Create Your Own Cloud Instance for Self-Hosting Reseller SaaS License

This guide will walk you through the steps to create your own server instance and configure basic firewall rules to securely host your self-hosted platform.

Step 1: Create a New Cloud Server (Instance)

Choose your preferred cloud provider:

• AWS EC2 (Launch & Use Guide)
• Google Cloud (Create & Start Instance)
• Microsoft Azure (Quick Create VM)
• DigitalOcean (Create Droplet)
• Hetzner (Create Server Guide)

Recommended Instance Configuration

Setting	Value	Notes
Operating System	Ubuntu 24.04 LTS	Recommended
Instance Type	2 vCPU, 4GB RAM (minimum)	Scale as needed
Storage	SSD (50 GB or higher)
Public IP	Yes	Auto-assigned or manual
SSH Key Pair	Generate or use existing	Required for secure login

Note: If your cloud provider requires a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) or similar, accept default settings unless you have custom networking needs.

Step 2: Additional Cloud Settings (Recommended)

IP Address Configuration

• ✅ Use Elastic IP (AWS), Static IP (Google Cloud, Azure, DigitalOcean, Hetzner):
  • This ensures your server always retains the same public IP even after reboot or redeployment.
  • Having a fixed IP makes DNS mapping much easier.

Snapshots & Backup

• ✅ Snapshots (Full server backup):

  • You may enable snapshots for your server instance to simplify disaster recovery.
  • 🔧 Note: Snapshots may incur additional storage costs depending on your cloud provider.

• ✅ Database-Only Backup (Cost-saving option):

  • You can also set up regular database backups alone if you prefer to back up only the application data without full disk snapshots.

Step 3: Secure Your Server with Firewall Rules

Firewall (Security Groups / Network Security Groups) control which traffic can reach your instance.

Recommended Firewall Rules

Purpose	Protocol	Port	Source
HTTP	TCP	80	0.0.0.0/0
HTTPS	TCP	443	0.0.0.0/0
SSH (Secure Access)	TCP	22	Your Public IP Address/32

Replace Your Public IP Address with your actual public IP.

The /32 notation means "only this exact IP".

• ✅ This ensures only you can access SSH while keeping HTTP/HTTPS open for public web access.

Apply Firewall Rules:

Cloud Provider	Firewall Rule Name
AWS	Security Groups
Google Cloud	Firewall Rules
Azure	Network Security Groups
DigitalOcean	Firewalls
Hetzner	Firewall Groups

Step 4: Connect to Your Server via SSH

For Mac / Linux / Terminal Users

Run the following command:

ssh -i /path/to/your/private_key.pem username@your_instance_public_ip

Replace /path/to/your/private_key.pem with your private key file path.

Replace username and your_instance_public_ip accordingly.

Default SSH Usernames

Cloud	Default Username
AWS	ubuntu
Google Cloud	username you configured
DigitalOcean	root
Hetzner	root
Azure	username you configured

For Windows Users (Using PuTTY)

1. Download PuTTY & PuTTYgen from the official website.
2. Convert your SSH Key (.pem) to PuTTY format (.ppk):
   • Open PuTTYgen.
   • Load your .pem file.
   • Save private key as .ppk.
3. Connect via PuTTY:
   • Host Name: your_instance_public_ip
   • Port: 22
   • SSH > Auth > Browse and select your .ppk file.
   • Open session and login using the default username.

Step 5: Important Considerations

• ✅ Dynamic IP:

  • If your IP changes often, update the SSH rule or use a VPN with a static IP.

• ✅ Security Best Practices:

  • Only open required ports.
  • Disable root login after initial setup.
  • Use strong SSH keys.
  • Regularly review firewall rules.

• ✅ Optional for Production:

  • Consider using a Bastion Host or VPN-based SSH access for added security.
  • Consider enabling cloud provider monitoring & alerting services.