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Nextcloud and ONLYOFFICE
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Nextcloud and ONLYOFFICE

Nextcloud is an open source platform for creating data storage: sharing and synchronizing data, working with documents and files. Nextcloud users have full control over their data. Read more about the Nexcloud cloud platform in Selectel's blog article What is Nexcloud personal cloud?.

ONLYOFFICE is an open source service for collaborative work on documents: editing, reviewing, version control.

On a dedicated server, you can install the OS with ready Nextcloud and ONLYOFFICE applications. PostgreSQL database will be automatically installed with the OS.

Install OS with Nextcloud and ONLYOFFICE⁠

For Nextcloud and ONLYOFFICE to work, the dedicated server must be accessible from the internet.

To configure Nextcloud and ONLYOFFICE, you can specify user data — custom operating system configuration settings — when you create a server.Open the Nextcloud panel You can open the Nextcloud panel by IP address or by domain. To open the Nextcloud panel by domain, specify the domain in user data — after OS installation, a TLS(SSL) certificate from Let's Encrypt® is automatically issued for the domain.

  1. В control panels from the top menu, press Products and select Dedicated servers.

  2. In the section Servers open the server page → tab Operating system.

  3. Click Change the OS configuration.

  4. Optional: to securely connect to the server using the encrypted SSH protocol, select a previously downloaded and hosted SSH key or add a new one. More details in the instructions Create and upload an SSH key on a dedicated server.

  5. Enter user data. With user data you can automate the configuration of servers. You can only specify user data for servers without hardware HBAs and RAID controllers.

    To open the Nextcloud panel by domain, you need to insert a script in the user data field:

    #cloud-config

    write_files:
        - path: "/opt/main.yml"
        permissions: "0644"
        content: |
            nextcloud_admin_name: "<administrator_name>"
            nextcloud_admin_email: "<root@example.com>"
            nextcloud_domain: "<example.com>"

    Specify:

    • <administrator_name> — the name of the Nextcloud administrator;
    • <root@example.com> — Nextcloud administrator email to create an account and receive Let's Encrypt® notifications;
    • <example.com> — domain to access Nextcloud. To have the domain opened by the public IP address of the server, add an A-record in the control panel of your DNS hosting and specify the public IP address of the server in the record value. The IP address can be copied to control panels: from the top menu, press Products → Dedicated servers → server page → tab Operating system → in the field IP click . If the domain is added to DNS hosting Selectel (actual) use the instruction manual. Add a resource record. You can add an A-record on the side of the hosting service that provides you with the domain. After the OS installation, a TLS(SSL) certificate from Let's Encrypt® will be automatically issued for the domain. If the TLS(SSL)-certificate issuance fails, the Nexcloud panel will be accessible by the server IP address.

  6. In the field Distribution select the OS image with the application — Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Nextcloud 29).

  7. Optional: partition the disks. By default, the optimal RAID type is defined and only partitioned disks and disks in RAID are partitioned.

  8. Click Set. Installation can take from 7 to 60 minutes, depending on the performance of the server and the distribution selected. If more time has elapsed, file a ticket.

  9. Once the OS is installed, a password will be generated to connect to the server, which is also used to authorization in the Nextcloud panel. The password can be copied to control panels: from the top menu, press Products → Dedicated servers → server page → tab Operating system → in the field Password click . The password is available for 24 hours from the start of the OS installation or configuration change. If you forget the server password, you can reset and restore it.

Connect to the Nextcloud dashboard⁠

The address to connect to the Nextcloud dashboard depends on whether you specified the domain in user data at OS installation in step 5.

  1. Open the page in your browser:

    https://<domain>

    Specify <domain> — the domain name that you entered when OS installation at step 5 in the field User data.

  2. Authorize in the panel. Use:

    • login — the Nextcloud administrator name you entered during the OS installation at step 5 in the field User data;
    • password — password from your server. You can copy it to control panels: from the top menu, press Products → Dedicated servers → server page → tab Operating system → in the field Password click . The password is available for 24 hours from the start of the OS installation or configuration change. If you forget the server password, you can reset and restore it.