Install an OS via autoinstall

Last update: May 30 2026

Autoinstall is a tool for automatic OS installation and reinstallation on a dedicated server through the control panel. Available for autoinstall are standard OS images and OS images with applications. If you want to use your own image, install the OS manually. You can also order the Astra Linux OS installation service for your server.

OS autoinstall is not available for prebuilt servers with upgrades.

Install an OS via autoinstall

carefully

Automatic OS reinstallation will delete data on all disks, even if you partition only the boot disk.

We recommend saving your data or creating a backup before reinstalling the OS.

Linux

For your information

When OS installation is complete, the number of SSH login attempts will be limited. After 10 failed password attempts from a single IP address, that IP address will be blocked for a day. If you forgot your server password, you can reset and recover it.

1. In the control panel, on the top menu, click Products and select Dedicated servers.

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

3. Click Reinstall OS.

4. Optional: change the hostname.

5. Optional: select a public IP address for the server. The IP address will be automatically configured on the port. The list shows IP addresses assigned to the server in the control panel and for which a VLAN is configured on the network port.

6. Optional: select a private IP address for the server to automatically configure it on the port. The list shows IP addresses that are assigned to the server in the control panel.

7. Optional: to securely connect to the server, add an SSH key. You can add a new public SSH key or select an uploaded key from the SSH key storage.

8. Optional: enter user data. Using user data helps automate server configuration. This field is not available for all OSs. User data can only be specified for servers without hardware HBA and RAID controllers.

9. Select an image to install the OS.

10. Optional: if the server configuration has RAID controllers, configure hardware RAID arrays. OS autoinstall is available only for RAID1 and RAID0 levels. Only two disks can be added to RAID1.

    If RAID controller configuration and disk partitioning are not displayed in the OS configuration, OS installation requires assistance from Selectel engineers. In this case, clicking the Install button will create a ticket for changing the OS configuration. After the work is complete, the RAID controller will appear in the OS configuration, and hardware RAID setup and disk partitioning will become available.

11. Optional: partition the disks. You can select the disk on which the root partition / will be created and the OS installed. If the server has four or more disks, you can group them in pairs into different RAID levels, such as RAID1 and RAID0.

    By default, the optimal RAID level is determined and only disks with existing partitions and disks already in RAID are partitioned. If you leave the default partitioning, the OS will be installed on the first disk, according to the server disk installation order: NVMe → SSD → HDD.

12. Click Install. Installation can take from 7 to 60 minutes, depending on the server performance and the selected distribution. If more time has passed, create a ticket.

13. After OS installation completes, a password is generated for server connection. View the password in the control panel on the server page → Operating System tab. The password is available for 24 hours after installation completes.

Windows

A trial version of the OS will be installed.

The OS will be installed on the first disk, following the server disk installation order: NVMe → SSD → HDD.

1. In the control panel, on the top menu, click Products and select Dedicated servers.

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

3. Click Reinstall OS.

4. Optional: change the hostname.

5. Optional: select a public IP address for the server. The IP address is automatically configured on the port. The list shows IP addresses assigned to the server in the control panel and where VLAN is configured on the port.

6. Select an image to install the OS.

7. Optional: select the system disk where the OS will be installed.

8. Click Install. Installation can take 120 minutes or more, depending on the server performance and the selected distribution. If more time has passed, create a ticket.

9. After the OS is installed, a password for connecting to the server will be generated. You can view the password in the control panel on the server page → Operating System tab. It is available to view for 24 hours from the moment OS installation completes. If you have forgotten your server password, you can reset and recover it.

10. Partition disks using Windows tools or configure a software RAID.

Partition disks

Linux (partitioning for each disk)

You can partition disks in the OS autoinstall process at step 11.

Separate partitioning for each disk can be performed for the following OSs: Ubuntu 24.04LTS, Ubuntu 22.04LTS, AlmaLinux 9.2x86_64, Oracle 9x86_64, Debian 12x86_64, Debian 11x86_64, Proxmox, Rocky 9.2x86_64.

1. In the Partitioning block, select a disk and click Make system — the root partition / will be created on this disk, and the OS will be installed.

2. Optional: add disks to a RAID array. You can add disks to different RAID arrays on a single server. For example, if your server has four disks, you can add two of them to RAID1 and the other two to RAID0.

   Select the RAID level:

   • RAID1 – mirroring, all data is written to separate physical disks in the RAID set. A RAID1 array is assembled from at least two disks;

   • RAID0 – stripping, disk interleaving. If one of the disks in a RAID0 array fails, all data will be lost without the possibility of recovery. A RAID0 array is assembled from at least two disks;

   • RAID10 – mirroring, stripping. All data is written sequentially across multiple disks. A RAID10 array is assembled from at least four disks.

3. Check disk or RAID partitioning. The partitioning table displays required partitions with mount points: /boot, /, swap. The root partition / minimum size is 20 GB.

4. Optional: add a partition — select a file system and enter the partition size in GB. The available file system depends on OS limitations.

5. If installing the OS on a disk, ensure there is no unallocated space left on it.

6. Partition every disk on the server.

7. Proceed to step 12 in the OS autoinstall process.

Linux (partitioning only the boot disk)

You can partition disks in the OS autoinstall process at step 11.

Only the boot disk will be partitioned. You can partition the remaining disks using OS tools after installation.

1. In the Partitioning block, select a disk and click Make system — the root partition / will be created on this disk, and the OS will be installed.

2. If the server has one disk, skip this step. If the server has two or more disks, add disks to RAID and determine its level:

   • RAID1 – mirroring, all data is written to separate physical disks in the RAID set. A RAID1 array is assembled from at least two disks;

   • RAID0 – stripping, disk interleaving. If one of the disks in a RAID0 array fails, all data will be lost without the possibility of recovery. A RAID0 array is assembled from at least two disks;

   • RAID10 – mirroring, stripping. All data is written sequentially across multiple disks. A RAID10 array is assembled from at least four disks.

3. Check system disk or RAID partitioning. The partitioning table displays required partitions with mount points: /boot, /, swap. The root partition / minimum size is 20 GB.

4. Optional: add a partition — select a file system and enter the partition size in GB. The available file system depends on OS limitations.

5. Ensure there is no unallocated space left on the disk. If you need to leave unallocated space, create an additional partition with the free space and delete it after the OS installation is complete.

6. Proceed to step 12 in the OS autoinstall process.

Windows

1. Connect to the server via RDP or a KVM console.

2. Press Win + R.

3. Run the disk management utility:

   diskmgmt.msc

4. Right-click on the partition you want to split and select Shrink Volume.

5. In the Enter the amount of space to shrink in MB field, specify the size of the space to allocate.

6. Click Shrink. Information about the allocated space will be displayed with the label Unallocated.

7. Create a new partition by right-clicking on the allocated space and selecting New simple volume.

8. In the Simple volume size in MB field, enter the partition size.

9. Optional: select a partition drive letter.

10. Specify the file system for the partition.

11. Click Finish.