VPS: accessing your server, root access, and everyday management

A myPandos VPS is a virtual private server with full root access. This article covers accessing it, everyday power actions, rebuilding it, and what myPandos handles versus what's yours to manage. Everything here applies equally to Cloud Hosting, which is the same product.

Finding your access details

Go to https://dash.mypandos.io, open your VPS under Services, and find the Server Access card. It shows your IP address, SSH port (usually 22 — check here in case yours differs), and username, with a button to reveal your root password and a ready-made SSH command you can copy.

Connecting over SSH

1. On Mac or Linux, open a terminal and use the SSH command shown in the dash, for example ssh root@your-ip-address.
2. On Windows, use an SSH client such as PuTTY with the same IP address, port, username, and password.
3. On first connection you may see a warning about an unknown host key — this is normal for a server you haven't connected to before; accept it to continue.

If SSH isn't reachable — for example, while troubleshooting a networking misconfiguration — use the web-based Console in the dash instead. It connects directly to the server's display, similar to plugging in a physical monitor, and works even when the network is down.

Power controls: restart, shutdown, stop, and reset

These are available from your VPS's Power controls in the dash.

• Start — power the VPS on.
• Restart — a graceful reboot: the operating system shuts down cleanly and starts back up.
• Shutdown — sends a graceful power-off signal to the operating system, similar to pressing a power button.
• Stop — an immediate, hard power-off. Use this only if a graceful shutdown doesn't respond.
• Reset — a hard reset, like pulling the power and plugging it back in. Only use this if the VPS is completely unresponsive: anything unsaved, or mid-write to disk, can be lost.

Rebuilding (reinstalling) your VPS

Rebuilding replaces your server with a fresh operating system — it is for starting over, not routine maintenance, and it erases everything currently on the server. From your VPS's Reinstall option, choose a new OS template, set a new root password, and type your service's name to confirm you understand the data loss. Take a fresh backup first (see “Backups and restores for hosting and VPS”) — a rebuild cannot be undone.

What myPandos manages vs what you manage

• myPandos manages: the physical hardware, the virtualization platform, networking, power, and the backup and snapshot infrastructure.
• You manage: the operating system, everything you install on it, security updates and patches inside the VPS, and any firewall rules for your own applications. Unlike Shared Hosting, nobody administers the operating system for you.

Servers without a public IP address

A VPS can run on your private network only, with no public IP address. You can still reach it over SSH, securely, without opening any port to the internet. Open your VPS, go to the Network tab, and find the Private network SSH access card. It shows the server's private IP address and two ways in.

• Terminal in your browser — press Open terminal in browser. A terminal opens in a new tab; no software is needed.
• SSH from your own terminal — install cloudflared once on your computer (the card links to the download), then run the command shown on the card, for example cloudflared access ssh --hostname vm123.example.com. The card also gives a snippet for ~/.ssh/config so that a plain ssh command works with your usual client.

Either way, the first time you connect a sign-in page opens in your browser: sign in with the same account you use for the dashboard. Only you, as the owner of the VPS, can connect.

Secure access is set up automatically when the server is created and takes a few minutes. Until it is ready the card says so and the command is not shown yet. If the card says setup needs a check by our team, open a support ticket and we will follow up.

Trouble connecting?

Check the VPS is actually running (its power state, shown in the dash); confirm the IP address and port match what's shown in your Server Access card; reveal the password again if you're unsure it's current; and try the web Console if SSH itself seems to be the problem. For a server without a public IP address, use the Private network SSH access card on the Network tab instead of an IP address — see above.