How to host Drupal on Vultr Server - ServerAvatar

Published : Sep 3, 2024

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cloud-platform

Vultr

Vultr is one of the simplest cloud platforms available. It is very easy to create and manage infrastructure in Vultr. You can create on-demand cloud instances or servers at 28 different locations world wide.

Get started with Vultr
application

Drupal

Drupal is a free and open-source CMS platform that allows you to create stunning websites within minutes. In addition, you can use its plenty of themes and modulus to extend the functionality of your site. And with that, it's available in multiple languages, so it's easy to target your users from various countries.

More info

Drupal is a powerful open-source content management system known for its flexibility and scalability. Drupal offers robust features for content creation, user management, and customization through its extensive module ecosystem and flexible theming options. Its strong security features and active community support make it a popular choice for developers and organizations seeking a customizable and secure platform. Hosting Drupal on Vultr ensures reliability with its scalable infrastructure and straightforward deployment options. ServerAvatar makes the deployment of the Drupal application on the Vultr platform an easy step-by-step process.

Create a Cloud Instance in Vultr

To create a server in Vultr, follow the below-given steps. If you want to learn How to use Vultr to manage your infrastructure in Vultr, You can refer to our Vultr cloud guide.

Step 1: Go to the Instance Creation Page

Vultr provides different types of cloud instances. From the server creation page, you can create cloud instances such as Regular VMs, Dedicated, Bare Metal, Cloud GPUs, and some managed services.

To access the server creation page, log in to your Vultr account and click on the Deploy New Server option from the + button given on the dashboard.

Create server in Vultr - Step 1

Step 2: Choose the Server

You can create 4 different types of cloud instances which includes Optimised Cloud Compute, Cloud Compute, Cloud GPU, and Bare Metal. Select the one that fits your requirements.

Create server in Vultr - Step 2

Step 3: Choose Server Type

Based on your selection of the server in the second step, You will have to select a specific type of server. If you have selected the Optimised Cloud Compute instance, You will see the options like this as shown in the image below:

Create server in Vultr - Step 3

Step 4: Select Server Location

Location is a very important option. Make sure to select a server location closest to your major traffic source demographically. You can select locations in 5 different continents.

Create server in Vultr - Step 4

Step 5: Select Server Image

In simple terms, a Server image is an operating system running on the server. So here, You have to select an OS for your server.

If you are managing your servers with ServerAvatar, Select Ubuntu 20.04 or Ubuntu 22.04.

Create server in Vultr - Step 5

Step 6: Select Server Size

Here, Select a server size according to your requirements. If you are just getting started with the project, You can start with a small configuration and then upgrade it according to future requirements.

When configuring Drupal, the required resources can differ based on factors like the size of your media files, product catalogs, and themes. Generally, you can start with a server that has at least 1 or more GB of RAM. You can increase the configuration for better performance.

Create server in Vultr - Step 6

Step 7: Add Auto Backups and Additional Features

We recommend you to enable auto backups for important websites or apps. If you are creating a temporary server, You can skip the auto backups.

In addition to this feature, You can enable DDOS Protection and other options according to your requirements.

Do not enable the "No Public IPv4 Address" option. It will create the server without IPv4, which is impossible to connect with ServerAvatar.

Step 8: Select an SSH Key

If you use an SSH key to authenticate with the server, Select an SSH key in this section. If you haven't uploaded your key yet, You can do it by clicking on the Add New option.

SSH key is not mandatory. If you don’t want to use SSH keys, Ignore this option. You can still connect to your server by using the password.

Create server in Vultr - Step 8

Step 9: Firewall Group

If you are using the Vultr firewall, You can select the firewall group from here.

If you do not have the 43210 port enabled in your firewall group, you need to configure it to connect a server with ServerAvatar.

Create server in Vultr - Step 9

Step 10: Server Hostname and Label

In this step, you have to choose the hostname and the label for the server. You can set the same hostname and label. They are used for identification purposes only.

Create server in Vultr - Step 10

Step 11: Deploy Now!

Finally, click on the Deploy Now button to create a server. It might take a minute or two to fully boot up your server. Once it is ready, You will see it in the Products section in Vultr.

Create server in Vultr - Step 11

Initial Server Configuration

The Initial server configuration includes the installation and configuration of various packages required to host your website. Usually, You have to write commands and modify configuration files. Luckily, With ServerAvatar, Your full server configuration and optimization can be automated.

Here are the three ways to automatically configure your server with ServerAvatar.

Install and Setup Drupal CMS with ServerAvatar

Step 1: Download the Drupal Latest Release Zip file

Visit Drupal's official site and Download Drupal Latest release zip file. You can see the download page in the following image.

Drupal zip file

Step 2: Create a PHP Application

On the server panel, access the Application tab from the sidebar and click the Create button, as shown in the image below.

Create application

Next, fill in the required details to create an application, including the Application Name and Domain Name.

The latest version of Drupal runs on PHP version 8.1. So to change the version, check the Show Advanced Options box and change the PHP version of your application like the below image.

Create application

Note That:

If you want to host Drupal CMS on your domain, then make sure to point your domain to the current IP address of your server, and for that:

  1. Log in to your hosting provider site, where you buy your domain. You can check your domain information with one click.

  2. Access DNS Manager to edit your DNS records(contact the support team if you don’t find them)

  3. Change the IP address of A Record of your website to the current server’s IP address.

Click the Create Application button after filling in the required details.

Step 3: Create a Drupal Database

On the server panel, Click the Database tab from the sidebar to create a MySQL database for Drupal.

Create database

ServerAvatar will create a database by filling in database details, including Database Name, Username, and Password.

Database creation form

Once you are done, Click the Create Database button, and ServerAvatar will create your database in seconds.

Step 4: Upload the Drupal Zip file

ServerAvatar has a built-in File Manager feature, so you won't need FTP clients to manage files.

To Upload a zip file on your application, go to the application panel of your created application in step 2 and click the File Manager tab.

Delete the index.html directory

Now access the public_html directory and delete the index.html directory to avoid forbidden errors on the site.

Delete the index.html directory

Upload Drupal Zip file

After deleting the file, it’s time to upload the Drupal zip file to the public_html directory. And for that, Click on the upload icon or Drag and Drop the zip file from your system.

Upload Drupal zip file

Uncompress the Zip file

Unzip/Uncompress the uploaded Zip file in the public_html directory like the following image.

Uncompress zip file

Delete the zip file after successfully uncompressed.

Move files to the public directory

Click on the folder created in the public_html directory where all the files are located. Select all files, including hidden files, and move them to the public_html folder.

Move files to the public directory

Step 5: Install SSL Certificate

SeverAvatar allows you to install automatic SSL certificates with one click to keep users' data secure and verify your site ownership.

To install SSL on your website, click the SSL Certificates tab from the application panel.

Install SSL

Click the Automatic Installation button like the above image. You can also ensure Force HTTP to HTTPS to secure the communication between the browser and your website.

Step 6: Install and Setup Drupal

Open the URL of your application on the web browser. The setup page will appear like the following image.

Choose language

Drupal supports more than 100 languages.

Drupal choose language

Choose the one you want for your site and click the Save and Continue button.

Choose Profile

Select a profile from the given three installation profiles.

Select installation profile

It would be recommended to Install the Standard profile and click the Save and continue button.

Verify Requirements

It verifies your site requirements and redirects to the next step if everything is fine.

Set up database

Enter the database credentials that we have created in step 3. It includes the database name, database user, and password.

Drupal database configuration

Advanced Options include-

  • Host: leave this field as it is if your database is hosted on the same server as an application
  • Port Number: 3306 is recommended for MySQL/Aurora/MariaDB
  • Table Name Prefix: Enter the database table name prefix as your choice

Click the Save and continue button.

Install Site

It can proceed to install Drupal on your site if all the information is correct. It’ll show you the installation status like the following image.

Install Drupal process

Configure Site

Site Information

Enter your site information, including-

  • Site Name: Enter the name of your site as you want.
  • Site Email Address: Automated emails related to the site, including reset password and registration details, will be sent from this email.

Configure site

Site Maintenance account

Enter a Special user account information that can perform account-level tasks such as making backups and applying site updates. The account you set up has full administrative privileges.

Site maintenance

  • Username: Enter a username that is used for logging in to the Drupal Administrative interface
  • Password: Enter the password for the admin login
  • Email Address: Ente admin email address
Regional Settings

Enter the regional-specific information, including-

Regional settings

  • Default Country: Select the name of your country.
  • Default Time Zone: Select a time zone based on your location

Tick all the boxes under the Update Notification section to automatically check for updates and receive notifications.

Click the Save and continue button after filling in the required details.

Step 7: Drupal Admin panel

Completing all the above steps results in access to the Drupal admin panel, which looks like the following image.

Drupal admin panel

That’s it. Now you can create an intuitive website or complex web application easily with a few clicks.