Provision a server at a cloud provider

When you connect a cloud account to SrvYard, creating a server is a single form. You choose a name, a type, a region and a size; SrvYard asks the provider for the machine, waits for it to boot, logs in with a key it generated and installs everything the server type needs. You never open the provider's console.

This article takes you through that form and what happens afterwards. The provider bills you directly for the machine; SrvYard shows the provider's price next to each size so you can compare before you commit.

Before you begin#

• A connected provider account. Connect one under Settings > Server providers first: see Add a server provider and its API token. You can also start that from this form, with Add provider in the provider menu.
• A provider that is not marked "Needs reconnecting". A provider whose token was rejected is greyed out in the menu. Reconnect it first.
• Room in your plan. The Hobby plan includes 1 server, Pro 10 and Business has no limit. Archived servers do not count. When you are at the limit the form shows Your plan's server limit is reached and Create server is disabled.
• Room at the provider. DigitalOcean reports its droplet limit when it is connected. If you have reached it the form says You cannot create more servers for the given provider and shows how many run there. The other providers report their limits only when they refuse a create.
• The right to create servers. Members whose role cannot create servers do not see Add server.

If you already have a machine you would rather keep, use Connect an existing server instead.

1. Name the server and choose a provider#

Open Servers and press Add server. The first card is Server details.

1. Name. Up to 60 characters: letters, numbers, spaces, dots, dashes and underscores. It becomes the server's hostname, so pick something you will recognise in lists and alerts. Generate new name suggests a random one.
2. Provider. The first connected account that works is preselected. The menu lists every connected account (its own name and the provider's name beside it), Custom VPS for a machine you already have, and Add provider if you are allowed to connect accounts. Accounts that need reconnecting are shown as Needs reconnecting and cannot be chosen.

2. Choose the server type#

Under Server type pick what the machine is for. The type decides which software is installed, and it cannot be changed afterwards.

If you are not sure, App server is the one machine that runs sites, queue workers and a database together. Split roles across several servers when you need to scale one part on its own.

3. Pick a region and a size#

The Region and size card loads its choices live from your provider, so the first moment after choosing a provider shows a loading state. Sizes appear only after a region is chosen, because not every size exists everywhere.

1. Refresh. Asks the provider again. SrvYard keeps a cache of regions and sizes for six hours; use this after the provider adds a region or you changed something in your account.
2. Region. A searchable list grouped by continent. Choose the one closest to your visitors or your database.
3. Server size. Four cards give the cheapest orderable size for each memory tier: Small (1 GB or more), Medium (4 GB), Large (8 GB) and X Large (16 GB). The cheapest is preselected and may carry a Cheapest or Popular badge. Each card shows the monthly price, vCPUs, memory and disk.
4. Show more sizes. Opens the provider's full catalogue.
5. Create server. Stays disabled until a region and a size are chosen. Next to it a line repeats your choice: region, CPU, memory, disk and the approximate monthly price.

The full size table#

1. Show more sizes (it reads Show fewer sizes while the table is open) switches between the cards and the table.
2. Search sizes filters by name. The columns are sortable, and the View menu chooses which are shown. Providers that offer Arm machines also get an All CPUs / x86 / Arm switch, and some a Family filter. Click a row to select it.

4. Review the advanced settings#

Advanced settings summarises the optional choices in one line, for example "Ubuntu 24.04 · PHP 8.4". Press Edit to change them.

1. Server OS. The Ubuntu release (24.04 LTS or 26.04 LTS). Only releases the provider has an image for are accepted.
2. Private network. Join an existing private network (VPC) of the provider in that region. It appears only when the provider supports networks; the default is the provider's own.
3. Enable provider backups. Turns on the provider's automatic backups for this machine, which the provider usually charges extra for. It appears only for providers that offer them, and SrvYard refuses the form if the provider does not.
4. Assign an IPv6 address. On by default. Turn it off for an IPv4-only machine.

Above those the dialog has the same choices as for a machine you already have: the PHP version and extra versions to install, a Database type with version and optional database name, Redis and Memcached for app servers, the Timezone, Add my organization SSH keys and Tags. See Connect an existing server for what each does.

5. Create the server and watch it install#

Press Create server. SrvYard saves the server with the status Creating and shows "Creating your server at" the provider's name. The server page walks through three stages, each logged live:

1. Creating the server. SrvYard asks the provider to create the machine and waits for it to boot and receive an IP address.
2. Provisioning. SrvYard logs in with its generated key, creates its srvyard management user, locks down SSH, installs updates, base packages and the firewall (SSH, HTTP and HTTPS open, everything else closed) and then the software for your type. A progress bar shows the step and percentage.
3. Ready. The status badge turns to Ready and the page shows the server's resources, metrics and its Git access key.

You can leave the page: it updates by itself. The whole process takes several minutes, depending on the provider and the size.

Once the machine exists, its Overview card records where it runs.

1. Provider. The name of your connected account and the provider.
2. Region. The provider's region code.
3. Size. The provider's size name.

The Actions menu on a cloud server also has an Open in entry that jumps to the machine in the provider's console, when the provider has one.

If something goes wrong#

Both failures below end in the status Installation failed, with the reason shown on the server page.

• The provider refused to create the machine. The server ends in Installation failed and the page shows the provider's message, for example an exhausted quota or a payment problem at the provider. Fix it at the provider, then press Retry provisioning. SrvYard remembers the machine if one was created, so it is not created twice.
• The machine did not boot in time. SrvYard waits five minutes by default for the machine to be running with an address. Retry once it is running at the provider.

Troubleshooting#

• My provider is greyed out with "Needs reconnecting". Its token was revoked or expired. Open Settings > Server providers, choose Rename or reconnect on that row and enter a new token.
• The Region list shows "Could not load from the provider". The provider did not answer. Press Retry. If the alert says This provider needs to be reconnected, use Reconnect provider instead.
• A size I expected is missing. Sizes depend on the region. Pick another region, press Refresh, or check the size is available to your account at the provider.
• Create server is disabled. Look for Your plan's server limit is reached, the provider limit message, or a missing region or size.
• The form says the Ubuntu release is not offered. That provider has no image for the release you chose. Choose the other release in Advanced settings.
• The server is stuck in "Installing". Open the log on the server page to see the current step. A slow package mirror can add minutes; if the step never changes, check that the machine still runs at the provider.
• I want a copy of an existing server. Create a snapshot first, then use Create server from snapshot on the snapshot; it opens this same form with the provider and region fixed.

Related#

• Add a server provider and its API token: connect the account that this form uses.
• Connect an existing server: the same journey for a machine you already rent.
• Read the server overview: what the server page shows once it is Ready.
• Create a site on your server: the next step after the server is Ready.