Hostiger VPS instances support any modern Linux distribution — as a pre-built image, an in-place reinstall, or a custom ISO you upload yourself. This guide covers all three paths.
At checkout, the OS selector offers Ubuntu 20.04/22.04/24.04 LTS, Debian 11/12, Rocky Linux 9, AlmaLinux 9, CentOS Stream 9, Fedora, Arch, openSUSE Leap, FreeBSD 13 and Windows Server 2019/2022. All images are updated weekly.
Already have a VPS? Go to VPS → Manage → Reinstall in the client area. Pick the target OS. Reinstall takes about 3 minutes and completely wipes the existing disk. New root credentials are emailed after completion.
Pro plan and higher supports custom ISO upload — useful for OPNsense, pfSense, ESXi, Proxmox VE, or your own golden image. Max ISO size is 8 GB. Upload from the Custom ISO tab, wait for the checksum to verify (2-5 minutes), then attach it as the primary boot device.
In the VPS control panel, set Boot order: CD-ROM (ISO) first and reboot. Open the web console (VNC or HTML5). The OS installer will greet you — proceed as you would on any physical machine.
Partition the disk (Hostiger recommends: 1 GB /boot ext4, remaining as LVM with root+swap). Set the hostname, timezone, user password. Enable SSH on port 22 (or a custom port). Install grub to the primary disk (usually /dev/vda).
After installation completes, detach the custom ISO from the boot order (set to HDD first). Reboot. The system will come up on the freshly-installed OS.
SSH in with the credentials you set. Run uname -a and uptime to confirm. Then apply standard hardening: disable root password login, install fail2ban, configure ufw or firewalld, set up automatic security updates.
Deploy a Hostiger VPS in under 60 seconds and put this guide into action.
Order a VPS to install