Network and public IP address
Every VPS and container gets its own public IPv4 address. What the Network tab shows, how to have reverse DNS (PTR) set, what we protect and limit, and how email over port 25 is unblocked.
Your addresses
The Network tab shows your server's public IPv4 address (until it is routed: being activated), the IPv6 address if your system has picked one up itself, the ready-made command ssh root@… to copy, and the MAC address. You book additional IPv4 addresses in the Change plan tab under Add-ons (more); they are listed here too.
Your system picks up its IPv6 address itself through router advertisements (SLAAC), from a /64 network that all servers on this network share. A /64 of its own per server is planned, as is reverse DNS for IPv6 (see below).
The address is already set up in the system; there is nothing to configure. Do not change the network configuration in the system, or the server can no longer be reached. If it happens anyway, the console in the browser helps.
Reverse DNS (PTR)
Reverse DNS is the name other servers find for your address. Mail servers check it; for your own mail server it should match that server's name. Under Reverse DNS (PTR) in the Network tab, each public IPv4 of your server shows the name the internet sees right now; before you change it, that is our network provider's default name or none at all.
Create an A record
Point the name you want, such as
mail.your-domain.com, at the address with an A record. If the domain is connected under Domains, you can create it there.Request it
Click Change next to the address, enter the name and choose Request. We check at once whether the name points at the address; if not, the field says what is missing.
Set
Our team sets the record by hand. The tab then shows Set with the date; if we decline, it shows the reason. Public resolvers may take a while longer to show the new name.
The name must point back at the address. That way nobody can name an address after a domain they do not own.
Protection and limits
- Protection against IP and MAC spoofing: your server can only send with its own address.
- Without a firewall, everything is open inbound. You set up a firewall on the host in the Firewall tab (below), or one inside the system, for example with
ufwornftables. - If the tab shows a bandwidth, it applies in each direction.
Firewall
The Firewall tab shows this server's firewall, ready to edit: it starts open, without rules, and changes nothing until you add a rule or choose a preset. Our system enforces it outside the server: not even root inside the server can switch it off. If you need the same rules on several servers, share them (Share with other servers …) or add a shared firewall from Servers · Firewalls; it applies after the server's own firewall, in the order you choose, and the first matching rule decides. Where an earlier rule already decides, the later one carries a note. More under Firewall.
Choose a preset
For example Web server or SSH only. You see beforehand which rules are added; your own rules stay unless you choose otherwise, and SSH stays open.
Adjust
Each rule has an action (allow, drop, reject), a protocol, ports and, if you like, addresses, a list or a blocklist. The first matching rule decides; you change the order by dragging or with the arrows.
Save
The firewall is written to every server it is on, and you see the steps as it happens. Afterwards the portal reads back directly from our system and only shows Active if everything matches there. Undo restores the state before the last save.
If you lock yourself out, the console in the browser helps: it does not go over the network and is always reachable.
Under Servers · Firewalls you also create address lists: your own addresses (IP list) or all networks of a provider by AS number (AS list, updated daily). As a blocklist there is Spamhaus DROP. Limits: 50 rules per firewall, 3,000 addresses from lists per server.
Email over port 25
Outgoing connections over port 25 are blocked to prevent spam. Ports 587 and 465 are open; use them to send through a mail provider. If you want to run a mail server yourself, request unblocking in the tab with Request unblocking: with a short reason (at least 20 characters). This is possible a few days after the first payment; we answer in a ticket, usually within 24 hours.
A mail server needs matching reverse DNS. Request it in the same tab, as described under Reverse DNS (PTR).
Pointing a domain at the server
Under Domains there is the Connect a VPS template: it sets the A record (and AAAA, if there is one) to your server, with www if you like. More in Add and connect a domain.
What does not exist
- A dedicated IPv6 network per server that the portal assigns and shows.
- Country lists for the firewall.
- Reverse DNS for IPv6 addresses.
Related articles
- First login to a VPS: SSH keys and root passwordHow to sign in to your VPS or container for the first time, with an SSH key or with the first root password, and how to change keys and password afterwards.
- Add and connect a domainYour own domain in the customer area: manage it through Cloudflare or leave it with your DNS provider, set records and use templates to connect your Minecraft server, VPS or email.
- Console in the browserA terminal of your VPS or container right in the browser. It works even when SSH cannot be reached, for example after a wrong firewall rule.
Need help?
If this guide does not answer your question, write to us. Usually within 24 hours.