Rebooting Your VPS

Rebooting your VPS (Virtual Private Server) restarts the operating system and all services. This guide covers when and how to safely reboot your server using both the client portal and SSH.

When to Reboot Your VPS

Reboot your VPS in these situations:

1. Kernel updates: After installing a new Linux kernel, a reboot is required to load it
2. System unresponsiveness: When the server becomes slow or unresponsive to commands
3. Service failures: When critical services (web server, database) cannot be restarted normally
4. Configuration changes: Some system-level changes require a reboot to take effect
5. Resource exhaustion: When memory or other resources are fully consumed and cannot be freed

Tip: Rebooting should be a last resort. Always try restarting individual services first (e.g., systemctl restart apache2, systemctl restart mysql) before performing a full reboot.

Reboot Methods

Method 1: Reboot via Client Portal (Recommended)

The safest and easiest method:

1. Log in to your {{COMPANY_NAME}} client portal at {{SUPPORT_URL}}
2. Navigate to My Services and select your VPS plan
3. Click the Server Management or VPS Controls tab
4. Click the Reboot button
5. Confirm the reboot when prompted
6. Wait 2-5 minutes for the server to come back online

The portal provides both Soft Reboot and Hard Reboot options.

Method 2: Reboot via SSH (Soft Reboot)

Connect to your server via SSH and run:

sudo reboot

Or equivalently:

sudo shutdown -r now

To schedule a reboot:

sudo shutdown -r +5 "Server will reboot in 5 minutes"

Method 3: Hard Reboot via Portal

Use a hard reboot only when the server is completely unresponsive:

1. Go to your VPS management panel
2. Click Hard Reboot or Force Restart
3. Confirm the action

Tip: A hard reboot is equivalent to pulling the power cord. Use it only when soft reboot fails, as it can cause filesystem inconsistencies.

Soft Reboot vs Hard Reboot

Before You Reboot

Take these precautions before rebooting:

1. Save your work: Ensure all file operations and database transactions are complete
2. Notify users: If running production services, inform users of brief downtime
3. Check running processes: Run screen -ls or tmux ls to check for active sessions
4. Verify auto-start services: Ensure critical services are set to start on boot:

```

systemctl is-enabled apache2

systemctl is-enabled mysql

systemctl is-enabled nginx

```

After Rebooting

Verify your server is healthy after reboot:

1. Check uptime: uptime — should show a recent boot time
2. Verify services: systemctl status apache2 mysql nginx — all should be active
3. Check disk: df -h — ensure filesystems mounted correctly
4. Test websites: Load your websites in a browser to confirm they are serving
5. Review logs: Check /var/log/syslog or /var/log/messages for boot errors

Troubleshooting

VPS Does Not Come Back Online

• Wait at least 5 minutes — some servers take longer to boot
• Try a hard reboot from the portal if soft reboot was used
• Check the VPS console (VNC/noVNC) from the portal for boot errors
• Contact support if the server remains offline after 10 minutes

Services Not Starting After Reboot

• Check service status: systemctl status service-name
• Review service logs: journalctl -u service-name
• Manually start the service: systemctl start service-name
• Enable auto-start: systemctl enable service-name

Filesystem Errors After Hard Reboot

• The system may automatically run fsck during boot
• If the server boots into emergency mode, access via VNC console
• Run fsck /dev/vda1 (adjust device name) to repair the filesystem

Related Articles

• Reinstalling VPS OS
• Generating SSH Keys
• Installing cPanel on VPS

If your VPS fails to reboot or you need assistance, contact our support team at {{SUPPORT_EMAIL}} or open a ticket at {{SUPPORT_URL}}.