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Installing Debian 9

In this article, we provide a guide for the installation process of Debian 9. Would you like to know how to reinstall your VPS? Then, take a look at our article '(Re)Installing a OS on your VPS'


 

Step 1

After ordering / reinstalling your Debian 9 VPS you will be greeted by the screen below in the VPS console, asking for a hostname. Change this (for example, use the syntax server.yourdomain.com) and do not forget to create a DNS record for the hostname in the DNS settings of your domain.

Debian Insallation hostname prompt


 

Step 2 

Debian 9 then asks you to enter a domain of which your VPS is a part. Use the same domain name that you used for your hostname (in step 2 this was the domain name example.com).

debian installation configure domain

In this context, the domain name can be regarded as the name of your network and ensures that if (among other things) you use multiple VPSs in a private network, they can find each other.


 

Step 3

In this step, you can change the language used for the installation and use of Debian 9. We recommend choosing English: There is more documentation in English than in any other language for Debian 9, which makes the possible finding of help a lot easier.

debian installation select language


 

Step 4

Select the country / region where you come from. Location dependent settings (time, etc.) use this. For the Netherlands, click 'other'> 'Europe'> 'Netherlands'.

debian installation select country

There is no local time defined for the Netherlands (and many other countries) and you are asked to choose one. The en_US.UTF-8 option is the most commonly used and is selected by default. Click 'Enter' to continue.

debian installation configure locales


 

Step 5

Then, select your keyboard layout. You can always adjust this afterward from command-line. We advise you not to change this during installation (unless you use an azerty keyboard, for example). In the Netherlands, the default layout used is English (US) and not Dutch.

debian installation configure keyboard


 

Step 6

Optionally, you can now set a proxy. Unless it is a conscious choice to use one, leave the field empty and click 'Continue'.

debian9 installation choose proxy


 

Step 7

Debian 9 now retrieves some necessary files, after which you will be asked to set a root password. Make sure you use a strong password (without, for example, a personal name). You will be asked to enter the password again for confirmation. 

debian9 installation set root password


 

Step 8

Next, you create a new account (the user who belongs to this account is created in step 9). You can, for example, use a name that indicates what the account is for.

debian9 installation create account


 

Step 9

You then create the username to use with the account you created in the previous step. The username and account name may match. 

You can also use this user when you use SSH, for example, to connect to your VPS and to disable the SSH root access.

debian9 installation create user


 

Step 10

Enter a strong password for the new user. You will also be asked to confirm the password here.

debian9 installation new user password


 

Step 11

You now choose the partitioning method of your installation. Some options that you can use are, for example, LVM, EXT4, XFS. 

We choose 'Guided - use entire disk and set up LVM'. This is usually preferable because your partitions are then created within a 'Logical Volume' and can later be properly adjusted in terms of size. This is useful if you decide to upgrade your VPS / SSD later. 

debian9 installation select partition method

If you choose 'Encrypted LVM', you get an option to set a passphrase. You will always have to enter the passphrase first when you start (re)start VPS. If you lose the passphrase, you will never be able to access your VPS again and a reinstallation is the only option.


 

Step 12

You will be asked which disk you want to use to write the installation to. You always have only one disk on your VPS (unless you use Big Storage, but never install an OS on it).

debian9 installation select disk to partition


 

Step 13

You then choose a 'Partitioning scheme'. For most scenarios, the option 'All files in one partition' is sufficient on a VPS. We recommend choosing this option unless one of the scenarios below applies to you.

debian9 installation select partition scheme

  • The 'Separate /home partition' option is useful in case of multiple users on a VPS. For example, you can ensure that there is a limit to how much data a user can store in his own /home partition folder.

 

  • The 'Separate /home, /var, and /tmp partitions' option goes a step further and also separates the /var and /tmp partitions. This is also useful if, for example, you want to prevent a log file in /var from writing your SSD completely full.

 

Step 14

Debian asks you if you are sure you want to install Debian on your SSD (with LVM). Select 'Yes' here.

debian9 installation write changes

You will now see your current partitions and mount points and you can make adjustments to them. You can go directly continue by choosing 'Finish partitioning and write changes to disk'.

debian9 installation partitioning check

Just to be sure, you get one last chance from Debian to change your mind. Select 'Yes' and click 'Enter' to start the installation.

debian9 installation write changes doublecheck


 

Step 15

Debian will ask you whether automatic weekly statistics of the most used software packages can be sent to Debian. This is important for Debian, among other things, to determine which packages are included in the Debian images. You are free to choose 'Yes' or 'No' here.

debian9 installation popularity check


 

Step 16

By default, only a bare installation is performed. We recommend that you carry out the minimum possible installation to avoid installing unnecessary software. The 'default system utilities' are useful to install in advance (for example, to be able to use the help pages). After changing your selection, click 'Enter' to continue.

debian9 installation software selection

We do not recommend installing a 'desktop environment' because the performance of a desktop environment on a virtual server will never be the same as a physical computer. For the use cases for which VPSs are usually used (e.g., website, database, application, and/or email hosting), a GUI within Linux is also not required.


 

Step 17

In this step, Debian asks if the GRUB boot loader can be installed on your Hard Drive. Press 'Enter' to give permission.

debian9 installation install grub

Finally, Debian will ask on which disk GRUB can be installed. Select /dev/vda and press 'Enter' to complete your installation.

debian9 installation install grub - disk selection


 

The installation is now complete! Press 'Enter' to restart your VPS. You can then immediately get started with the further configuration of your VPS.

Should you have any questions left regarding this article, do not hesitate to contact our support department. You can reach them via the ‘ContactUs’ button at the bottom of this page.

If you want to discuss this article with other users, please leave a message under 'Comments'.

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