How To Host Nextcloud On A VPS

Plan Storage And Users Before You Order

Storage is the main sizing decision for Nextcloud. Add up the files you plan to move, how quickly they grow, and any file versions and deleted files Nextcloud keeps. Leave room for the operating system, the database, and previews.

Memory and CPU matter more as users, sync clients, and apps such as office editing grow. HostVon checks plans against the Nextcloud image’s installation requirements; that establishes compatibility, not capacity for a particular number of users.

• Estimate current file storage and expected growth.
• Count the users and devices that will sync.
• Decide where encrypted backups will live outside the server.

Order And Sign In As Administrator

Choose a plan on the Nextcloud hosting page and confirm that Nextcloud is selected before checkout. After the server is ready, setup continues for several minutes while the application installs.

Open the server in the Cloud Console. The Nextcloud Access card links to your Nextcloud address. Sign in with the username admin and your server password, shown under Settings & Access, then change the administrator password straight away.

Create a separate everyday account for yourself instead of working as admin, and invite other users with only the permissions they need.

Use Your Own Domain

To serve Nextcloud at an address such as cloud.example.com, point an A record at your server’s IPv4 address (and an AAAA record at its IPv6 address, if you use IPv6). Then configure HTTPS for that hostname in the installed web server.

Nextcloud only answers on hostnames listed in its trusted domains. Add your domain with occ, run as the web server user from the Nextcloud directory of your installation, and update the overwrite settings if you use a reverse proxy.

sudo -u www-data php occ config:system:set trusted_domains 1 --value=cloud.example.com

Connect Desktop And Mobile Clients

Install the Nextcloud desktop and mobile apps and sign in with your Nextcloud address. Calendars and contacts sync with most devices over CalDAV and CardDAV.

Test a sync with a few files first. Large initial uploads are faster from a wired connection, and you can choose which folders each device keeps locally.

Back Up And Update Safely

A complete Nextcloud backup includes the config folder, the data folder, the database, and any custom themes. Turn on maintenance mode while you take it, so files and the database stay consistent, and keep an encrypted copy off the server.

Before upgrading, read the release notes, take a fresh backup, and upgrade one major version at a time. After each update, check the Administration overview for warnings. You maintain Nextcloud, its apps, the operating system, and backups; HostVon provides the server, its controls, and billing.

sudo -u www-data php occ maintenance:mode --on
# back up config, data, and the database
sudo -u www-data php occ maintenance:mode --off