Getting Started with Node Cloud

Quick Start

Get up and running on Node Cloud in three simple steps. You'll have your first service deployed in under 10 minutes.

VPS Hosting

Node Cloud VPS instances are KVM-based virtual machines with full root access, dedicated resources, and SSD storage. You can run any Linux distribution, install any software, and configure the server exactly as you need.

Deploying your first VPS

After ordering a VPS plan from the client portal, your server will be provisioned automatically. You'll receive an email with your IP address, root password, and SSH port within 60 seconds of payment confirmation.

1. Log into the client portal and navigate to Services → My Services.
2. Click on your VPS to view the control panel, IP address, and credentials.
3. Connect via SSH using the credentials provided (see below).
4. Change the root password immediately after first login.

SSH access

Connect to your server from any terminal using SSH. Replace your-server-ip with the IP address shown in your control panel.

# Connect as root (initial setup)
ssh root@your-server-ip

# Connect on a custom port (if configured)
ssh -p 2222 root@your-server-ip

# Connect with a specific key file
ssh -i ~/.ssh/my-key.pem root@your-server-ip

Ubuntu initial setup

Run these commands after your first SSH login to bring your Ubuntu server up to date and configure basic security settings.

# Update package lists and upgrade installed packages
apt update && apt upgrade -y

# Install essential tools
apt install -y curl wget git htop nano unzip fail2ban

# Create a non-root user
adduser deploy
usermod -aG sudo deploy

# Set up SSH key for new user
mkdir /home/deploy/.ssh
cp ~/.ssh/authorized_keys /home/deploy/.ssh/
chown -R deploy:deploy /home/deploy/.ssh
chmod 700 /home/deploy/.ssh
chmod 600 /home/deploy/.ssh/authorized_keys

# Change root password
passwd root

# Set server timezone
timedatectl set-timezone America/New_York

Configuring the firewall with ufw

Ubuntu comes with ufw (Uncomplicated Firewall). Set it up immediately after provisioning to protect your server from unauthorized access.

# Allow SSH (do this BEFORE enabling the firewall)
ufw allow 22/tcp

# Allow common web ports
ufw allow 80/tcp
ufw allow 443/tcp

# Enable the firewall
ufw enable

# Check firewall status
ufw status verbose

# Allow a specific port (e.g. Node.js app on 3000)
ufw allow 3000/tcp

# Block an IP address
ufw deny from 203.0.113.100

# List all rules with numbers
ufw status numbered

Web Hosting

Node Cloud shared web hosting is powered by cPanel and LiteSpeed Web Server. Your hosting account includes unlimited email addresses, one-click application installs (WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, and more), free SSL certificates, and daily backups.

Pointing your domain to Node Cloud

To connect your domain to your hosting account, update your domain's nameservers at your domain registrar to point to Node Cloud's nameservers.

ns1.computers2go.cloud
ns2.computers2go.cloud

DNS propagation typically takes 15–60 minutes, though it can take up to 24 hours in some cases. You can check propagation status at whatsmydns.net.

Alternatively, if you only want to point a single domain (not all records), you can update just the A record:

# Add an A record pointing to your hosting IP
Type: A
Name: @ (or your domain name)
Value: (your hosting account IP — found in cPanel)
TTL: 300

One-click WordPress installation

Install WordPress in under two minutes using Softaculous, available inside your cPanel dashboard.

1. Log into cPanel at yourdomain.com/cpanel using the credentials emailed to you.
2. Scroll to the Softaculous Apps Installer section and click the WordPress icon.
3. Click Install Now and fill in your site name, admin username, and admin email.
4. Click Install. Your WordPress site is live within seconds.
5. Access your WordPress dashboard at yourdomain.com/wp-admin.

Free SSL certificate

Every domain on your hosting account gets a free Let's Encrypt SSL certificate. To enable or force HTTPS:

1. In cPanel, go to Security → SSL/TLS Status.
2. Click Run AutoSSL to issue certificates for all eligible domains.
3. To redirect all traffic to HTTPS, go to Domains → Redirects and add a redirect from http://yourdomain.com to https://yourdomain.com.

Certificates renew automatically every 90 days. You'll receive an email notification if automatic renewal fails.

FTP / SFTP access

Upload files to your hosting account using any FTP client (FileZilla, Cyberduck, WinSCP). SFTP is recommended as it encrypts your credentials in transit.

Protocol:  SFTP – SSH File Transfer Protocol
Host:      yourdomain.com  (or your server IP)
Port:      21098
Logon:     Normal
Username:  your-cpanel-username
Password:  your-cpanel-password

To create a dedicated FTP account with restricted directory access, go to Files → FTP Accounts in cPanel. This is useful for giving a developer access to a single subdirectory without exposing your entire account.

S3 Storage

Node Cloud S3 is fully compatible with the AWS S3 API. Any tool, SDK, or library that works with Amazon S3 works with Node Cloud S3. Use our endpoint instead of AWS's, and your existing code and workflows will work without modification.

S3 Endpoint: https://s3.computers2go.cloud

Configure AWS CLI

The AWS CLI is the easiest way to interact with your S3 storage from the command line. Install it from aws.amazon.com, then configure it to point to Node Cloud:

# Configure your credentials
aws configure

# When prompted, enter:
AWS Access Key ID:     YOUR_ACCESS_KEY
AWS Secret Access Key: YOUR_SECRET_KEY
Default region name:   us-east-1
Default output format: json

Since Node Cloud uses a custom endpoint, pass --endpoint-url to every AWS CLI command:

# Create a new bucket
aws s3 mb s3://my-bucket \
  --endpoint-url https://s3.computers2go.cloud

# List all buckets
aws s3 ls \
  --endpoint-url https://s3.computers2go.cloud

# Upload a file
aws s3 cp ./myfile.zip s3://my-bucket/myfile.zip \
  --endpoint-url https://s3.computers2go.cloud

# Upload an entire directory recursively
aws s3 sync ./my-folder/ s3://my-bucket/my-folder/ \
  --endpoint-url https://s3.computers2go.cloud

# Download a file
aws s3 cp s3://my-bucket/myfile.zip ./myfile.zip \
  --endpoint-url https://s3.computers2go.cloud

# Delete a file
aws s3 rm s3://my-bucket/myfile.zip \
  --endpoint-url https://s3.computers2go.cloud

# List objects in a bucket
aws s3 ls s3://my-bucket/ \
  --endpoint-url https://s3.computers2go.cloud

Creating a bucket (AWS Console-style)

You can also create and manage buckets directly from your Node Cloud client portal. Navigate to Services → S3 Storage → Manage and use the bucket manager. Or use the CLI above.

Python boto3 integration

Use the boto3 library to interact with Node Cloud S3 from Python. Install it with pip install boto3.

import boto3
from botocore.config import Config

# Initialize S3 client pointing to Node Cloud
s3 = boto3.client(
    's3',
    endpoint_url='https://s3.computers2go.cloud',
    aws_access_key_id='YOUR_ACCESS_KEY',
    aws_secret_access_key='YOUR_SECRET_KEY',
    region_name='us-east-1',
    config=Config(signature_version='s3v4')
)

# Create a bucket
s3.create_bucket(Bucket='my-python-bucket')

# Upload a file
s3.upload_file(
    Filename='./report.pdf',
    Bucket='my-python-bucket',
    Key='reports/2026/report.pdf'
)

# Upload from bytes in memory
s3.put_object(
    Bucket='my-python-bucket',
    Key='data/config.json',
    Body=b'{"version": 1, "active": true}',
    ContentType='application/json'
)

# Download a file
s3.download_file(
    Bucket='my-python-bucket',
    Key='reports/2026/report.pdf',
    Filename='./downloaded-report.pdf'
)

# Generate a pre-signed URL (expires in 1 hour)
url = s3.generate_presigned_url(
    'get_object',
    Params={'Bucket': 'my-python-bucket', 'Key': 'reports/2026/report.pdf'},
    ExpiresIn=3600
)
print(f'Download link: {url}')

# List all objects in a bucket
response = s3.list_objects_v2(Bucket='my-python-bucket')
for obj in response.get('Contents', []):
    print(obj['Key'], obj['Size'])

Domain Management

Register new domains or transfer existing ones to Node Cloud for unified billing and management alongside your other services. All domains include free WHOIS privacy protection.

Registering a new domain

1. Visit /domains/ and search for your desired domain name.
2. Add the domain to your cart. WHOIS privacy is included at no extra cost.
3. Complete checkout in the client portal.
4. Your domain is registered and active within 5 minutes. You'll receive a confirmation email.

Managing DNS records

You can manage your domain's DNS records directly from the client portal. Navigate to Domains → Manage → DNS Management. Common record types:

# A record — points domain to an IP address
Type: A  |  Name: @  |  Value: 203.0.113.10  |  TTL: 300

# CNAME — creates an alias for another domain
Type: CNAME  |  Name: www  |  Value: yourdomain.com  |  TTL: 300

# MX — mail server routing
Type: MX  |  Name: @  |  Value: mail.yourdomain.com  |  Priority: 10

# TXT — used for SPF, DKIM, domain verification
Type: TXT  |  Name: @  |  Value: "v=spf1 include:spf.computers2go.cloud ~all"

Transferring a domain

To transfer an existing domain to Node Cloud, you'll need the EPP/authorization code from your current registrar. Then:

1. Unlock your domain at your current registrar (turn off "Registrar Lock").
2. Request the EPP/transfer authorization code from your current registrar.
3. In the Node Cloud client portal, go to Domains → Transfer Domain.
4. Enter your domain name and the authorization code.
5. Complete the transfer request. ICANN requires a 5-day wait period before the transfer completes.

Billing & Account

All Node Cloud services are billed monthly with no long-term contracts required. You can upgrade, downgrade, or cancel any service at any time from the client portal.

Payment methods

We accept all major credit and debit cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover) as well as PayPal. Payment details are stored securely and never handled by Node Cloud directly — all transactions are processed by our PCI-compliant payment processor.

Invoices and billing cycle

Invoices are generated on your billing anniversary date and are due immediately upon generation. You'll receive an email with a link to your invoice 3 days before it's due. Auto-pay is enabled by default if you have a payment method on file.

To view, download, or pay invoices, log into the client portal and navigate to Billing → My Invoices.

Upgrading or downgrading a service

1. Log into the client portal.
2. Go to Services → My Services and click on the service you want to change.
3. Select Upgrade/Downgrade Options from the management menu.
4. Choose your new plan. Upgrades take effect immediately and are prorated. Downgrades take effect at the next billing cycle.

Cancellations

To cancel a service, open a cancellation request from the client portal under Services → My Services → Request Cancellation. You can choose to cancel immediately or at the end of your current billing period. Refunds are not provided for unused time on monthly plans.

Frequently Asked Questions

Quick answers to the most common questions about Node Cloud services.