The user and the process "cloud base - ini" are used as part of the VPS Cloud / VPS Lite infrastructure of Infomaniak (in the case, for example, where the instance is rebuilt). Learn more

This guide explains how to view and download Apache logs from Web Hosting, which are useful for analyzing PHP errors or diagnosing certain application behaviors.

Introduction

• Access and error logs are kept for at least 7 days.
• Once the retention period has expired, older entries cannot be restored, even upon request.
• You can also find these files directly on the server via SSH/FTP in the ik-logs folder at the root of your hosting.

Accessing access and error logs

To view these logs:

1. Click here to access your site management on the Infomaniak Manager (need help?).
2. Click directly on the name assigned to the site concerned:
   
3. Click on Advanced in the left sidebar.
4. Click on Logs in the left sidebar.
5. Click on Errors or Access to display the error log or access log.
6. Choose a period if necessary.
7. Click on the icon to see the details.
8. Click on Send by email to immediately receive all entries by email to your user address.
9. Click to export the data in .log format:
   

Identify the most active IP addresses in the access logs

To do this, connect to the server via SSH (need help?).

The line to execute in SSH is as follows:

cat ik-logs/access.log | awk '{ print $2}' | sort -n | uniq -c | sort -n | tail -n 20

This guide lists the supported operating systems (Linux distributions) that can be installed when ordering a Cloud VPS / VPS Lite.

Prerequisites

• Create a password for your user after logging in for the first time with the private key, especially to be able to troubleshoot your server by connecting via the VNC console in case of a problem.

Linux distributions natively supported

Debian

If you are familiar with Debian, then a server of this type would be an excellent choice, an alternative to CentOS offered below. The Debian editions are very stable, especially since "Buster" or more recently "Bookworm" (Debian 12). Learn more

Ubuntu

If you are familiar with Ubuntu in desktop version, you may want to have it on your server. Learn more

FreeBSD

The FreeBSD core code has been developed, improved, and optimized continuously for over thirty years. It is developed and maintained by a large team of people. FreeBSD offers advanced networking features, enhanced security, and high performance. Learn more

openSUSE

This distribution is ideal for beginners, experienced users, and ultra geeks, in short, it is suitable for everyone! Learn more

CentOS

CentOS is the most popular distribution for a web server and therefore has extensive support, whether on the community forum or anywhere on the web. CentOS editions are very stable and designed for long-term use. Learn more

Other Linux distributions

Infomaniak regularly adds new Linux distributions:

• Fedora
• rancherOS
• ArchLinux
• AlmaLinux
• RockyLinux

Specific distribution / disk image

Only official images can be installed, and Infomaniak does not install any operating systems from ISO disk images. If you wish to install a specific distribution, you can do so by importing the image into Public Cloud.

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

Connect via SSH…

… via a Web Browser

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

… via the terminal or an application

To connect via SSH, use the following commands from a Terminal type application (command-line interface, CLI / Command Line Interface) on your device, for example:

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

Then 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 know which command is available and the path to use, run the command "whereis":

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

This guide explains how to add a new domain name to a website on Infomaniak.

Introduction

• When you add a new domain name to a website, it is referred to as a linked domain, but also as an alias.
• In this case, a domain alias is an additional domain name that is also linked to an existing website.
  • For example, to make the website domain.xyz accessible with a completely different domain name like private.abc, you need to add private.abc as an alias to the website.
  • Second example, to make the website domain.xyz also accessible with www.domain.xyz, you need to add it as an alias to the domain domain.xyz. In this example, domain.xyz is the parent site of the alias www.domain.xyz. In general, the www alias is already added automatically and is present…

Add an alias to an existing website

Prerequisites

• If the domain name (intended to become an alias) or its DNS zone is managed by Infomaniak, everything is fine. If not:
  • The A record of the domain name must point to Infomaniak.
  • To simplify, you can entrust the domain management to Infomaniak.
• It is also necessary that the future alias is not already linked to another website; if it is, you will need to unlink it from the current website beforehand (the same applies if it is a synonym).

To add an additional domain that will be linked to your website:

1. Click here to access the management of your website in the Infomaniak Manager (need help?).
2. Click directly on the name assigned to the website in question:
   
3. Then, click on the Add a domain button:
   
4. Enter the domain name(s) to add, separating them with the Enter key.
5. If the alias or its DNS zone is managed by Infomaniak, it is possible to automatically update the DNS entries. Otherwise, make any necessary changes with your registrar or transfer the domain name management to Infomaniak.
6. If you have an SSL certificate, such as Let's Encrypt, you can request to update it here to include the new names.
7. Click on Validate to complete the process:
   
8. The domains linked to the website are updated:
   

To define the alias as the main domain, please refer to this other guide.

This guide details the technical and administrative aspects of hosting multiple websites on the same platform.

Technically

A hosting includes different websites. It is therefore possible to add multiple websites to a hosting (multi-site / multi-domain management). In this case, the resources of the hosting (disk space, databases, script execution time and memory, etc.) are shared among the different websites of the hosting.

The base Cloud Server plan contains a certain number of hostings (for example 5) and a higher number of websites (for example 20). In this example, this means that you can create 20 websites (with 20 different domain names/subdomains) that you can organize freely on your 5 hostings.

Administratively

At the Organization level on the Infomaniak Manager, management and access rights cannot be assigned to a specific website on a hosting. A user that you add to the Organization cannot have a right limited to a single site; they will always access the entire hosting.

At the server data level, however, it is possible to create an FTP user restricted to a specific folder (in this case, it will need to be limited to the folder where the site is located).

Limited management of one site among others on the same hosting can also be considered directly within the tool used for the site (WordPress user management for example).

Supervisor is not offered directly because systemd is recommended, better integrated with Debian, and available in Fast installer.

If you still need to install it, contact Infomaniak support in writing.

This guide details the procedure for establishing your first SSH connection to an Infomaniak Cloud VPS or VPS Lite.

Connecting via Windows (PuTTY)

On Windows, the recommended tool is PuTTY.

Your private key must be converted to the .ppk format to work.

Step A: Conversion with PuTTYgen

1. Launch PuTTYgen.
2. Click on Load to upload your current private key.
3. Click on Save private key to generate your .ppk file.

Step B: Configuring PuTTY

1. In Session, enter the server's IP address in "Host Name".
2. In Connection > SSH > Auth, click Browse to upload your .ppk file.
3. Click Open.
4. A window will open: enter your username.

Connecting via a Unix terminal (macOS and Linux)

Use your system's native SSH client by opening a terminal.

The syntax is as follows:

ssh -i [key_path] [user]@[server]

Parameter details

• [key_path]: Path to your private key file (generated or imported during the command).
• [user]: Username (see the table of distributions below).
• [server]: IPv4 address of your VPS, available in the Manager.

Note on permissions: if you get an error like "UNPROTECTED PRIVATE KEY FILE", secure your key with the following command: 
chmod 400 [key_path]

Default user list

Use the identifier corresponding to the Linux distribution installed on your server:

Note: The user is always the one defined by default by the distribution's publisher.

Switching to Administrator (Root) Mode

For security reasons, the initial connection is not made directly as root.

To obtain full system privileges, run:

sudo -i

This command loads the complete root user environment (system variables and home directory).

This guide explains how to add a MySQL/MariaDB database, create or modify users, and how to find all the necessary parameters to configure your scripts and CMS on a Web Hosting.

Manage databases

To access the database management page of your hosting:

1. Click here to access your hosting management on the Infomaniak Manager (need help?).
2. Click directly on the name assigned to the hosting concerned.
3. Click on Databases (or MariaDB if necessary) in the left sidebar to access the Databases and Users menu:
   

Databases

Under the Databases tab you can:

• Create a MySQL/MariaDB database by clicking on the Add a database button.
• Import, export or restore a MySQL database by clicking on the dropdown ‍ to the right of the Add button.

Users

Under the Users tab you can:

• Create a MySQL/MariaDB database user by clicking on the Add a user button.

Configuration information

This is also where you will find the required information to configure CMS or Web applications:

• The name of a database (e.g. XXXX_dbname)
• The username of a database (e.g. XXXX_username)
• The password of the username of a database (the one you chose when creating the MySQL/MariaDB user to reset if you forgot it)
• The MySQL/MariaDB server of the databases / the hostname (e.g. XXXX.myd.infomaniak.com) with its version (5.7 for example)

User rights, shared servers & Cloud

• With read permissions: “SELECT”
• With write permissions: “INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, CREATE TEMPORARY TABLES, LOCK TABLES”
• With admin permissions: “CREATE, DROP, INDEX, ALTER, CREATE VIEW, SHOW VIEW, REFERENCES”
  • + “CREATE ROUTINE, ALTER ROUTINE, EXECUTE, TRIGGER, EVENT” on Cloud Server only (see this other guide on this subject)
• With no permissions: the user will not see the database appear in phpMyAdmin

Web application databases

• See this other guide on WordPress.
• See this other guide on Joomla.

This guide explains how to add an additional website to an existing Infomaniak hosting plan.

Preamble

• The hosting can be on a shared web hosting plan or on an Infomaniak Cloud Server.
• The additional site can be either:
  • a second domain name (for example. domain2.xyz),
  • or a subdomain (for example. abc.domain.xyz) of a domain name that you already own.
• In this multisite/multidomain management (virtual host), the total disk space and resources of your hosting are shared between your sites/subdomains.

Access site management

Prerequisites

• If the 20 site slots offered in the Web hosting are already in use, order additional sites.

To access a web hosting plan and add a site:

1. Click here to access the management of your products in the Infomaniak Manager (need help?).
2. Click directly on the name assigned to the product in question.
3. Click the blue button Add:
   
4. Choose the optional content for the new site (A) or other specific installation, blank space, advanced technologies (Node.js for example) (B):
   
5. Click on Next.
6. Choose the type of domain to assign to this new site:
   1. an already acquired domain name
   2. a subdomain created from an already acquired domain name
   3. a domain name still available and to order
7. Enter the domain name (domain2.xyz, for example) or the subdomain.
   
8. Choose the optional advanced options, including:
   1. By default, the new site is added to the directory /sites/domain2.xyz on your FTP server.
   2. To manually set another directory, check Set location manually and indicate the path and name.
   3. Create a new folder if necessary:
      
9. Click on Continue.

This guide explains how to find out the operating system version of the server for your Web Hosting.

Preamble

• Even if Debian or a package seems outdated, the displayed versions do not present any vulnerabilities:
  • Infomaniak keeps them up to date via regular internal patches on all components and systems used.
  • The versions are chosen for their stability and then strengthened by security measures that standard tests do not detect.
• If you or your clients identify a vulnerability in an Infomaniak product, please submit a POC. Although rare, these cases are handled quickly.
  • Data security is the responsibility of the user: Infomaniak cannot be held responsible for poor management or use of access credentials.

What OS on my site?

To find out the version:

1. Log in to the server via SSH (need help?).

2. Run the following command:

   lsb_release -a

3. You will get information of this type:

   Distributor ID: Debian
   Description: Debian GNU/Linux 7.9 (wheezy)
   Release: 7.9
   Codename: wheezy

This guide explains how to remove an alias domain from an Infomaniak web hosting account. The main domain name of the site will then no longer be linked to any other domain name.

Prerequisites

• You must have unlinked the synonym domain name from the main domain name if they were previously linked.

Remove the alias domain

To remove an alias domain name from your site:

1. Click here to access the management of your site on the Infomaniak Manager (need help?).
2. Click directly on the name assigned to the site in question:
   
3. Click on the action menu ⋮ to the right of the domain to be removed.
4. Choose Unlink:
   
5. Confirm the alias removal:
   

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 resources and configuration

Manage sites and domains

If your domain name is not managed by Infomaniak or if your hosting is not managed in 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 does not yet point to Infomaniak's servers

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

Introduction

• Support for UEFI and Secure boot is not planned for 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.
• In case of a problem, refer to the knowledge base.
  • Contact Infomaniak support for questions concerning only the hardware part of the VPS.

Getting Started with a VPS Cloud / VPS Lite Linux

• How to connect to your server via an SSH key?
• Which Linux distributions are supported?

Getting Started with a VPS Cloud / VPS Lite Windows

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

Which version (Cloud or Lite) to choose for the VPS?

• The configurations (vCPU / Ram / disk space) differ depending on the VPS offers, starting at 1 vCPU with very competitive prices.
  • Make your choice according to your needs.
  • The evolution from a VPS Lite to a VPS Cloud is not yet possible automatically and it is not possible to reduce a subscribed offer.
  • Refer to this other guide if you wish to migrate from VPS Lite to VPS Cloud (the migration is irreversible).
• The same Linux distributions & Windows versions are offered (Windows is not available on the smallest configurations).
  • Only the official images of the operating systems are installed, without any security software such as fail2ban preinstalled.
  • However, the firewall is configurable from the Manager and a VPS also benefits from anti-DDoS protection.
  • Regarding port opening, refer to this other guide.
• On VPS Lite, the bandwidth is limited to 500 mbit/s and the guaranteed SLA + snapshots are not available.

This guide explains how to create a PTR record on the dedicated IPs of VPS Cloud / VPS Lite.

Introduction

• A PTR (Pointer Record) is a type of DNS record used to resolve IP addresses to domain names.
• The PTR record is used to associate an IP address with a domain name or subdomain.
• This is the opposite of an A record, which is used to resolve domain names into IP addresses.

Create a PTR record for the IP address of your Cloud VPS / VPS Lite

Prerequisites

• Make sure your domain or subdomain points to the IP address (v4 or v6) of your Cloud VPS / VPS Lite server.
  • You can do this by creating an A record for your domain or by modifying the existing record to point to the IP address of your Cloud VPS / VPS Lite.
• Make sure your domain name points to the IP address of your Cloud VPS / VPS Lite (see 1).
• Note the IP address of your Cloud VPS / VPS Lite server (you can find this IP address in your server management dashboard or by using a command-line command such as "ifconfig" or "ipconfig" depending on the operating system you are using).

Next, to create a PTR record for your dedicated IP address:

1. Click here to access the management of your VPS in the Infomaniak Manager (need help?).
2. Click directly on the name assigned to the VPS in question:
   
3. Click on the appropriate quick action or directly on the menu items at the server's IP address level:
   
4. Enter the desired information and save.
5. Once the PTR record is created, use an online verification tool to ensure that the PTR record points to your domain or subdomain.

This guide explains how to use MySQL on Infomaniak hosting, in particular how stored procedures work.

Introduction

• “Stored procedures” and “stored routines” are not available on a shared web hosting plan.

Understanding stored procedures and routines

If stored procedures are essential to your project and you are currently using shared hosting, it is advisable to consider a VPS or a dedicated server, which offer more control and resources.

Stored procedures are an effective way to automate tasks and integrate business logic directly into the database. This allows for more efficient and easier-to-maintain applications.

On a Cloud Server, as long as the user has administrator rights on the relevant MySQL database, they have the necessary permissions to execute SQL statements, including the EXECUTE command, which is used to launch stored procedures that are already present in the database.

The user also has the required privileges to create new stored procedures.A stored procedure is created using a specific SQL syntax that defines the instructions to be executed, followed by saving it in the database.

Example

DELIMITER //
CREATE PROCEDURE GetUserCount()
BEGIN
    SELECT COUNT(*) AS total_users FROM users;
    -- Returns the total number of users in the table
END //
DELIMITER ;

-- Execute the stored procedure
CALL GetUserCount();

This guide explains the differences between Infomaniak's web hosting offers to help you choose the best solution according to your IT needs.

Web Hosting Starter

Free web hosting

The Web Starter hosting is offered for free with each domain name registered with Infomaniak. It provides 10 MB of disk space to create a site (basic pages in HTML language only - no PHP, no database) even without particular knowledge thanks to the Welcome Page tool.

• Register or transfer a domain name with Infomaniak
• Learn more about the benefits included with a domain name

Shared Web Hosting

The flagship offer to create your sites

These web hostings are shared offers (the websites will be hosted on servers whose resources are shared with other customers). To ensure the reliability of these shared services, Infomaniak servers use on average only 40% of the CPU power and are equipped with professional last-generation SSD disks.

Web hosting offers a minimum of 250 GB of disk space and allows you to manage multiple websites with multiple domain names. This offer includes all the technologies usually used to create professional sites: PHP, MySQL, FTP and SSH access, SSL certificates and easy installation of WordPress or common CMS, etc. It is also possible to add a Node.js site and/or Site Creator.

Cloud Server

Professional web hosting

With a Cloud Server, the resources allocated to you are not shared with other customers and you can customize the hardware and software configuration of your server according to your needs. A Cloud Server also allows you to use components that are not available on shared web hostings (Node.js, mongoDB, Sol, FFMPEG, etc.).

• A Cloud Server allows you to easily manage your server via the same administration interface as web hostings - you manage the sites in the same way.
• A VPS allows you to manage your server 100% autonomously with the version of Windows or the Linux distribution of your choice (Debian, Ubuntu, openSUSE, ...) - solid technical skills are required to use a VPS, including VPS Lite.

Public Cloud (and Kubernetes Service)

Open, proven and secure IaaS solution

For Infomaniak, it is the infrastructure that powers kDrive, Swiss Backup and the Webmail, services used by several million users. But Public Cloud is accessible to everyone and provides the resources you need to develop your projects.

With the help of personalized and tailored offers, you will have no trouble managing your development budget. No setup fees. No minimum amount. Cancelable at any time. You only pay for the resources actually used with Public Cloud at the end of each month, the same goes for Kubernetes Service.

Jelastic Cloud

Custom web hosting with the technologies of your choice

Jelastic Cloud allows you to create custom development environments with the technologies of your choice (PHP, Java, Docker, Ruby, etc.). It is a flexible cloud offer:

• Horizontal and vertical scaling of resources.
• Payment based on actual resource consumption.
• Easy customization of your infrastructure (redundancy, IP, SSL, load balancing, etc.).

This guide explains how to modify your current Managed Cloud Server offer.

Modifying resources and configuration

The basic Managed Cloud Server plan includes 5 hostings and 20 websites. To add an additional hosting or modify the server configuration to increase CPU / RAM:

1. Click here to access the management of your product on the Infomaniak Manager (need help?).
2. Click on the action menu ⋮ located to the right of the item concerned.
3. Click on Modify the offer:
   
4. Make the desired adjustments and complete the procedure.

To reduce the size of the entire Managed Cloud Server disk space:

1. Order a new server with the desired new storage (contact support to order the new server for free while performing the steps below).
2. Move the hostings from the old server to the new one.
3. Cancel the old server.

Refer to this other guide to modify the disk space of a hosting.

Increasing the process limit

On Linux, the number of processes that a user or a system can create simultaneously is limited. These limits prevent processes that are too fast from consuming excessive resources and affecting the overall stability of the system. Process limits are managed by the Linux kernel and can be viewed and modified using specific commands and configuration files. You can request to increase the limits by contacting support.

This guide explains how…

1. … generate a CSR and private key to request a third-party certificate from a certification authority (CA),
2. … import this certificate for your Infomaniak site, using the CRT obtained from the CA.

Preamble

• Although Infomaniak offers all the SSL certificates you might need…
  • free Let's Encrypt certs for personal sites (only possible with sites hosted by Infomaniak),
  • DV certs from Sectigo for professional/personal sites that are not registered in the trade register,
  • EV certs from Sectigo for companies registered in the trade register,
• … it is also possible to install an SSL certificate obtained elsewhere (intermediate certificate from a certification body of your choice), custom or self-signed certificates.

1. Generate a CSR (Certificate Signing Request)

A CSR (Certificate Signing Request or Certificate Signing Request) is an encoded file containing the information necessary to request an SSL/TLS certificate.

It must be generated on your side to ensure that the private key remains under your control, using OpenSSL, for example.

Adapt and run the following command from a Terminal type application (command line interface, CLI / Command Line Interface) on your device:

openssl req -utf8 -nodes -sha256 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout domain.xyz.key -out domain.xyz.csr -addext "subjectAltName = DNS:domain.xyz, DNS:www.domain.xyz"

Explanations

• newkey rsa:2048: Generates a new 2048-bit RSA key.
• keyout domain.xyz.key: Specifies the file where the private key will be saved.
• out domain.xyz.csr: Specifies the file where the CSR will be recorded.
• addext “subjectAltName = ...”: Adds additional domains via the SAN (Subject Alternative Name) extension, necessary to include all desired domains in the certificate (main domain domain.xyz + any other associated domain or subdomain, such as www.domain.xyz).

After generation, you can check the contents of the CSR with the following command:

openssl req -in domain.xyz.csr -noout -text

This allows you to verify that all domains listed in subjectAltName are correctly included.

Once the CSR is generated, you can send it to the certification authority (CA) to obtain your SSL/TLS certificate.

2. Import the external certificate

Once validated, the CA issues a certificate (domain.xyz.crt) and sometimes an intermediate certificate (ca_bundle.crt).

To access SSL certificate management:

1. Click here to access your site management on the Infomaniak Manager (need help?).
2. Click directly on the name assigned to the site concerned:
   
3. Click on SSL Certificates in the left sidebar menu.
4. Click the blue button Install a certificate:
   
5. Choose the custom certificate.
6. Click the Next button:
   
7. Import your certificate and private key, either by importing the .crt and .key files or by copy-pasting.
8. Click Complete:
   

Alternative command to generate a self-signed certificate (optional)

If you want a local certificate only for testing or without going through a CA (not recommended for production), you can use this command:

openssl req -x509 -nodes -days 365 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout domain.xyz.key -out domain.xyz.crt -addext “subjectAltName = DNS:domain.xyz, DNS:www.domain.xyz”

This generates both a self-signed certificate (domain.xyz.crt) and a private key (domain.xyz.key). However, self-signed certificates are not recognized as valid by public browsers or systems. They are only suitable for internal or development environments.

Import an intermediate certificate

When adding a custom SSL certificate, it is possible to import the intermediate certificate (by importing the .crt file or copy-pasting the data provided by the certification authority):

This guide explains how to deploy Node.js with a Cloud Server to always have the environment needed to compile or build modern frontends (React, Vue, etc.). However, it is recommended to use the integrated node.js solution.

Preamble

• Node.js is a free software platform in JavaScript oriented towards network applications that need to scale, a simple and effective solution to integrate frontend tools into any server stack.
  • Node.js = official name of the language/environment.
  • NodeJS = "technical" or simplified name in certain contexts (often for practical reasons, no real technical difference).

Install Node.js

Prerequisites

• Install NVM on your Cloud Server.
• Warning: Node.js version 18 is not compatible with old Cloud Servers; perform a migration beforehand!

Install the stable version of Node.js

nvm install stable

Install the latest version

nvm install node

Install an older version (not recommended)

nvm install 17

List available versions

nvm ls-remote

Install a specific version

nvm install <version>

Switch Node.js versions and set version 6.3.1 (or another version) as default

nvm alias default 6.3.1

Use a specific version of Node.js in the current shell

nvm use <version>

Check the currently used Node.js version

node -v

Source

To set up NVM, go to the WebSSH console of your Cloud Server.

Source the .profile file

source ~/.profile

Run the following command to verify the NVM installation

nvm

Configure Node as a service

To configure Node as a service, it is recommended to use a "systemd-user service".

Redirect traffic to a specific port

Refer to this other guide regarding traffic redirection to a specific port and dedicated IPs.