This guide covers redirecting web traffic to a specific port, including when using a dedicated IP and a specific web application (such as Node or Varnish, for example).

Prerequisites

• Add a site to your hosting.
• Install HAProxy on the Cloud Server.

Redirect web traffic to a specific port

By default, on the Cloud Server, web traffic is sent to Apache. To send requests to a Node script or another service (provided it "listens" on a port between 4000 and 4009), you need to go through HAProxy.

This applies in particular to Express, Socket.IO, Meteor.js, Nuxt.js, Django, Flask, Ruby on Rails, even possibly Java (J2E), etc.

To do this, you need to ensure that the service is listening on a port between 4000 and 4009 (especially with server.listen(4000) for Express or a basic Node HTTP server, but depending on the type of project by other means, a configuration file, in the code or otherwise) and on all interfaces (0.0.0.0).

It will also be necessary to configure HAProxy as in the example below:

1. Click here to access the management of your Cloud Server on the Infomaniak Manager (need help?).
2. Click directly on the name assigned to the Cloud Server in question.
3. Click on Fast installer in the left sidebar.
4. Click on the action menu ⋮ located to the right of HAProxy.
5. Click on Configure:
   
6. Choose the desired information and save:
   

Retrieving the source IP of a request

When you redirect web traffic to your web application, the processing of requests changes and the request is first received by a reverse proxy (local to the server) which then forwards the request to the chosen port. Thus, due to the transfer of the request, the methods usually used to retrieve the visitor's IP will give the IP of the reverse proxy instead of that of the visitor.

Thus, to retrieve the real source IP of the visitor in these cases, you need to consult an HTTP header named X-Forwarded-For, which will contain the source IPs accumulated during each redirection. This header will therefore contain last the original IP address of the client, allowing the real visitor to be identified.

Warning: It is important to note that HTTP headers can be manipulated, which presents security risks. To minimize these risks, it is recommended to verify that the request comes from a trusted server before trusting the content of the header X-Forwarded-For. This verification may involve ensuring that the request was transmitted by a trusted intermediary server, identified by a predefined list of IP addresses. In the case where the site uses a dedicated IP, the trusted servers are:

• 83.166.133.15
• 83.166.133.17
• 83.166.133.16
• 84.16.92.5
• 84.16.92.43
• 10.2.32.255
• 10.2.34.164

This guide explains how to access phpMyAdmin with a Web Hosting.

Access phpMyAdmin

To access the Web Hosting in the Databases section:

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 product concerned.
3. Click on Databases in the left sidebar menu.
4. Click on Connect to phpMyAdmin:
   
   • The correct server and a temporary user are automatically filled in.

You can also click on the action menu ⋮ located to the right of a database user:

• The correct server is automatically filled in.
• The password to enter corresponds to the database user (the one you chose when creating the MySQL user to redefine if you have forgotten it).

This guide explains how to access the bootloader of a Cloud VPS / Lite VPS from the Infomaniak Manager.

Display the bootloader of a Cloud VPS / Lite VPS

The following procedure allows you to display the bootloader of GRUB:

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 product concerned.
3. Click on Open VNC console.
4. Click on Restart the server while keeping the new window with the VNC console displayed.
5. Refresh the VNC console as soon as the server restarts to display the server's bootloader; GRUB then appears and you can leave it displayed by pressing a key on your keyboard:
   

This guide explains how to move a Web Hosting (and all the sites it contains) from a Cloud Server to another managed Cloud Server.

Preamble

• FTP & MySQL
  • When moving a hosting from one Cloud Server to another:
    • FTP access and databases do not change.
    • Only the supported versions of PHP and MariaDB, as well as the server's IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, change at the hosting level.
    • Hostnames do not change and are automatically updated to point to the new IP addresses.
• Temporary interruption:
  • The hosting sites will be unavailable during the data migration.
  • This process can take several minutes depending on the number of files to be transferred to the new Cloud Server.
• Possible switch to HTTP/2:
  • HTTP/2 is active on the new servers.
  • Some directives that may be present in your server's .htaccess file will require adaptation.
• Traffic redirection:
  • A proxy is set up for 7 days to redirect traffic from the old server to the new one.
  • It is therefore advisable to consider this during this period, especially for crons (see below).
• Crons not migrated:
  • SSH crons are not migrated.
  • Files and crons are generally not deleted immediately, which can result in duplicates.
  • Managing crons is your responsibility; depending on the progress of your migration, you must:
    • disable and enable crons via SSH if you have access, to avoid any execution conflicts,
    • check your crons,
    • ensure they are properly configured on your new Cloud Server.

Move hosting

Prerequisites

• Both servers must be in the same Organization and accessible to the user performing the operation.

Once the second Cloud Server is in service:

1. Click here to access the management of your Web Hosting on the Infomaniak Manager (need help?).
2. Click directly on the name assigned to the product concerned.
3. Click on the Manage button.
4. Click on Move to another server in the menu that appears:
   
5. Choose the desired destination server.
6. Click on Confirm.

Adjust the DNS zone and finish

If your domain names are not managed by Infomaniak or in the same Organization as the Cloud Server:

• Adjust the A record of the domains concerned.
  • Any DNS addition/modification can take up to 48 hours to propagate.
  • It is therefore recommended not to cancel the old Cloud Server before this deadline.
• Cancel the old Cloud Server if necessary.

This guide explains how to display and interpret monitoring data (network statistics, CPU, RAM, etc.) of a Cloud Server.

Monitor the activity of a Managed Cloud Server

To access monitoring

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 product concerned.
3. Click on Monitoring in the left sidebar

Different data is available to monitor the activity of your Cloud Servers, including:

• incoming and outgoing traffic (network)
• the average system load (load average)
• the average CPU load
• the amount of RAM used
• disk space used
• the number of hits / sec.
• the average number of MySQL queries made

Interpreting the statistics

By interpreting the monitoring of the resources of a Cloud Server, you can estimate the resources (power) you need to run your websites and web applications.

Total system load

The total system load summarizes in percentage the level of use of the virtual processors. In this example, the server therefore uses less than 10% of its resources (0.10).

Processor (CPU) and memory (RAM)

These graphs show that less than 10% of the virtual processors are used and that less than 3 GB of RAM are actually used. In this example, the configuration of this server is therefore oversized compared to actual needs.

High cached memory

High cache memory on a server is not abnormal and is often beneficial in many cases. Here's why:

1. Caching for improved performance: Modern operating systems, such as Linux, use free memory to cache data from the disk to improve performance. When you access files or applications, the system can quickly retrieve the data from the cache instead of reading it from slower storage devices, such as hard drives. This helps to reduce the overall response time of your server and can significantly improve performance.
2. Efficient memory usage: High memory usage due to caching means that your server is efficiently using the available memory. Unused memory is wasted memory. Therefore, as long as the memory is being used for useful purposes like caching, it is a positive sign.
3. Automatic memory management: Operating systems are designed to automatically adjust the size of the cache based on the needs of the running applications. If an application needs more memory, the cache can reduce its size to accommodate it. This dynamic memory management ensures a balance between caching and serving active applications.
4. Monitoring perspective: From a monitoring perspective, seeing high memory usage due to caching can initially raise concerns, but it is essential to interpret the metrics in the context of your server's behavior. If you observe good performance and notice no signs of memory-related issues, such as swapping or application crashes, the high cache usage is likely expected and beneficial.

In summary, high cache memory on a server is normal and can contribute to improving the overall system performance. Do not worry if you observe significant cache memory usage, as long as your server is functioning correctly and without obvious memory-related issues. Caching is an essential tool for optimizing performance and making the most of available resources.

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

Preamble

• This does not concern WordPress, which can be backed up and then restored via:
  • the automatic backups of hosting,
  • extensions allowing you to manually create a complete backup including a facilitated reinstallation file.

Configure backups

To manage the backups of Apps:

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 concerned:
   
3. Click on the action menu ⋮ located to the right of the Web Application concerned.
4. Click on Settings of the application:
   
5. Click on Modify to the right of the Application:
   
6. Under the Configuration tab, click on the box to access the 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
• Modify the domain name associated with the Web Application
• Restore a Web Application

This guide provides basic instructions for creating and using a .htaccess and .user.ini file with an Infomaniak Web Hosting.

Preamble

• A .htaccess file is placed at the root of a website and allows you to configure the Apache HTTP server.
  • As a decentralized configuration file, it offers significant flexibility to adjust the server's behavior according to the specific needs of the site.
  • This file allows you to define URL rewrite rules, impose access restrictions, manage HTTP errors, and even customize security aspects such as disabling the display of files/folders.
  • It also facilitates the setup of redirects and aliases, thus providing precise control over the organization and accessibility of the site.
• A .user.ini file allows you to customize the PHP directives of the folder (and its subfolders) in which it is located.
  • By acting at the PHP interpreter level, this file allows you to define specific configurations for a given folder and its subdirectories.
  • Thanks to its clear syntax, it offers the possibility to modify various parameters such as memory limit, script execution time, error handling, and other PHP-related directives.
  • This granular approach allows developers to finely customize the behavior of PHP according to the specific requirements of each section of the site.

Create a file…

… .htaccess

1. Connect to your hosting via FTP or SSH.
2. At the root of the concerned website, create a new file and name it: .htaccess.
3. Write the desired directives in the file, refer to this other guide for example.

… .user.ini

1. Connect to your hosting via FTP or SSH.
2. At the desired location, create a new file and name it: .user.ini.
3. Write the desired PHP configuration parameters in the file.

This guide explains how to automatically restore an entire web hosting from backups made by Infomaniak.

Preamble

• Infomaniak performs a daily backup, and the last 7 are available to you in the Manager (or more if you use a Web Application).
• During the restoration, the sites will be automatically put in maintenance until the end of the process.
• Since automatic file backups and database backups are not performed simultaneously, it is recommended to check the proper functioning of the sites after restoration.
• Outside of these options, there is no other backup that you could obtain; it is therefore not necessary to contact Infomaniak for this purpose, but consider other backup methods for the future.

Restoring a web hosting

To access the web hosting:

1. Click here to access the management of your product in the Infomaniak Manager (need help?).
2. Click directly on the name assigned to the corresponding product.
3. Click on Restore in the left sidebar menu.
4. Choose the type of restoration desired:
   1. Restore one of the Web Applications that you have installed.
   2. Simple restoration to restore all sites and databases of the hosting.
   3. Advanced restoration allows you to choose the sites and databases to restore.
5. Click on the Next button:
   
6. Choose the desired restoration date and complete the procedure.

This guide explains how to update Web Applications installed via Infomaniak tools.

Preamble

• If an application is manually updated via FTP, it is then impossible to update it via the Manager and benefit from automatic updates.
• When installing your Web Application, automatic updates (at least security ones) are in principle activated by default:
  
• If an app update is available, you are notified on the Manager:
  

Update an application installed via Infomaniak

To access the Infomaniak Web Application and update it:

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 concerned.
3. Click on the action menu ⋮ located to the right of the Web Application concerned.
4. Click on Settings of the application:
   
5. Click on Modify in the Information block:
   
6. Click on the drop-down menu to choose a more recent version.
7. Click on the Save button:
   

This guide lists the Windows operating system versions that can be installed when ordering a VPS Cloud / VPS Lite.

Supported Windows versions

When ordering your Server, you will be able to choose the version of Windows to install.

Windows Server

Possible versions with Windows Server 2025, 2022 or 2019:

• Windows Server Standard designed for low-density or non-virtualized environments
• Windows Server Datacenter ideal for datacenter-defined and highly virtualized environments

Note:

• As a Microsoft partner, Infomaniak provides VPS Cloud / VPS Lite Windows Server 2025, 2022 or 2019 containing a Microsoft Windows Server license. In case of activation failure, refer to this other guide.
• As a Microsoft partner, Infomaniak does not offer the possibility to use your own Windows Server license (or Bring Your Own License).
• If you use Microsoft software within Windows Server that requires a License Mobility, such as Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Sharepoint Server or Microsoft Exchange Server, you must submit the Software Assurance document via the Infomaniak contact form.

Windows 11 Professional Evaluation

Windows 11 Professional has all the features of Windows 11 Home as well as professional features for encryption, remote connection, virtual machine creation and more.

Note:

• It will be necessary to activate Windows, Infomaniak provides only an evaluation version.

This guide explains how to manage Memcached and, in particular, how to check if this in-memory caching system is working correctly on your Managed Cloud Server.

Prerequisites

• Install Memcached on Managed Cloud Server.

Check Memcached execution

To verify that Memcached is working correctly:

1. Copy the following code into a PHP file:

   						// connexion au serveur memcache local		
   $fp = fsockopen("localhost", 11211);
   if ($fp) {
   // on demande les stats
   fwrite($fp, "stats\n");
   while (!feof($fp)) {
   $buf = rtrim(fgets($fp));
   if (preg_match('/^STAT curr_items ([0-9]+)$/', $buf, $matches)) {
   // le nombre d'items stockes
   print $matches[1] . PHP_EOL;
   } elseif (preg_match('/(END|ERROR)/', $buf)) {
   // fin des stats
   break;
   }
   }
   fclose($fp);
   } else {
   print "Error: cannot connect to local memcached server: $!" . PHP_EOL;
   }

2. Upload the PHP file to your hosting.
3. Run the PHP file.

The script returns the number of elements cached in the server's memory.

Activate Memcached on…

… Prestashop

This guide compares the different Infomaniak Cloud solutions to help you choose the infrastructure best suited to your needs. In all cases, you benefit from dedicated and scalable resources.

Jelastic Cloud (PaaS)

Jelastic Cloud is a platform that allows you to create development environments on the fly without managing system administration:

• Maximum flexibility: the platform automatically adjusts your resources according to real-time load.
• Advantage: ideal if your consumption (CPU, RAM) varies greatly depending on the time of year.
• Billing: you only pay for the resources actually consumed.

Managed Cloud Server

A Cloud Server allows you to manage websites and web applications via a simplified interface, while allowing the installation of specific software:

• Simplicity: as easy to use as shared hosting, but with the power of dedicated resources.
• Advantage: ideal if your resource consumption is stable and predictable.
• Management: Infomaniak handles the technical maintenance and security updates of the server.

Cloud VPS and VPS Lite

The Cloud VPS or VPS Lite offer complete root access to a Linux distribution:

• Total control: you manage your entire server and software configurations.
• Required skills: solid technical expertise in system administration is essential.
• Usage: recommended for specific needs with stable resource consumption.

This guide provides important details regarding the launch and execution of command-line scripts (SSH) on various types of Infomaniak hosting.

Executing scripts via SSH and managing resources

Unlike scripts executed via a web browser, there is generally no strict time limit (timeout) for commands launched via SSH. Your script can therefore theoretically run as long as necessary.

Execution time and persistence

If your SSH session closes (loss of internet connection or terminal closure), the running script will be immediately interrupted.

To avoid this during long tasks, it is recommended to run your scripts in the background or, in the case of a VPS, use terminal multiplexing tools (such as screen, tmux, or the nohup utility). This allows the process to continue its work even after you disconnect.

Resource limits (RAM and CPU)

If time is not limited, hardware resources are.

The execution of your scripts remains subject to the machine's capabilities and its configuration:

• Memory (RAM): if a process consumes more memory than the allowed limit (for example, the memory_limit of PHP or the available physical RAM), it will be killed by the system to preserve the server's stability.
• Processor (CPU): prolonged abusive use of the processor can result in throttling or interruption of the process.

This guide explains how to restore a snapshot of VPS Cloud Infomaniak.

Restore a snapshot

To do this:

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 product concerned.
3. Click on Snapshot in the left sidebar menu.
4. Click on the action menu ⋮ to the right of the object concerned in the table that appears.
5. Click on Restore:
   
6. Click the blue button to start the snapshot restoration.
7. An email is sent when the snapshot is restored.

Restore the operating system disk

Restoring the system volume as in the example above is an irreversible operation. The operating system disk will be replaced by the snapshot and the server will be in the exact state of the backup date.

The data stored on the data volume (vdb) is not affected by this operation.

Restore the data disk (vdb)

Two data restoration modes are possible:

1. “Read-only” mode

If the size of the snapshot differs from the size of the volume, only this read-only mode is available.

This option allows you to mount the snapshot data image, which allows read-only access to the backup data.

For information, here are useful commands to exploit your backup:

• To access the main data volume: mount /dev/vdb /mnt/.
• To mount the data volume in a specific folder "backup": mount -o nouuid -o ro,norecovery /dev/vdc /backup.

To know which letter to use (/dev/vd?), use the command lsblk:

2. “Restore” mode

Restoring the data volume is an irreversible operation. The data disk (vdb) will be replaced by the snapshot. At the end of the restoration, it will be necessary to remount the data volume so that your operating system refreshes the content.

The following procedure and commands are provided for informational purposes only:

1. Make sure your data volume is not mounted:
   * umount /mnt (/mnt or the location you chose to access your data).
2. Remount the data volume:
   * mount /dev/(vdb) /mnt

To know the name of the data volume attached to your server, use the command lsblk (see above).

This guide explains how to initialize your Cloud VPS / VPS Lite with Windows when first connecting.

Initializing a Cloud Server with Windows

You need to change the password of your Windows user before you can connect via RDP (Remote Desktop Protocol) to your server; otherwise, an error is returned (indicating that the password must be changed).

To do this, you need to connect using the VNC console the very first time.

Once the user password has been changed (via VNC), it will be possible to connect without any issues via RDP. This protocol is already activated on the Infomaniak Windows images.

Login credentials

• Username:
  • for Windows 11 Professional = Infomaniak
  • for Windows 10 Professional = Infomaniak
  • for Windows Server = Administrator
• Password: the one you chose when ordering the server; if you forget it, please reset the server.
• IP address: the one indicated in your server's dashboard.

Connect via RDP…

• … on Windows: Remote Desktop is a built-in feature.
• … on macOS: install the free desktop app Windows App (formerly Microsoft Remote Desktop).
• … on Linux: install the app Remmina.

This guide explains how to move an existing website within an Infomaniak Web Hosting to another Infomaniak Web Hosting.

Preamble

• There are not many turnkey solutions to move a website.
• Generally, few hosts offer the export or import of a complete site with its databases; this is mainly because there are many ways to build a site and just as many languages that are largely incompatible with each other.
• However, if the site to be transferred is built with WordPress, refer to this other guide illustrating a simplified solution.
• It is also possible to move a complete Web Hosting (see below).
• Make your life easier! If needed, local partners referenced by Infomaniak can handle these procedures. Launch a free call for tenders. They take care of everything, freeing you from technical details.

Manual solution: example of site transfer

To do this manually, you need to:

• retrieve the web data as well as the associated databases,
• republish this on a site created on the destination Web Hosting,
• and if the associated domain name is the same, the first site must be deleted or renamed.

For the rest, here is an example of the procedure to follow:

1. Order the other Web Hosting / Cloud Server if you haven't already.
2. Create a "fake site" on this new hosting (for example dev.domain.xyz - see below).
3. Manually copy your data in FTP and MySQL (export / import).
4. Adjust your site if necessary (database address, etc.).
5. Once you are satisfied with the "new site", delete the old one.
6. Change the name of the new site to give it its real name.

An alternative is, at point 2 above, to work with the alias www. that you can detach beforehand from your current site. Indeed, the alias www(.domain.xyz) is often installed as an alias for your site, and it is enough to detach it, which allows the creation of a site on the other hosting with the name www.domain.xyz (do not forget, at point 6, to add your alias of type "domain.xyz" without the www to this new site).

Moving entire Web Hostings

There is an automated way to move an Infomaniak Web Hosting to:

• A Infomaniak Cloud Server (if the hosting is currently shared or if the hosting is already on a Cloud Server)
• Another Infomaniak Organization

A Starter hosting cannot be moved but it can be converted.

This guide explains how to migrate from a VPS Lite to a VPS Cloud while keeping all your data and without having to reconfigure your installation.

Perform a migration from VPS Lite to VPS Cloud

To start the operation, access your VPS Lite:

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 product in question.
3. Click on Upgrade my offer: 
   
4. Click on the Upgrade button on the modal that appears.
5. Complete the order to upgrade your VPS Lite.
6. Wait during the migration, a service interruption will be felt during the process.

This guide explains how to specify a file that will be loaded before the desired page or at the beginning of each PHP script executed on your server, included as if it had been called with the require() function, but more globally using the PHP directive auto_prepend_file.

Preamble

• For example, to declare the headers of a website, you can create a headers.php file that contains PHP header() functions and that is prepended at the beginning of each PHP file…
  • … via a .user.ini file (specific to a folder),
  • … or via the site configuration in the Manager (global) as explained below.
• For additional help contact a partner or launch a free tender — also discover the role of the host.

Include a file globally from the Manager

To access the website management:

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 product concerned:
3. Click on Manage under Advanced settings:
   
4. Click on the PHP / Apache tab.
5. Complete the line concerned by entering the path of the file to include.
6. Click on the button at the bottom of the page to save:
   

After defining this directive, all PHP pages on your server will automatically include the specified file before executing their own code.

The headers defined in a .htaccess file are only valid for non-PHP (i.e., static) content.

Infomaniak uses php-fpm which receives the various headers via apache fast_cgi. In the RFC of cgi_www the header Strict-Transport-Security is not part of the headers passed via CGI and the Apache documentation confirms this. See this other RFC.

This guide explains how to customize the time slot(s) during which Infomaniak can perform maintenance to update your services (new features, fixes, etc.).

Preamble

• This feature is only available for:
  • Cloud Servers
  • Cloud VPS / VPS Lite
  • Jelastic Cloud
• Without any indication from you, scheduled maintenance is generally performed by Infomaniak between 10 PM and 6 AM.

Modify the scheduled maintenance period

To do this:

1. Click here to access the service for which you want to schedule maintenance on the Infomaniak Manager (need help?).
2. Click directly on the name assigned to the product concerned.
3. Click on Scheduled Maintenance in the left sidebar or on the central page depending on the service concerned (below Jelastic):
   
   • Same principle for a VPS:
     
4. Click on the buttons to define, in blue, a preferred intervention slot.
5. Validate by clicking on the button at the bottom:
   

This guide details the creation of a GIT repository on your Web Hosting as well as on your Infomaniak Cloud Server.

Preamble

• GIT and GITHub are available by default on the two aforementioned supports.
• For additional help contact a partner or launch a free call for tenders — also discover the role of the host.

Creation of the GIT repository

Setup on the server:

• the GIT repository is on /git_depot
• the site is located in the folder /web/[project] (on your FTP server)

Commands to enter:

cd
mkdir git_depot
cd git_depot/
git init --bare [projet].git
cd [projet].git
git update-server-info

Sending the local repository to the server

To do on the local machine:

git init
git remote add origin ssh://user@[xxxxx].ftp.infomaniak.com:/home/clients/[123456789]/git_depot/[projet].git
git status
git add .
git commit -a -m "init"
git push --set-upstream origin master
git push

Cloning the site on the server directory

To do on the server:

cd
cd web
rm -r [projet]/
git clone /home/clients/[123465789]/git_depot/[projet].git [projet]/