Installing FreeBSD On VPS

FreeBSD is a Unix-like operating system. It was developed by a team of computer scientists from UC Berkeley, and it’s currently used in web servers and firewalls. FreeBSD is often the first choice for firewall administrators because it can be installed on a VPS with low resource requirements. Keep reading to learn more about installing FreeBSD on your VPS.

Why Should You Install FreeBSD On Your VPS

A VPS is a virtual private server that offers the same benefits as a dedicated server at a fraction of the cost. In contrast to a physical server in an office, which you need to purchase, maintain, and house, a virtual server is stored in commercial data centers.

The hosting provider maintains the hardware, and you can access it through the remote desktop protocol (RDP), secure shell (SSH), or graphical user interface (GUI).

There are several reasons why you should choose FreeBSD over Linux if you’re looking for an operating system for your VPS. FreeBSD VPS is one of the most secure operating systems. It’s built on a very secure foundation and has been continuously updated to protect against new security threats.

This makes it ideal for handling internet traffic and communicating with other servers. In addition, it’s stable, scalable, and comes with a variety of applications that can be installed automatically on your VPS at the time of creation.

Step-By-Step Guide To Install FreeBSD On VPS

The following instructions will show you how to choose the best version of FreeBSD for your VPS, download it, and install it on your computer.

Choose FreeBSD Version

Picking the right version of FreeBSD depends on your preferences, server requirements, and support limitations enforced by your hosting provider. The performances of FreeBSD available on VPS are tuned for a particular deployment environment. 

Install Using The Default Keymap

If you do not need additional keyboard layouts, you can simply use the default keymap provided by the FreeBSD operating system. But suppose you plan to use an international keyboard layout or switch between multiple languages frequently. In that case, you’ll want to consider hotkeys that allows you to switch between layouts on the fly.

Choose A Hostname For Your Machine

Hostnames are used to identify machines on the network. They consist of a string of letters and numbers separated by dots and are easy to remember. You can choose to use one of the default hostnames provided by your provider or use your own text.

Choose The Nearest Mirror

When you install FreeBSD, you can choose a mirror from which to download updates and fixes, as well as additional applications like Apache and PHP. A mirror is a directory where files are stored, and hundreds of them are available all over the world.

Create Partitions For FreeBSD

Once you’ve decided which mirror you’d like to use, you need to select a partition type. A partition is simply a section of the hard drive and is used to divide the drive into multiple volumes. When you choose how to install FreeBSD, the default layout divides your VPS into two partitions: one for the root file system and another for swap space.

This is sufficient for extremely basic installations, but more advanced configurations require more partitions. The number of partitions you will need depends on several factors, such as server load, network configuration, and available disk space.

Select A Password And Confirm It

When you install FreeBSD, a default password will be used to lock the root account of your VPS. You need to choose a password that you’ll remember at all times because your VPS will become unusable if it is forgotten. After you complete this step, you’ll be logged in as root and can begin using your new VPS.

Set Final Configurations

Once your FreeBSD VPS is up and running, the configuration can be done completely remotely using a web-based interface. You will have the option of selecting a bi-monthly or quarterly update cycle depending on your server load, and this allows you to specify just how much time you want to give your VPS.

You also have the option of choosing whether or not you would like your VPS to operate in a secure state, which will lock down default settings so that no root user can access removable media (such as flash drives) on your server.

The Bottom Line

As you can see, installing FreeBSD on your VPS is really not that hard. You just need to follow clear steps and pay attention during the installation process. The first step is to decide which version of FreeBSD you want to use based on your preferences and limitations imposed by your server provider.

The next step is to look at the available options for installing the operating system and choose an appropriate partition layout so that all necessary services are available on your VPS. I hope this guide gave you vast information about installing FreeBSD on VPS.