Debian

Debian is the safe default here: it is what most of this documentation assumes and the first image we test a configuration against. A small base, a package set that does not move under you inside a release, and a machine you can leave running for years.

Install it from the panel ​

In the client area, open your server, then Reinstall the server. Pick the Debian tile, open its version list and choose the one you want, then fill in the partitioning, the software RAID, the hostname and the password below the grid. The form itself is described in reinstalling your OS.

The tile opens on an older version than the newest it carries, so open the list instead of taking what is shown. PVE 9 is in that same list: it is how Proxmox VE gets installed, and it has its own page.

First steps ​

The machine comes back with root and the password from the form. Bring the package set up to date before anything else:

apt update && apt full-upgrade
apt install -y sudo curl

Then create your own user and turn password logins off, per first connection.

What the image leaves out ​

A Debian image from the panel is deliberately bare: no firewall running, no web server, no automatic updates. You get apt, systemd and an SSH daemon.

nftables is already in the base system, and ufw is one apt install away if you prefer its syntax. Security updates can be applied on their own:

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

The release cycle ​

A Debian stable release carries roughly three years of full support, then two more of LTS. Moving to the next release is done in place with apt and is usually less work than a reinstall. Which one you are on:

cat /etc/debian_version

Where to go next ​

• First connection: your own user, SSH keys, password logins off.
• IP addresses: configuring the additional addresses on the fresh system.
• The console: watching the install, and getting in when the network does not answer.