Create a server

Create a new cloud server through one of your connected providers, right from InfraNest — no need to log in to the provider's own dashboard.

#Overview

• Provisions a real server on your provider account, using options InfraNest fetches live, so you only ever see what you can actually order.
• Lets you set up protection (backups, firewall) and optionally install the InfraNest agent, all in the same flow.
• Shows you live progress while the provider builds the machine, so you always know what stage it's at.

#Create a server

1. Go to Servers and select create a server.

2. Choose the provider account to create it on.

3. Set the basics: a name, server type (size), location, and image (operating system).

   Locations are grouped by continent and sorted by country, so a provider with datacenters on several continents reads like a map rather than a list. Plans are grouped into the families your provider sells — Basic, General Purpose, CPU-Optimized and so on — cheapest family first. The table shows the cheapest few plans in the family you've picked, with a link to show the rest.

   A plan your chosen location can't build is greyed out and says so, so you find out before you order. Prices are shown in the currency your provider quotes.

   The name follows your provider's hostname rules, shown under the field. A capital letter is turned lowercase as you type, and anything else that won't work gets a Use "my-server" button that fixes it in one click. If the name is already taken on that provider account, the same button offers you the next free one.

4. Add options if you need them: SSH keys, a username, Cloud-init (optional) user-data (a startup script), and Tags.

   Install the InfraNest agent is offered, marked Recommended, where your provider supports running a script at first boot. It is not ticked for you — it's your choice. Tick it and the new server installs the agent as it starts, reporting its load, memory, disk, restarts and pending updates within a few minutes. The agent runs as its own user without special rights and only reads and reports. You can also install it later from the server's page.

   To see exactly what gets added, open Advanced: under the cloud-init box, Added to first boot shows the script, read-only. It runs after your own cloud-init as a separate step, so anything you type still runs as written. The token shown is a placeholder — the real one is created for this server when you create it, and never appears on the page.

   The Apps tab next to OS holds your provider's ready-made application images — WordPress, Docker, GitLab and so on — already installed on a base operating system. Where a provider offers many apps, the grid gets a search box and scrolls in place. Pick the app, then use the Version box underneath to choose which build and base operating system.

5. Under Protection, you can switch on automatic backups Pro and attach a firewall Pro you've already set up. The firewall list only offers firewalls on the account you're creating in — if it's empty, create one on the Firewalls page first and it'll appear here.

   When your provider accepts a firewall as part of the create request, InfraNest sends it there so the machine is protected from its very first boot. Providers whose API has no such field get the firewall attached immediately after the server exists instead, which leaves a short window at boot.

   NoteIf that boot-time window matters to you, keep the machine off the public internet another way until the firewall shows as attached.

6. Select Create server. The server appears in your list straight away, marked Being created while the provider builds it.

#While it's being made

Some providers hand you a finished machine in seconds; others accept the order first and build it after. Either way, the server is listed from the moment you create it, and InfraNest keeps checking with the provider until it's ready — often, less often as time goes on. You don't need to refresh the page: the status and the IP address fill themselves in.

The server's page shows each step as it happens: ordered, the provider builds it, it starts up and gets its address, the agent reports for the first time (only if you ticked Install the InfraNest agent), and ready. It also shows how long ago you ordered it and what usually comes next. You can close the page at any point — the server keeps being made either way.

Being created means it's been ordered and paid for, and there's no machine to reach yet. That's different from Status unknown, which means InfraNest couldn't get an answer from the provider about it.

If it's still being created after half an hour, InfraNest stops watching so closely and picks the server up on its regular check instead. Nothing is lost — it just updates less often. A server stuck like that for much longer is worth checking in your provider's own control panel.

#Tips

TipSelect Advanced before creating the server if you want to double-check exactly what the agent install script will run at first boot.

#Troubleshooting

• The Create server button won't let me finish: it never goes quiet — press it before the form is complete and it lists what's still missing, with each line clickable to take you straight to the field.
• No option to create a server, or a note on the button: provisioning depends on your plan (the cloud feature and a server limit). If you're at your limit, the button will say so.
• Server created without the agent: the agent needs a monitored server slot on your plan. If you have none left, the server is still created without the agent, and the message after creating it explains why.
• Creating the server fails with an error about the firewall: the firewall you picked may no longer exist at the provider — for example, if someone deleted it there. Refresh the firewall list and try again rather than ending up with an unprotected server.