Virtual servers
Create a Linux server with root access over SSH, start, stop, resize, rebuild and delete it, and see how it's billed and how many you can have.
A virtual server is a Linux machine of your own with root access over SSH, for software that doesn't fit a service, a database or a bucket. Each server belongs to a project and an environment and appears on the project's canvas, and Virtual servers in the sidebar lists every server in your organisation.
Create a server
- Open Virtual servers and choose Create server.
- Give it a Name and choose its Project.
- Choose an Image, which is Ubuntu 24.04 LTS, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, Debian 13 or Debian 12.
- Choose a Size. The dialog shows each size's monthly price.
- Under SSH keys, keep ticked the keys that may sign in as root. Every saved key starts ticked, a server needs at least one, and Add a key saves a new one. See SSH keys.
- To run a script on first boot, choose Add cloud-init user data and paste it, up to 32 KiB.
- Choose Create server.
The server usually takes about a minute to boot. Dekka stores the user data encrypted and never shows it again, and rebuilding the server uses it again.
| Size | vCPU | Memory | Disk |
|---|---|---|---|
s-1vcpu-1gb |
1 | 1 GiB | 25 GB |
s-1vcpu-2gb |
1 | 2 GiB | 50 GB |
s-2vcpu-4gb |
2 | 4 GiB | 80 GB |
s-4vcpu-8gb |
4 | 8 GiB | 160 GB |
The catalogue also lists s-8vcpu-16gb, which can't be chosen until the host has the capacity. GET /v1/catalog/servers returns every size and image with its price.
To create a server with the API, send the size, the image and between one and ten SSH key IDs from GET /v1/orgs/{org_id}/ssh-keys to POST /v1/projects/{project_id}/servers. hostname is optional and defaults to the name.
curl https://api.dekka.cloud/v1/projects/$PROJECT_ID/servers \
-H "Authorization: Bearer $DEKKA_API_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{
"name": "web-1",
"size_id": "s-1vcpu-1gb",
"image_id": "ubuntu-24.04",
"ssh_key_ids": ["<ssh-key-id>"],
"user_data": "#cloud-config\npackages:\n - nginx\n"
}'Connect with SSH
Once the server is running, its page shows the command under Connect, along with its IPv4 and IPv6 addresses. Sign in as root with one of the keys you chose when you created it.
ssh root@<ipv4>What do the states mean?
| In the dashboard | state |
Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Creating | provisioning |
The server is booting for the first time, or again after a rebuild |
| Running | running |
The server is up |
| Stopping | stopping |
The server is shutting down |
| Stopped | stopped |
The server is off and keeps its disk, and it's still billed |
| Rebooting | rebooting |
The server is restarting |
| Failed | failed |
An operation failed, and Details shows why |
| Deleting | deleting |
The server and its disk are being deleted |
A server shut down from inside, with poweroff for example, moves to Stopped by itself. A server runs one operation at a time, and asking for another while one is in progress answers 409 operation_in_progress.
Start, stop or reboot a server
Use Start, Stop and Reboot at the top of the server's page, or POST /v1/servers/{id}/actions/{action} with start, stop or reboot. Stop and reboot need a running server, and start needs a stopped one, which the API also allows for a failed server. Anything else answers 409 invalid_state.
Resize a server
Stop the server, then choose a size under Resize and choose Resize. A server that isn't stopped answers 409 server_not_stopped. The disk can grow with a larger size but never shrinks, so only sizes with at least as much disk are offered, and the API answers 422 disk_shrink_not_supported for a smaller one.
The server stays stopped afterwards, so start it when you're ready. Moving to a size that costs more checks your organisation's spend limit, and hours after the resize finishes are billed at the new size's price. The API resizes with POST /v1/servers/{id}/resize and a size_id.
Rebuild a server
Rebuilding wipes the disk and installs a fresh image, keeping the server's addresses, size, SSH keys and user data. Under Danger zone, choose Rebuild, pick the image, type the server's name and choose Wipe and rebuild. A server can be rebuilt while it's running, stopped or failed.
The API rebuilds with POST /v1/servers/{id}/rebuild, an image_id and the server's name as confirm, and answers 422 confirmation_required without it. User data can't be changed after creation, so to use different user data, create a new server.
Delete a server
Under Danger zone, choose Delete server, type its name and choose Delete server. Dekka deletes the server and everything on its disk, and billing stops after the hour the delete finishes in. The API deletes with DELETE /v1/servers/{id}?confirm=<name>.
How is a server billed?
A server is billed for every started hour from the hour it first boots until the hour it's deleted, including while it's stopped, because a stopped server still holds its disk and reserved capacity. The hourly price is the size's monthly price divided by 730, so a server created and deleted within the same hour costs one hour, and a 31-day month bills 744 hours. A server whose first boot fails isn't billed.
Server hours aren't part of any plan's allowance, and they appear on the invoice as lines such as "Server web-1 (s-1vcpu-1gb)". The prices are pilot prices and may change before launch.
How many servers can I have?
| Plan | Servers |
|---|---|
| Free | None |
| Starter | 1 |
| Growth | 3 |
Every server that isn't deleted counts, including stopped ones, and creating one past the limit answers 403 entitlement_exceeded. Creating a server also checks your organisation's hard spend limit. Forked environments, such as pull request previews, leave servers out, so a preview never starts a machine that's billed by the hour.