# Managing a Dedicated Server

Source: https://support.kapsulehost.com/en-us/dedicated-servers-management

The Manage page collects every hardware-level control for a dedicated server in one place: power, rescue, reverse DNS, IP addresses, traffic, firewall, and a full operating system reinstall. This guide covers each section and the safeguards around the destructive ones.

## Opening the Manage Page

1. Sign in to [KPanel](https://kpanel.kapsulehost.com).
2. Click **Dedicated Servers** in the left sidebar.
3. Click the server, or its **Manage** link.
4. On the server overview page, click **Manage**.

The direct address is `/dedicated/<server>/management`. Every tile in the **Tools** grid on the overview page links straight to the matching section, so **Power and reset** lands you on the power card, **Firewall** on the firewall card, and so on.

![Dedicated server management page in KPanel](https://support.kapsulehost.com/help/screenshots/dedicated-servers-management.c3805abf.webp)

> **Note:** Every action on this page needs the dedicated server write permission. With a read-only role the controls are visible but disabled, so you can see the state of the machine without being able to change it.

## Power Control

Four actions, in increasing order of violence:

| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Graceful restart | Sends an ACPI signal so the operating system shuts down cleanly, then powers back on |
| Hardware reset | Presses the physical reset button. Running processes are not shut down cleanly |
| Force power cycle | Holds the power button to cut power, then powers on. Last resort for a frozen machine |
| Wake-on-LAN | Sends a magic packet to power on a machine that is switched off |

A **Power state** pill in the card header shows whether the machine is currently running.

> **Warning:** The two forced options ask for confirmation, and you should take that seriously. A forced reset does not flush anything to disk, so unsaved work and in-flight writes can be lost. Only use them when the machine is genuinely unresponsive and a graceful restart has already failed.

A graceful restart is also available directly from the server overview page, as the **Restart** button next to the server name.

## Rescue System

The rescue system boots a temporary Linux environment instead of your installed operating system, so you can repair a machine that will not start. Your disks are untouched: you mount them from the rescue environment and fix what is broken.

1. Choose a rescue system from the dropdown. **Linux (latest)** is the default, **Linux (previous)** is the older image, and **vKVM (virtual console)** boots a browser-reachable virtual console instead of a shell.
2. Optionally paste SSH public keys, one per line. They are authorised for root login in the rescue environment.
3. Click **Activate rescue**.
4. If you supplied no key, a one-time root password appears. Copy it now: it is shown once and cannot be retrieved.
5. Click **Reset now to enter rescue** to reboot into it.

Rescue is armed for the next boot only. When you are done, click **Deactivate** and reset the machine again so it boots normally.

Choosing **vKVM** is the closest thing to a KVM-over-IP session you can start yourself. For a physical console attached by a technician, see [Dedicated Server Console Access](https://support.kapsulehost.com/en-us/dedicated-servers-console).

## Reverse DNS

The **Reverse DNS (PTR)** card lists every IP routed to the server with its current PTR record. Reverse DNS matters more than people expect: mail servers check it before accepting your mail, and some TLS and logging tooling relies on it.

- Click **Edit** on an IP, type a fully qualified hostname such as `mail.example.com`, and click **Save**.
- Click the bin icon to reset an IP back to its default PTR.

Set the PTR to a hostname that actually resolves back to the same IP. A PTR pointing at a name with no matching forward record is worse than no PTR at all for mail delivery.

## IP Addresses and Subnets

The **IP addresses and subnets** card lists every address routed to the machine, with this month's traffic against each one, plus any address flagged **Warnings on** or **Locked**.

To add capacity, click **Order additional IPv4**. That adds the additional IPv4 add-on to your cart and sends you to checkout. The address is billed monthly to your account and allocated to this server after payment.

> **Note:** Releasing an IP or subnet is not self-service. Contact support and our team will handle the cancellation, so an address is never dropped while something is still using it.

## Traffic

The **Traffic** card graphs inbound and outbound volume across every IP on the server. Switch between **Today**, **This month**, and **Year** with the buttons in the card header. Three totals sit above the graph: in, out, and combined, all in GB.

If any address has traffic warning emails enabled, a banner names the addresses and their month-to-date usage. Below the graph, the card states either the included monthly traffic for the server or that traffic is unlimited on this machine.

These figures are for your own monitoring. They are not a bill.

## Firewall

The firewall filters traffic upstream, before it reaches your server, which means it keeps working even when the machine itself is down or misconfigured. It is separate from anything running inside the operating system.

The card gives you:

- A master **Enable firewall** or **Disable firewall** toggle.
- **Also filter IPv6**, so rules apply to both address families.
- **Allow platform services**, which keeps a path open for platform monitoring and management.
- **Inbound rules** and **Outbound rules**, each a list you can add to and remove from.

Each rule takes a name, an IP version, a protocol, a source IP, a destination port, and an action of **Accept** or **Discard**. Click **Save firewall** when you are done. It takes a moment to apply.

> **Important:** A firewall that blocks your SSH port locks you out of your own server. Before saving, make sure an inbound rule allows your management access on port 22. If you switch **Allow platform services** off, you must tick the acknowledgement checkbox before the save is accepted. Recovering from a lockout means the rescue system or a console session, so it is far cheaper to get the rule right first.

Keep **Allow platform services** switched on unless you have a specific reason not to. It is the single most common cause of a firewall lockout.

## Advanced: Reinstalling the Operating System

The **Advanced** section is collapsed by default because it holds destructive operations. Expand it to reach **Reinstall operating system**.

1. Choose a distribution from the list.
2. Optionally paste SSH public keys, one per line, to authorise root login on the fresh install.
3. Type the server number to confirm. The button stays disabled until it matches exactly.
4. Click **Erase and reinstall**.
5. A new root password is shown once. Copy it.
6. Reset the server to start the install.

> **Important:** A reinstall erases all data on the server, including every disk. There is no undo, and no backup is taken for you first. Take your own backup, verify you can read it, and only then reinstall.

## Billing and Cancellation

The **Billing** panel on the server overview page shows the paid-until date and the contract end date, or states that no cancellation is scheduled.

Cancelling a dedicated server, or changing how it is billed, goes through our team rather than a button, so we can confirm the contract end date and the shutdown steps with you first. Contact us from **Support** in KPanel or email [support@kapsulehost.com](mailto:support@kapsulehost.com).

For the wider picture, see [Dedicated Servers Overview](https://support.kapsulehost.com/en-us/dedicated-servers-overview).