Rescue console, snapshots and reinstallation of a Linux VPS

Three tools in the client area get you out of trouble when SSH is no longer enough. They do not replace one another: the console gives you the screen back, the snapshot undoes an operation, the reinstallation starts from a blank page.

How do I reach my VPS when SSH no longer answers?

Through the console in the client area: it shows the screen of the machine without going through the network, from the Console tab of your VPS.

SSH is a service; when it falls over — a bad firewall rule, a crashed sshd, an invalid configuration, broken networking — there is nothing left to reach. The console attaches to the machine at hypervisor level, like a physical screen plugged into the server.

1. Open My services, your VPS, then the Console tab.
2. A note reminds you that "the console will open in a new window".
3. Click Ouvrir la Console: a new browser tab opens.
4. The status bar shows "Connexion à la console…", then Connected.

The Ctrl+Alt+Del and Reconnect buttons sit in the top bar. Log in as root with the administrator password: the console does not go through SSH, so your keys are not used.

During installation the console is closed. The tab is then titled "Console (installation…)" and explains that the machine is installing its operating system and that the console is closed for that step, with a countdown such as "Reopening in about N minutes." The page reloads itself. The lock lasts around fifteen minutes after delivery and after every reinstallation.

How do I undo an operation that went wrong on my VPS?

By restoring a snapshot taken before the operation, from the Snapshots tab of your VPS.

A snapshot freezes the state of the disk at a given moment.

Create: the Snapshots tab, Create Snapshot card, User Notes field — it is pre-filled with the hostname, replace it with something like before php8 migration. The name only accepts letters, digits, spaces and _. Click Create.

Restore: the Restore button on the matching row. The machine is stopped automatically before the restore. Everything written since the snapshot was taken is lost — including data received by your applications.

How many? It depends on your plan: the tab shows "Vous avez fait X sur les Y autorisées."

A snapshot is not a backup. It sits on the same storage as your VPS. It protects you from a mistake, not from a hardware incident or ransomware encryption. Your irreplaceable data must have a copy outside the machine, and you must have tested restoring it at least once.

How do I reinstall my VPS from scratch?

From the Reinstall tab: pick the operating system, the host name and the administrator password, then confirm — every piece of data is erased.

Useful to change distribution, to start clean after a compromise, or to abandon a configuration that has become unmanageable.

1. Open the Reinstall tab.
2. Choose the Système d'exploitation from the grid: Debian, Ubuntu, AlmaLinux, Rocky Linux or CentOS Stream, depending on your plan.
3. If your plan offers it, the Pre-installed Application (optional) section deploys an application in the same pass. Leave No application for a bare system.
4. Fill in the Nom d'hôte.
5. Enter the administrator Password. On Linux images the account stays root: no user name is requested.
6. Click Reinstall VPS and confirm.

The screen warns unambiguously: "Reinstallation will delete all data. This action is irreversible." The confirmation repeats it in capitals. The number of reinstallations allowed depends on the plan, with a counter shown on screen.

What should I do after reinstalling my VPS?

Your SSH keys are kept, but the server fingerprint has changed: remove the old entry with ssh-keygen -R ADRESSE_IP, delete the snapshots that no longer match, and go through the security setup again.

• The console is locked again for the duration of the installation.
• The SSH keys stored in the Access & Security tab are kept and re-injected automatically.
• The host fingerprint has changed: your SSH client will refuse to connect and display a warning. Remove the old entry with ssh-keygen -R IP_ADDRESS, then reconnect and accept the new fingerprint.
• Your old snapshots no longer match the new system: delete them.
• Redo the security configuration from the start.