Overview
You order virtual servers in the Ascienth console at https://console.advinservers.com. New servers are paid from your account credit, and we start building them as soon as the payment goes through. This page covers three things:- Creating an account and finishing account setup.
- Filling in the “Order a Server” page.
- What happens after you place the order, and what to do if something goes wrong.
If you were already a customer in the client area at https://clients.advinservers.com, you do not need a new account. Sign in to the console with the same email address and password. See Launching Ascienth.
Creating an Account
1
Open the sign-up form
Go to https://console.advinservers.com and click
Create one under the sign-in form, or open https://console.advinservers.com/register directly. If the link is missing or you are sent back to the sign-in page, we are not accepting new accounts at the moment.2
Your account
Enter your
First name, Last name, Email and phone number. The phone number must start with your country code. Company (optional) can be left empty.Choose a Password and repeat it in Confirm password. The password must be at least 8 characters and include an upper case letter, a lower case letter, a number and one of ! @ # $ % ^ & *.Click Continue. If the email address already has an account, you are asked to sign in instead.3
Billing details
Enter the address your invoices are addressed to:
Address, City, Postcode and Country are required, and Address line 2 (optional) and State / region (optional) can be left empty. You can change these details later.If your email address already has a login in the client area, the form also asks for your Existing billing password. Enter the password you use in the client area.Complete the verification check, then click Create account. You are signed in straight away.Finishing Account Setup
Before you can use the rest of the console, you need to finish “Account Setup”. The console takes you there after you sign up, and keeps sending you back to it until both steps are done. While a step is open, “Finish Setup” also appears at the top of the sidebar with the number of steps left.1
Confirm your email
We send a six-digit code to the email address on your account. Enter it and click
Verify Email.A code is valid for 15 minutes and allows five wrong attempts. If it does not arrive, check your spam folder, or click Resend Code. If you typed your address wrong when you signed up, click Change email to correct it.2
Accept the terms
The “Terms and Policies” step links to our Terms of Service, Service Level Agreement, Abuse Policy, Fair Use Policy, Refund Policy and Privacy Policy. Each opens in a new tab.Tick
I have read and accept the agreements above. and click Accept and Finish.Before You Order
- Add account credit. Orders are paid from your account credit balance. If your balance does not cover the order, the order page tells you and links to “Add Funds”. See Account Credit.
- Save an SSH key (optional). Keys saved on the “SSH Keys” page can be added to the server when it is built. See SSH Keys.
- Save a setup script (optional). A script can run while the server is being built. See Setup Scripts.
Ordering a Server
Click “Virtual Servers” in the sidebar, then clickDeploy Server. This opens the “Order a Server” page.
1
Choose a product group and location
Under “Choose product group”, pick the product family. Then pick a city under “Choose location”. A green dot means the location has stock, and a red dot means it is out of stock.
2
Choose a plan
Under “Choose plan”, pick a plan from the table. Each row shows its vCPU, memory, disk, transfer and monthly price. A plan that is out of stock is greyed out and cannot be picked. To hear when it is back, see Stock Notifications.
3
Choose the operating system
Under “Choose OS”, pick an operating system, then pick its version from
OS Version.If you choose Windows, it is installed as a 180-day evaluation edition. You must buy a licence from Microsoft and activate the server before the 180 days are up, or it starts shutting itself down. See Windows.4
Add SSH keys and a setup script (optional)
Under “SSH Keys”, tick the keys to add to the server. Keys you marked as default are ticked for you. Click
Create SSH Key to add a new one without leaving the page.Under “Setup Script”, you can pick one of your scripts to run while the server is being built, or click Create Script to add one.These two sections are hidden when you choose Windows, because setup scripts are not supported on Windows.5
Choose the billing cycle
Under “Billing Cycle”, choose how often the server is invoiced. Each option shows its price for that term. Longer terms are billed up front.
6
Set the root password
Enter a password in
System OS Password. It is always required, even if you add SSH keys, because the browser console signs in with a password.The password must be at least 5 characters and use only characters from a US keyboard. A Windows password has extra rules:- At least three of: an uppercase letter, a lowercase letter, a number and a symbol.
- It must not contain
Administrator. - At most 127 characters.
7
Name the server (optional)
Under “Name”, you can set a
Hostname and a Server label.- The hostname is set on the server itself. It must be a valid hostname, such as
web1.example.com. If you leave it empty, the server is named after its IP address. - The label is the name shown in the console. It can be up to 40 characters. If you leave it empty, we generate one.
8
Choose how many servers
In the bar at the bottom of the page, use
Qty to order up to 10 servers of the same plan at once. You cannot order more than the plan has in stock. Each extra server gets its own pair of fields, such as Hostname for server 2 and Server label for server 2. Hostnames you fill in must all be different.9
Place the order
Check the total in the bottom bar, then click
Create Server. The button stays disabled until everything required is filled in, and its tooltip says what is missing.If the price changed since the page loaded, a “Confirm Purchase” dialog shows the latest price. Click Pay from Credit to go ahead.The “Coupon” section does not apply any discount to console orders. Codes from the old client area are not accepted.
After You Place the Order
You are taken back to “Virtual Servers”, where the order appears as a row in the server list. Its status changes as the order moves along. Hover over the status to see more detail.
When the build finishes, the order row is replaced by your new server. Click it to open the server. See Server Overview.
Cancelling an Unpaid Order
You can withdraw an order that has not been paid for yet.1
Open the order's menu
On “Virtual Servers”, click the menu at the end of the order’s row and choose
Cancel order.2
Confirm
Type the confirmation text the dialog asks for (the order’s hostname), then click
Cancel order. Nothing is charged and no server is created.If the Build Fails
If we cannot set up a paid order, its price is returned to your account credit. If the server was created but the operating system install did not finish, the server’s page shows The last install did not finish. ClickTry the install again to reinstall it. See Server Reinstallation. If it fails a second time, open a ticket in the client area.
You can close the notice with the cross in its corner once you have read it. This only hides the notice. It does not change the server.
Team Permissions
A server ordered from the console is created in the account’s default team, together with the SSH keys and script you picked there. If you are working in a different team, the order page tells you which team servers are ordered in and offers to switch to it. Team members need these permissions in their role:
Account setup and adding funds always apply to your own account, not to the team you are working in. See Teams and Accounts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I pay for a new server by card or PayPal?
Can I pay for a new server by card or PayPal?
Not directly. Add funds to your account credit with any payment method, then order the server. The order is paid from your credit.
Why can't I add SSH keys or a script to a Windows server?
Why can't I add SSH keys or a script to a Windows server?
Setup scripts are not supported on Windows, so the order page hides both sections when you choose Windows. You sign in to Windows with the Administrator password you set.
Can I change the hostname or label later?
Can I change the hostname or label later?
Yes. See Server Settings.
Using the API
You can order servers with an API key. Ordering is a two-step process: get a signed quote for a plan, then place the order with that quote.quote_token to POST /servers with the operating system, password and any hostnames, SSH keys or script. The order is paid from account credit in the background. Poll GET /servers/orders to follow it.
See the API introduction for how to create a key and for the full list of endpoints.