Learn how to connect a Linode Server using ServerAvatar with this handy guide. Take a minute and discover what our Linode Support Team has to say.

Connect a Linode Server Using ServerAvatar | Guide

Linode is a well-established cloud infrastructure provider known for its simplicity, reliability, and high-performance cloud solutions. It offers Virtual Private Servers that can scale to match your unique requirements. These VPS instances come in various configurations, allowing you to customize CPU, RAM, storage, and bandwidth according to your needs.

If you’re new to Linode, you can follow this detailed guide to creating and deploying a Linode instance before moving on to ServerAvatar integration.

ServerAvatar, on the other hand, is a powerful cloud management web application that simplifies managing PHP and WordPress sites, especially on platforms like Linode and DigitalOcean. With ServerAvatar, we don’t have to touch the command line. Instead, we get a clean, web-based interface to handle everything from server security to backups.

Today, we will take a look at connecting a Linode server with ServerAvatar and get our environment ready in minutes.

Why Use ServerAvatar for Linode?

Linode already offers one-click deployments for LAMP and WordPress stacks. However, ServerAvatar provides a lot more flexibility and management tools:

• Manage multiple servers from one dashboard.
• Host multiple applications (WordPress, PHP apps, REST APIs) per server.
• Enable SSL certificates for secure sites with just a few clicks.
• Configure firewall rules to protect against malware and DDoS attacks.
• Switch PHP versions (7.0 to 8.0) per application without affecting others.
• Access server logs for debugging.
• Clone applications between servers.
• Schedule cron jobs easily.
• Get server health alerts (e.g., high load notifications).
• Perform backups and restores without downtime.

For users who prefer automation, Linode can also be controlled via the Linode CLI, making it even easier to provision and manage infrastructure before linking it to ServerAvatar.

Getting Started with Linode and ServerAvatar

1. First, log in to the Linode dashboard.
2. Then, click Create Linode.
3. Next, choose an OS image: ServerAvatar supports Ubuntu 18.04, 20.04, or 22.04 (64-bit).
4. Now, select a region close to your users to reduce latency.
5. Then, pick a plan. Linode offers Shared CPU, Dedicated CPU, High Memory, and GPU plans.
6. Label & tag your server for easy identification.
7. Next, set a strong root password (include uppercase, lowercase, numbers, symbols).
8. Click Create Linode. If you also need email functionality, you can follow this guide on creating email accounts with Mail-in-a-Box on Linode.
9. Now, it is time to connect Linode to ServerAvatar. So log in to the ServerAvatar account and click Create > Server.
10. Then, select Self Server as the server type.
11. Now, link the Linode account in one of three ways:
    • Connect Existing Linode Account (already linked)
    • Link Linode Account (add API access for an existing account)
    • Create New Linode Account (redirects to Linode signup)
12. Next, enter your server name and choose your application framework (optional).
13. Then, pick your tech stack, OS image, and database. For Node.js, the MySQL/MariaDB option is disabled. We can enable Yarn if needed.
14. Now, select an SSH key. We can generate a new one or use an existing public key.
15. Choose server location and size (CPU, RAM, storage, bandwidth).
16. Then, enter a secure root password (minimum 11 characters, no common patterns).
17. Next, click Deploy Server.
18. Now, it is time for installation & configuration. ServerAvatar will automatically:
    • Install the chosen web server (Apache, Nginx, or OpenLiteSpeed)
    • Install PHP (7.2 to 8.3) and configure PHP-FPM
    • Set up MySQL and Redis
    • Create a SWAP memory file
    • Generate virtual host files
    • Install Git and Composer
    • Test the configuration

    This process typically takes 5–15 minutes. Once done, you can start hosting PHP and WordPress sites from the ServerAvatar panel, without needing a command line.

If you need to store large backups or migrate site content, you can easily do so using Rclone with Linode Object Storage for fast and secure transfers.

[Need assistance with a different issue? Our team is available 24/7.]

Conclusion

Using Linode for VPS hosting gives us powerful, reliable infrastructure, while ServerAvatar adds a layer of convenience for application and server management. Together, they make it easy to deploy, secure, and maintain our sites without deep technical overhead.

In brief, our Support Experts demonstrated how to connect a Linode Server using ServerAvatar with this handy guide.