Lite, bandwidth is limited to 500 mbit/s and guaranteed SLA + snapshots are not available.
• Refer to this other guide if you wish to migrate from VPS Lite to VPS Cloud (the migration is irreversible).

VPS Cloud / VPS Lite Linux

• How to connect to your server via an SSH key?
• Which Linux distributions are supported?
• Format and mount the data volume of the Cloud Server (important)

VPS Cloud / VPS Lite Windows

• How to connect to your Windows server?
• Which Windows versions are supported?

This guide explains how to manage the files of a Web Hosting with an FTP software/client like Filezilla, Cyberduck, Commander One, Transmit, etc.

Foreword

• To easily and quickly manage the files of your web hosting without having to install an application or enter FTP credentials, use Web FTP from your Infomaniak Manager (Web FTP allows, among other things, the CHOWN and the compression/decompression of zip files).
• Refer to this other guide if you are looking for information about creating and editing FTP accounts.
• Regarding the protocols supported by Infomaniak (FTP, SFTP, etc.) depending on your hosting plan, refer to this other guide.

Parameters to provide for FTP software

Regardless of your FTP software/client, the three essential parameters for configuring FTP access are always:

1. Hostname: FTP server address
2. Username: FTP account name
3. password: that of the FTP account
   
    
   • The port number is usually left at default.
   • The connection type and mode is usually left at default.
   • If a limit on the number of simultaneous connections is offered, it is recommended to activate it.

Get the connection information for the hosting

You will find all the information on your Infomaniak Manager:

1. Click here to access the management of your product on the Infomaniak Manager (need help?).
2. Click directly on the name assigned to the relevant product.
3. Click on FTP (or FTP / SSH) in the left sidebar
   

1. FTP Hostname

The hostname to use in your FTP software/client is specified at the top of the page obtained in point 3 above and an icon allows you to copy the address to the clipboard.

Starter Offer - Basic Web Page

If the indicated domain is not functional (does not point to the IP address of the hosting, for example), then use the IP address as the host name, in the form 123.45.678.123 (refer to this other guide).

Paid Web Hosting

Use the host name in the form xyzb.ftp.infomaniak.com for example.

2. FTP Username

The username is the name of the account to create on your Manager: xyzb_abcdefg for example.

3. FTP user password

The FTP user password is set by the creator of the FTP account. If you forget it, edit the FTP account by clicking on it and set a new password.

Once the connection is established…

When you enter the three required parameters, your FTP application should display the directory structure of your hosting:

This guide concerns the support of secure hashing functions (notably SHA-256) by Infomaniak servers, as well as the emphasis on the security of SSL/TLS certificates using CSR generated with SHA-256.

SHA-256 hashing algorithm

The cryptographic hash function SHA-1 is compatible and Infomaniak servers also support the SHA-256 function, which is useful for Paypal and SaferPay (SIX).

The CSR (certificate signing requests) are in SHA-256 and not in SHA-1.

This guide explains how to connect via SSH to a Web Hosting or a Cloud Server.

Connecting via SSH…

… via a web browser

1. Click here to access the management of your product on the Infomaniak Manager (need help?).
2. Click directly on the name assigned to the relevant product.
3. Click on FTP / SSH in the left sidebar.
4. Click on the Web SSH button:
   

TRANSLATION_ERROR

To connect via SSH, use the following commands from a terminal application (command line interface, CLI) on your device, for example:

• Terminal (application already integrated into macOS and Linux)
• PuTTY (Windows)
• Windows 10 SSH Client (help in French / in English)

Enter the following command:

ssh username@server

• username being the username of the FTP account
• server being the host server (e.g. xxxx.ftp.infomaniak.com)

To find out which command is available and know the path to use, run the command "whereis":

$ whereis mysql
mysql: /opt/mysql/bin/mysql

This guide offers solutions for errors of the type “Malicious site! This website has been reported as a malicious site and has been blocked based on your security preferences” ("STOP! This Website Can Harm Your Computer!" in English).‍

Who put this message?

This error message or warning…

• … IS NOT added by Infomaniak.
• … is generated by Google based on its own criteria, using notably https://www.stopbadware.org/.
• … may no longer appear directly because…
  • … you are no longer indexed by Google.
  • … you are using a browser that does not rely on Google's checks.

What to do?

If this does not concern the site you are managing, refer to Google's help on this subject.

If the site is yours, take note of the advice below:

• Check the source code of the published page: there is likely additional code compared to still healthy pages; it could be a malicious iframe or any other inclusion…
• On the page in question, click the button "Why was this site blocked?" and follow the instructions…
• Familiarize yourself with the Google documentation on this topic.
• Monitor the vulnerability detection tool which could resolve the issue in the meantime.