Category: Virtual Server (EN)

Please note that according to the product terms and our general terms and conditions, you are obligated not to overload your services. Therefore, it is important to use your server properly and adjust your usage behavior accordingly. This topic is particularly relevant for virtual and dedicated servers.

To evaluate the load, we generally consider the server’s so-called load. The load is a comprehensive indicator of the server’s usage and includes CPU, I/O, and RAM usage, among others. As a general rule, the load should roughly be 1.25 per core. This is also the maximum limit allowed by us. Of course, it is possible that the server’s usage may temporarily exceed this limit. As long as it stays within reasonable limits, you don’t need to worry.

If, however, we determine that your server has a significantly high usage or it remains overloaded for a prolonged period of time (~one hour), we will unfortunately have to suspend your server. We use an automated system that constantly monitors the load of all servers and assigns points to each server, similar to the driving record in Flensburg. We have no influence on this system.

If your server has been overloaded and subsequently suspended, you need to contact our support. We will explain the product terms and the next steps to you again. After that, we will reactivate your server if you agree to comply with our general terms and conditions. In case of repeated suspensions, we reserve the right to terminate the contract.

P.S.: While this limit does not generally apply to KVM servers, they can still be suspended due to overload. This usually happens when mining software or continuous usage of 100% is detected over an extended period of time. Windows servers, in particular, are susceptible to this. So please make sure not to continuously use the full performance of your server.

Debian 11 has been released. Along with this, the repositories of Debian 10 were changed from “stable” to “oldstable“.

If you try to do an apt-get update on the server now, there is an error:

root@vps:/# apt-get update
Get:1 http://deb.debian.org/debian buster InRelease [122 kB]
Reading package lists... Done 
N: Repository 'http://deb.debian.org/debian buster InRelease' changed its 'Version' value from '10.9' to '10.10'
E: Repository 'http://deb.debian.org/debian buster InRelease' changed its 'Suite' value from 'stable' to 'oldstable'
N: This must be accepted explicitly before updates for this repository can be applied. See apt-secure(8) manpage for details.

The fact that the suite value has been changed must be explicitly confirmed. A single command is sufficient for this:

apt-get --allow-releaseinfo-change update

With this command we tell apt that the change has been accepted.

Now apt-get update, upgrade and install can be used again as usual.

We are often asked in our support if it is possible to install Windows on a virtual server.

I have an OpenVZ (Cloud) vServer

If you have rented a Mini Server, Power vServer or High-Line vServer from us, you can only install Linux. This is due to the virtualization method we use. It only allows Linux guests. You can switch to a KVM server so that you can install Windows.

I have a KVM server

If you have rented a configurable KVM server with the “Windows” option, you can install Windows as often as you like via the Cloud Manager.

If you chose the Linux option when ordering, this is not a problem. You can switch the server to Windows in the upgrade/downgrade settings easily and free of charge. You only have to start the Windows installation afterwards.

You have forgotten the password for the Sinusbot? This can happen quickly! But in a few steps you can reset the password to your desired passphrase. We show you how to reset the password for your Sinusbot.

If you have not forgotten the password and just want to change it, you can go directly to the password reset.

Enable overwrite mode

Connect via SSH

First you have to log in to your server via SSH. Once you have done that, you should go to the Sinusbot directory. Normally this is the directory /opt/sinusbot.

Stop running instances

Now you have to stop all running sinusbot instances. We use the harder method and stop all processes with the name “sinusbot“:

pkill -f ".sinusbot"

Log in as Sinusbot user

To be able to start the Sinusbot, you need a separate user. This user is usually called sinusbot. We log in as this user in the SSH console.

Use the following command, but maybe change the username “sinusbot” with the one you chose during installation.

su sinusbot

Start Rescue Mode

You are now logged into the SSH session as a Sinusbot user. Only now we can start Sinusbot in password overwrite mode. Attention: This mode is only for password reset. Your password is not safe if you append it to the process name. For this reason, this method should only be considered as a temporary password. This mode overwrites the admin password for the current session.

The following command is necessary to start the PW Reset mode:

./sinusbot -override-password=temppassword123

The Sinusbot is now started in rescue mode. Important: Leave the SSH session open and do not close it.

Now open the Sinusbot web interface under server IP:8087 in the browser. You can log in with the user “admin” and the temporary password “temppassword123“.

Sinusbot Password Reset

Now that you can log in to the web interface, you need to set a new password for your admin user. Navigate to “Settings” > “User Accounts” and click on the “Edit” icon on the right side of the admin. In the opening dialog you can now set a password for the admin user. Do this and save the changes you made.

After that you will be automatically logged out. Do not log in with the new data yet.

Go into the SSH session and press CTRL+C – this will exit the rescue mode of the Sinusbot. Now you can also log out of the Sinusbot user SSH session and continue with the root user.

exit

You are most likely logged in as root user again. Now start the Sinusbot normally. Usually you can do this with:

service sinusbot start

Now you should go back to the browser and refresh the page once. Now log in with the new admin credentials. The username is “admin” and the password is the new password you have chosen. If you forgot the password, … start from the beginning.

No, unfortunately, it is not possible. Our vServer host systems are hosted at our partner Synlinq near Frankfurt. This allows us to provide top-notch DDoS protection and low latencies.

All KVM and OpenVZ host systems are located at this Frankfurt location.

Do you still have servers at OVH?

In May 2022, we moved our entire infrastructure that we had at OVH to the modern Maincubes Data Center. We no longer offer servers at OVH.

Do you still have servers at Hetzner?

No, our virtual servers are exclusively delivered in our own infrastructure. Only dedicated servers are sourced from our hosting partner Hetzner.

Do you still have servers in France?

No, all servers have been stationed in Germany since mid-2022.

Can I move my server to a different location?

A location move is not possible as all customer servers are located at the same location.

Image source: https://www.maincubes.com/rechenzentrum/rechenzentrum-frankfurt/housing-frankfurt/

If you have a domain and a vServer at Prepaid-Hoster, you can easily connect the domain to your server with our AutoConnect feature or take over the settings yourself.

If you want to connect the server manually with the IP address of the server, enter the IP address in all fields with the type “A“.

Connect automatically

Click on your domain in the web interface and go to the DNS settings. There you will find a button with the label “Connect to PPH Server“.

If you click on it, a dialog opens. There are all services listed, which you can use to connect to your domain. Select the desired server and then press Apply. Now all settings will be set automatically as they are needed for the DNS. Your previous settings will be overwritten, connections to MC or TS3 servers will be preserved. Provided you don’t want to reset all entries before.

Please note that the change in DNS can take up to 24 hours.

Domain at another provider

If you have a domain with another provider, please check the FAQ there. Basically: You have to set the IP address of your vServer as A-Record “@” and “*”. Since the DNS administration is different for each provider, we can’t provide detailed instructions. Please contact our support if you have any questions. Feel free to send us screenshots of your configuration, so we can tell you where there might be problems,

Please note that the change in DNS can take up to 24 hours.

You have the option to increase the memory of a virtual server at any time, as long as you have not yet reached the largest level. With OpenVZ servers, the memory is available immediately and without rebooting. With KVM servers, however, there are a few small things to keep in mind.

There are usually 3 reasons why the memory is not yet available to you after an upgrade.

The server must be restarted

If you change the storage capacity of a KVM server, you must stop and restart your server in the web interface. At startup, the change of the virtual hard disk is then carried out. In Linux-based servers, the new space is then assigned to /dev/sda1.

A snapshot is available

If a restart via the web interface did not cause any change, you may have snapshots active. Remove all snapshots and restart the server afterwards. Sometimes you have to contact the support to get them to restart the change process for you for free.

The freed space must be allocated (Windows)

When your hard disk is expanded, the freed disk space is not allocated to a hard disk drive (e.g. C:). You have to do that yourself. We explain how to do this in the article Extending Windows Hard Disk Space.

All this did not help

Feel free to contact us in support. We can then check what did not work. You will get your hard drive space in any case.

In this article we describe how to share a specific port in Windows Firewall.

By default, a Windows server does not allow any connections from the outside. Ports must be explicitly released.

Imagine you have a Minecraft server running on your Windows server. Your colleagues can only connect to port 25565 after this port has been released in the Windows firewall.

Connect to the Windows Server

First, connect to your Windows server. You must act as administrator.

Open Windows Firewall

Now search for “Firewall” in the Start menu.

Open the entry named “Windows Defender Firewall with Advanced Security”. A new program will open.

Add rule

Now you will see an entry named “Incoming rules” in the new window on the left. Right-click on it and choose “New rule” from the context menu.

A wizard will open that will help you during the creation of rules.

The first step asks which rule type we want to create. Since it is about opening a port, the first step selects Port rule type. Click Next.

Now you have to do some research. You need to know which port and which protocol your program uses.

Here are some standard ports:

• Minecraft: TCP, 25565
• TeamSpeak: UDP, 9987 und TCP 30033
• Webserver: TCP, 80, 443
• CS:GO Server: TCP: 27015-27030,27036-27037 und UDP: 4380,27000-27031,27036

So you select the correct protocol TCP or UDP and then enter the ports applicable to your program in the “Specific local ports” field. Then click Next.

The next step is to select the action. Since the connection should be allowed, please select “Allow connection“. Then click on Next.

In the penultimate step you can select the connections for which this rule should apply. In the default case, all connections are already checked. You can leave this as it is and click Next.

The last step is also very simple: give a name to this rule. We recommend you to put the name of the program you shared in there. For example, “Minecraft Server“. If you like, you can also add a description.

By clicking on “Finish” you have successfully created the rule! The port is now open in the Windows firewall and can be reached from outside.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our support team at any time. We will help you then.

It is important to update your server at regular intervals. Every program can have security vulnerabilities, which can allow foreign code to be executed on your own server.

That is why we will show you in this article how to bring your server and installed packages up to date.

First, log into your server via SSH.

Debian

Step 1: Update package lists

apt-get update

Step 2: Update packages

apt-get -y upgrade

If you are asked if you want to overwrite a configuration file, choose “Install the package maintainers version” if you have not consciously made any changes to it.

If you are prompted to choose a disk for the boot process, select (Space) /dev/sda (the top one).

If you receive an APT error: This must be accepted explicitly before updates for this repository can be applied – we have already provided the solution.

Step 3: Update distribution

apt-get -y dist-upgrade

CentOS

yum update

If you are not making any progress, support can take care of the installation of updates for you.

A virtual Windows root server is not equipped with its own sound card. This is because you usually don’t need speakers on the server in the data center. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have sound on your Windows server!

You can set the sound to be played on the server to be forwarded to your local device. This is a setting in the Remote Desktop Connection program from Microsoft.

To be able to listen to sound via Remote Desktop, a few steps are necessary.

Enable sound in Remote Desktop settings

Open the Remote Desktop Connection program on your local computer and enter the IP address of your Windows server. Then click on “Show options” at the bottom.

Then navigate to the “Local Resources” tab. Here you can perform various settings, such as the transfer of drives, USB sticks and printers in your network.

But in this case we are interested in the “Remote Audio” option. Click on the “Settings” button. A new dialog opens in which the options can be set.

Select the first entry for “Remote audio playback“. This is “Play on this computer“. Then click OK to save the setting.

Now connect to your Windows server as usual. You may need to make some settings there.

Usually, the Windows Audio service is disabled. This is because Windows could not detect audio output during installation. However, this service can be activated very easily.

Right-click on the icon with the round red cross and select “Output devices“. A new dialog opens.

Confirm this dialog with “Yes” to activate the Windows Audio service.

Your Windows server can now play audio/sound/sound.

Check this, for example, by briefly watching a YouTube video. You should then be able to hear the sound on your headphones.

If this does not work, please contact us in support. We will be happy to help you.