How to host Invoice Ninja on Linode VM Instance - ServerAvatar

Create a server in Linode

First of all, Let's create a VM instance in Linode. It provides a lots of different types of VM instances. You can create shared VM instances, Dedicated Instances, Memory Optimised instances and GPU instances. To host a simple website, You will need a shared VM instance. If you want to learn more about Linode and How to manage servers in linode, Follow our [Linode guide](.

If you think your application uses high CPU or RAM, You can get Dedicated CPU VM or Memory Optimised VM respectively. Let's get started with the process.

Step 1: Go to Linode VM Instance Creation Form

When you log in to your Linode account, You will see "Create Linode" button on the top-right corner of the page. Click on it to go to the Linode creation form.

Step 2: Select the Distribution

We will use ServerAvatar as a server management panel. It supports Ubuntu 20.04 as well as Ubuntu 22.04. So, select any one of the supported OS.

Step 3: Select the Region

Linode has multiple data centers located in different regions worldwide. It is recommended to choose the region that is closest to your major traffic source to reduce latency and improve the performance of your applications.

Step 4: Select Linode Plan

Linode offers various plans with different configurations of CPU, RAM, and storage. Choose a plan that fits your budget and meets your application's requirements. With ServerAvatar, You can also host multiple applications on a single Linode VM Instance.

Step 5: Set Label and Select Tags

The label is a human-readable name that you can use to identify your instance. Tags are keywords that you can use to categorize and search for your instances. You can also group Linodes by Tags on the dashboard.

Step 6: Set Strong Root Password and Select SSH Key

The root password is the administrator password that you will use to access and manage your VM instance. Make sure to use a strong password that is hard to guess and includes a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.

Next select an SSH key if you want to authenticate with SSH keys. SSH keys are a more secure way to log in to your VM instance than using passwords. If you have an SSH key, you can upload it to your Linode account and use it to log in to your VM instance.

Step 7: Select VLAN (If Required)

A VLAN is a logical network that separates traffic from different virtual machines or physical servers. It can be used to isolate network traffic and improve security.

Step 8: Select Add-ons - Backups and Private IP

Linode provides an easy way to create and store backups for your VM instances. Backups are highly recommended as they can help you with disaster recovery quickly. And in the last step, You can enable the Private IP address for your VM instance if required.

Step 9: Click on "Create Linode"

Finally, Click on "Create Linode" button at the end of the form to create a Linode VM instance. It usually takes around 2 minutes to create a new Linode instance. Once done, You can connect it with ServerAvatar for easy site and server configuration management.

Initial Server Configuration

The Initial server configuration includes 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 optimisation can be automated.

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

wget https://srvr.so/install
chmod +x install
./install

Install and Setup Invoice Ninja on Cloud Using ServerAvatar

Step 1. Create Database

Access the Databases tab on the ServerAvatar server panel to create a MySQL Database.

Enter the credentials and click on the Create Database button.

Step 2. Change PHP-CLI Version

Deploying InvoiceNinja on the server requires PHP-CLI Version 8.1 or above at the server level. To configure the PHP-CLI version, follow the Snapshot.

Step 3. Create PHP Application

Access the Applications tab from the server panel to create a new PHP application.

Fill up the required information, including the Application Name, Domain Name, and Advanced Options for more PHP settings.

Proceeds to next by clicking on the Next Step.

Now select method and service provider Git and GitHub, respectively (follow according to Snapshot)

Enter the required information as given below:

Repository Type: Public
Clone HTTPS URL: https://github.com/invoiceninja/invoiceninja.git
Branch: v5-stable
Deployment script:

git checkout v5-stable;
cp .env.example .env;
composer i -o --no-dev
php artisan key:generate

Move further by clicking on the Next Step.

Create a System User or choose a system user from an existing One.

Then choose PHP version 8.1 or above; the custom webroot should be Public as in the given Snapshot.

Custom Webroot: Public

Then, click on Create Application button.

Step 4. Connect Database

go to the File Manager tab from the sidebar of the application. And access the public_html folder

Now check the Show Hidden Files box to access the .env file to change to the origional database credentials.

Change the following configuration to establish a connection with the database.

DB_DATABASE= Database_Name
DB_USERNAME= Database_Username
DB_PASSWORD=Database_Password

to access database credentials, go to the Database tab from the sidebar of the server panel and click the database that we created in the first step.

that's all, open your application URL in web browser to access Invoice Ninja setup page.

Tip: ServerAvatar provides a one-click solution for installing an SSL certificate on your domain. To install SSL, go to the application panel and click the SSL Certificate button to install automatic SSL in your application domain.