We will contact you by email before your chosen subscription period expires. If you wish to renew your subscription, simply pay the amount using your chosen payment method.

If you do not wish to renew your subscription, you still have enough time until the expiry date to back up your data from our data centres.

To customize your server, log in to the web interface. Then select "Change subscription" for the desired server.

Please note that the existing disc size cannot be reduced.

If your desired configuration is not listed, please contact us.

Yes, a VPN can be set up and operated on a Linux as well as a Windows Virtual Server.

For the Windows Virtual Server, the use of PPTP is the easiest method to build a VPN. This connection type is not as secure as L2TP or IPsec, but it is sufficient for many applications.

PPTP-based VPN traffic consists of a TCP connection to the TCP port 1723 on the VPN server and GRE (Generic Routing Encapsulation) -coded packets for the VPN data. However, PPTP traffic can cause problems with firewalls, NATs, and web proxies. To avoid this, firewalls must be configured to allow both the TCP connection and GRE-encapsulated data.

With Linux Virtual Server, For example, the tunnels are built using OpenVPN.

We use true full virtualization, also known as bare-metal virtualization, for our virtual servers, which provides very high performance and security. Unlike other virtualization products, with us you have an independent server instance that completely isolates you from other customers. Our full virtualization emulates a complete computer with virtual hardware that can be accessed by the guest operating system like real hardware. In doing so, the guest operating system layer is omitted. The commands of individual virtual servers, fully encapsulated from each other, are directly forwarded to the hardware. This makes full virtualisation very performant. Therefore you can also install and run unmodified operating systems.

We provide you with a large selection of Linux distributions and versions as standard. You can also choose from many versions for the Windows operating system.

Yes, for the latest Virtual Server products we offer a CLI console on the web interface at https://vserver.softronics.ch/. So you have access to your Virtual Server in case of emergency or for maintenance work. To do this, select Open server console.

Yes, our Linux premium server can be reinstalled using the web interface. Please contact us if you have a Windows server.

How do I reinstall my server? Follow the instructions below:

1. Sign into the web interface at https://vserver.softronics.ch/
2. For the desired vServer, select Shutdown server.
3. After that, shut down the vServer with Power down server (only in emergency).
   You can also skip step two in case of emergency and shut down the server directly.
4. Now select Reinstall Server (must be powered down).
5. On the next page, select the distribution you want. If the distribution you want is not available, please contact us.
   Confirm that all data on the server will be deleted. Then confirm with Start Reinstallation and your vServer will be installed with the selected OS.

Restore from a full backup

If you have created full backups of your Virtual Server, you can restore it to this state accordingly. You can read more about this here under the Restoring from a Fullbackup section.

Recovery from a full backup is available for Linux and Windows servers.

Yes, this is possible in our web interface at any time and is independent of the state of the virtual server. You can find the web interface at https://vserver.softronics.ch/.

The following options are available for the reboot:

• Shut down virtual server and restart it automatically.
• Shut down virtual server.
• Shut down virtual server. You should only use this function in an emergency.
• Virtual server boot.

Use the fullbackup to create a consistent copy of the entire file structure (an image) of your virtual server in its current state.

When restoring the virtual server, the image and data of the selected backup is used for the recovery. The server will be in the same state as when the fullbackup was created (system and data).

You can choose the maximum number of backups yourself and create or delete them manually at any time. If the maximum is achieved, you can create a new backup by deleting an existing backup or you can order additional number of backups.

The fullbackups are maintained until you manually delete them or cancel the option.
This feature is available for the Windows and Linux virtual servers.

Where is the fullbackup stored?

The fullbackup is written to a disk subsystem and not to the v-Server disk. As a result, your disk capacity is not affected by the full backups. Additionally, two backups of each full backup are created.

Hint: To ensure that no data loss (silent data corruption) occurs, the services should be paused briefly.

Create fullbackup

• Login at the Webinterface.
• Click Backup (x of n) at the desired server.
• In the window that opens, select + Create Backup.

Restore from a full backup

Recovery from a full backup is available for Linux and Windows servers.

• Login at the Webinterface.
• For the desired vServer, select Shutdown server.
• After that, shut down the vServer with Power down server (only in emergency).
  You can also skip step two in case of emergency and shut down the server directly.
• Click Backup (x of n) at the desired server.
• In the window that opens, select Restore for the desired full backup and follow the further prompts.

In the overview you see the number provided fullbackups and the number of possible fullbackups elective vServers. Further every fullbackup is shown with date and time. You can extinguish the available Fullbackups or provide a new Fullbackup.

Yes, you'll get an independent virtual network interface for each IP address. Opposite to other providers we provide you as many IP addresses as you want. We even give you the possibility to use IP addresses out of a second network.
 

How can I get more IP addresses?

When ordering for the first time, you can specify the number of IP addresses you want. If the v-server is already in operation, you can send a request to our support. We will then make you an appropriate offer. We will fulfill requests for different subnets if possible. You can see the prices for additional IP addresses on the Softronics order pages.

Just like any other server, a Virtual server can have limited recourses like RAM, CPU or Disk capacity. Here we teach you how you figure out what’s wrong and how you can do something about it.

How do I realize that my Virtual Server doesn’t have enough recourses?

• When a resource limit is reached, processes are terminated or not started. It is also possible that data can no longer be written. This can occasionally lead to randomly appearing error images.
• This can cause seemingly random error images to appear.
• When using Linux you can check your recourse values with the command: top
• When using windows you can use the recourse monitor resmon to check your recourse values.

What do about higher resource usage?

• Check if there are any processes running that aren’t really needed.(e.g PostgreSQL on a system that uses MySQL or SpamAssassin on a system that doesn’t receive e-mails.
• At high CPU usage, check the auto start. Are there any processes that are redundant to you? Remove them from auto start.
• If the server performance suddenly changes, can it be that the amount of users has risen? Is a third party abusing your server?
• Delete unnecessary data to regain free space on the disc.
• Can individual server services be adjusted so that they don’t need as much recourses? If these steps don’t give you your desired result you can always upgrade your Virtual server. You can find more information about that on the page upgrade Virtual server.

At this point, we would like to explain a few terms, just as these are used for our products.

A virtual server is often referred to as VPS (virtual private server), VM (virtual machine), v server, or virtual server. These are installed on a host server. On a host, several virtual servers can be operated with different operating systems. This means that more than one customer can be set up simultaneously on one host. The individual virtual servers are clearly separated from each other.

Dedicated servers are also known as root servers. The server is exclusively available to one customer. He thus gets the full performance and all resources of the host for himself and does not have to worry about the maintenance of the server or technical defects. The customer can therefore concentrate fully on his project.

A root server in the classical sense is a root name server and as such is responsible for the name resolution on the Internet. The root servers know the names and IP addresses of all nameservers of all top-level domains (TLD). The root servers are coordinated by the ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers).


We do not use the term root server for our products.

Differences between virtual and dedicated servers

• Virtual servers do not have their own physical disk. A file with the appropriate size will be assigned to you and the vServer is installed here.
• The memory is virtually assigned to the v-Server. For the memory swap there is set up a swap partition on the disk.
• You can flexibly allocate vCPU. Only a reboot is required.
• The network interfaces are virtually assigned to the v server.
• Time: The time of the host is automatically synchronized with a time server and cannot be changed within the Virtual Server. Deviations are thus automatically corrected.

Yes, our Linux Virtual Server contains all the usual kernel modules.

Since iptables are run as root, you need to have appropriate administration rights for the server and can edit the appropriate modules (iptables / netfilter, tun / tap, etc.). The iptables are installed on most Linux systems as /usr/sbin/iptables. In the man pages you will find further documentation about the iptables, if they are installed. Since the kernel 3.13 released in January 2014, there is a new, additional packet filter with nftables, which can be used as an alternative to iptables.

A small hint: Before setting up the iptables or a firewall, be clear about what you want to achieve. What should be blocked and what should be allowed. The security of the server is not increasing just by starting a firewall. Or by a poor configuration you get less security or you are blocking yourself.

You can also compile your own kernel modules or use a self-compiled kernel.

Yes, you can use any kernel. We offer a wide range of Linux distributions or even different versions of Windows Server. If the operating system you are looking for is not listed, please let us know. Send a mail to Support.

We are using a real virtualization for our virtual servers (KVM). You can also use unmodified kernels.

Yes, you have unrestricted access to all network interfaces including the local loopback interface. You can also use special network tools.

In order for you to make settings on the network interfaces, you need administrator rights. In order for the adjustments to take effect, the v server must be rebooted.

We recommend creating a fullback before making any adjustments to the network settings. This allows you to restore the server from the full backup.

DDoS-attacks (Distributed-Denial-of Service) are an unfortunate part of today’s everyday life. These attacks attempt to overload the bandwidth of the internet connection or server recourses. These attacks are often supported by a botnet (a network of malware-infected computers). These botnets can create massive data traffic which leads to long loading times on your website and can even lead to the system crashing.

Preventive measures

• You know the "normal state" of your networks and systems and recognize anomalies (e.g. intrusion detection systems IDS, centralized log evaluation). A DDoS attack should be detected before your customers can notice it.
• Your systems are hardened (no unnecessary services, strict permissions, strong authentication, etc.) and at current patch level. SYN cookies are enabled, etc.
• Check the possibilities of GeoIP blocking. For example, if your customers are mainly from Switzerland, you can predefine a profile that only allows IP addresses from this region. In the event of an attack, you can activate these profiles and thus very quickly gain options for action and additional protection.

Our Safety solution for DDoS-Attacks

The data stream is constantly being monitored and immediately interferes with anomalies. If an attack is detected, the dataflow gets redirected through the Threat-Management-System (TMS). The TMS are in the so-called «scrubbing centers» inside the global network. Inside of these «scrubbing centers» the dataflow of the attack gets separated from the traffic. After the separation the desired dataflow gets passed on. That way we can protect the bandwidth and the server infrastructure very well.