Initial server setup (Linux)

_{Updated May 8, 2026} A fresh Raff Linux VM ships ready-to-run, but you should harden it before exposing services. This guide takes a brand-new VM from create to a state safe for production, in about 10 minutes. Steps are written for Ubuntu / Debian; equivalents for RHEL family (CentOS / AlmaLinux / Rocky) are noted inline. For Windows VMs, the equivalent hardening is built into Windows Server defaults; the work is in the dashboard side (Reset password, Firewall).

Before you start

VM is active — see Create a VM
You can SSH in as root (or you’ve added an SSH key in the create flow)
An SSH public key on your local machine for the new user

1. Connect as root

ssh root@<public-ipv4>

If this is your first time on the VM, accept the host key fingerprint.

2. Update the system

Get the latest security patches before doing anything else. Ubuntu / Debian:

apt update && apt upgrade -y

RHEL family:

dnf upgrade -y

If the kernel updated, plan a reboot at the end of the steps.

3. Create a non-root user with sudo

Running as root over SSH is a known-bad practice. Create a real user and give it sudo. Ubuntu / Debian:

adduser raff                       # prompts for password
usermod -aG sudo raff

RHEL family:

adduser raff
passwd raff
usermod -aG wheel raff

4. Copy your SSH public key to the new user

From your local machine (not the VM):

ssh-copy-id raff@<public-ipv4>

If ssh-copy-id isn’t available, do it manually on the VM:

mkdir -p /home/raff/.ssh
cat >> /home/raff/.ssh/authorized_keys <<EOF
ssh-ed25519 AAAA...your_public_key... user@local
EOF
chown -R raff:raff /home/raff/.ssh
chmod 700 /home/raff/.ssh
chmod 600 /home/raff/.ssh/authorized_keys

Test the key login from a new terminal:

ssh raff@<public-ipv4>
sudo -i             # confirm sudo works

Don’t close the original root session until the test succeeds.

5. Lock down SSH

Edit /etc/ssh/sshd_config:

sudo vi /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Set or change:

PermitRootLogin no
PasswordAuthentication no
PubkeyAuthentication yes

Reload SSH (use systemctl restart if reload doesn’t pick up changes):

sudo systemctl reload ssh           # Ubuntu / Debian
sudo systemctl reload sshd          # RHEL family

Confirm the new user can still log in before closing your existing session. If you mis-edit sshd_config and lock yourself out, recover with the VNC console — you can log in there as root with the password from the Credentials panel.

6. Set up a firewall

Define a default-deny inbound policy and explicitly allow what you need. Ubuntu / Debian — UFW:

sudo ufw default deny incoming
sudo ufw default allow outgoing
sudo ufw allow OpenSSH                # opens 22/tcp
# Add per-app rules:
# sudo ufw allow http
# sudo ufw allow https
sudo ufw enable
sudo ufw status

RHEL family — firewalld:

sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=ssh
# sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=http
# sudo firewall-cmd --permanent --add-service=https
sudo firewall-cmd --reload
sudo firewall-cmd --list-all

The Raff Firewall Group on the network interface and the inside-the-VM firewall stack independently — you need both to allow a port for traffic to reach the service. Most users keep the SG broad and use the OS firewall for fine-grained control, or the reverse. Don’t open ports in both layers without thinking through what’s exposed.

7. Enable automatic security updates

Set the VM to apply security patches without you remembering to. Ubuntu / Debian:

sudo apt install -y unattended-upgrades
sudo dpkg-reconfigure -plow unattended-upgrades

Confirm /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/50unattended-upgrades includes the security source. RHEL family:

sudo dnf install -y dnf-automatic
sudo systemctl enable --now dnf-automatic.timer

Edit /etc/dnf/automatic.conf to set apply_updates = yes if you want full installs (default is download-only).

8. (Optional) fail2ban

fail2ban watches auth logs and bans IPs that fail repeatedly — cheap insurance for any VM with public SSH. Ubuntu / Debian:

sudo apt install -y fail2ban
sudo systemctl enable --now fail2ban
sudo fail2ban-client status sshd

RHEL family:

sudo dnf install -y fail2ban fail2ban-firewalld
sudo systemctl enable --now fail2ban

Defaults are sensible. Tune /etc/fail2ban/jail.local if you want longer ban times.

9. Set the timezone (optional)

sudo timedatectl set-timezone Europe/Istanbul     # or UTC, America/New_York, etc.
timedatectl

UTC is the safe default for servers. Pick a local zone only if you really need it for cron schedules or log readability.

10. Reboot

If the kernel updated in step 2 (or if you’re paranoid about pending changes):

sudo reboot

After reboot, reconnect as raff and confirm everything’s still working.

You’re done — checklist

System fully patched
Non-root user with sudo and SSH key login
Root SSH login disabled
Password SSH login disabled
Firewall enabled with default-deny inbound
Automatic security updates running
(Optional) fail2ban running
(Optional) sensible timezone

Your VM is now in roughly the same shape as a freshly-provisioned production host at any cloud you’d come from.

Next steps

Firewall

Tighten the platform-level firewall to match your OS firewall.

Enable backups

Schedule daily or weekly backups before going live.

Monitoring & metrics

Read your VM’s CPU/RAM/network from the dashboard.

Recover a locked-out VM

What to do if the firewall or SSH config locks you out.

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Initial server setup (Linux)

Before you start

1. Connect as root

2. Update the system

3. Create a non-root user with sudo

4. Copy your SSH public key to the new user

5. Lock down SSH

6. Set up a firewall

7. Enable automatic security updates

8. (Optional) fail2ban

9. Set the timezone (optional)

10. Reboot

You’re done — checklist

Next steps

Firewall

Enable backups

Monitoring & metrics

Recover a locked-out VM

​Before you start

​1. Connect as root

​2. Update the system

​3. Create a non-root user with sudo

​4. Copy your SSH public key to the new user

​5. Lock down SSH

​6. Set up a firewall

​7. Enable automatic security updates

​8. (Optional) fail2ban

​9. Set the timezone (optional)

​10. Reboot

​You’re done — checklist

​Next steps

Firewall

Enable backups

Monitoring & metrics

Recover a locked-out VM

Before you start

1. Connect as root

2. Update the system

3. Create a non-root user with sudo

4. Copy your SSH public key to the new user

5. Lock down SSH

6. Set up a firewall

7. Enable automatic security updates

8. (Optional) fail2ban

9. Set the timezone (optional)

10. Reboot

You’re done — checklist

Next steps