Open the server → Reinstall tab.
Reinstalling wipes the disks and installs a fresh operating system. The server keeps its IP addresses and hardware; everything on the disks is gone.
WarningThis is irreversible. All server data, files, configurations, databases and installed applications are permanently erased, and recovery is impossible. The server is unavailable for the duration. Back up anything you need first.
Choose the operating system
The tab shows your Current Operating System and the list of available images, each with a version selector. Your current OS is flagged so you can reinstall the same one cleanly.
Choose the disk layout
The Disk Layout selector is the decision that's hard to change later — it sets how the physical disks are combined:
| Layout | Trade-off |
|---|---|
| RAID 1 (mirror) | Half the raw capacity, survives one disk failure. The safe default for anything with data on it |
| RAID 0 (stripe) | Full capacity and the fastest I/O, but any disk failure loses everything |
| RAID 10 | Needs four disks: mirrored and striped. Best balance when you have the spindles |
| Single / no RAID | Simple, no redundancy |
NoteIf no layouts are offered for the OS you picked, the default configuration is used. Choosing a layout is only possible at install time — changing it later means another reinstall, and another wipe.
Set the credentials
- Username — the account created on the new system.
rootis not allowed; log in as this user and escalate withsudo. - Password — minimum 8 characters, with uppercase, lowercase, numbers and special characters.
- Hostname — the server's name.
The keys on the SSH Keys tab are written to the machine as part of this reinstall. This is the one moment they're applied, so check that list before you start.
Run it
Click Reinstall Server, review the summary, and confirm. The tab then shows Reinstallation in Progress; the process takes several minutes because it's a real physical install, not a disk image swap.
TipCancel Reinstallation is available while the job is still queued. If you picked the wrong OS or layout, cancel immediately rather than waiting for it to finish and running it again.
If the server is protected
ImportantA server with protection enabled can't be reinstalled. Disable it in Server Management first. On baremetal, protection exists specifically to guard against this action.
After the reinstall
Log in with the username and password you set. The event, and any cancellation, are recorded in Activity.
NoteA reinstall doesn't restore a private network configuration. If the server was attached to a private network, configure the VLAN in the new OS again — see Network.