Windows VPS and VDS at HyperDC: what you get

A HyperDC Windows VPS or VDS is a KVM virtual machine running Windows Server, managed over Remote Desktop with Administrator rights. This guide explains what is included, which version to pick and how to get started. Compare plans on the Windows VPS and Windows VDS pages.

What you get

• Windows Server on KVM, with Administrator access.
• Remote Desktop for administration, with two simultaneous sessions.
• One dedicated IPv4 address.
• Free weekly and monthly backups, and on Windows VPS plans free snapshots.
• On VDS plans: nested virtualization (Hyper-V, WSL 2, emulators), larger CPU and memory allocations and NVMe storage; see VDS and nested virtualization.
• Outbound port 25 is closed by default on HyperDC VPS. For services bought for a term of 3 months or longer, it is opened on request when you open a support ticket. Until then, send mail through a relay on port 587.

Choose the version

Choose Windows Server 2025 for new servers. Windows desktop images are also offered for software that needs a desktop edition; for websites and server roles, Windows Server is the better choice.

Get started

1. Connect with Remote Desktop: first steps on a Windows server.
2. Secure the server: secure a Windows server.
3. Restrict Remote Desktop to your IP addresses: Windows Defender Firewall rules.

Check your resources

In PowerShell:

Get-ComputerInfo -Property OsName, OsVersion, CsNumberOfLogicalProcessors, CsTotalPhysicalMemory
Get-Volume
Get-NetIPAddress -AddressFamily IPv4

Verify: the output shows the Windows version, the number of logical processors, the memory, the size of drive C: and your public IPv4 address, which matches Primary IP on the service page.

Common tasks

Host websites with IIS

Install the web server role:

Install-WindowsFeature -Name Web-Server -IncludeManagementTools

Add ASP.NET support with the matching role services if your applications need it, and open ports 80 and 443 in the firewall. For HTTPS, use a certificate from your provider or a Let's Encrypt client for Windows; see install an SSL certificate.

Databases

SQL Server Express fits small databases; Standard and Enterprise editions suit larger ones. Keep the SQL Server port closed to the internet or limited to your application servers.

Snapshots before changes

On a Windows VPS, take a snapshot before cumulative updates or software upgrades, so you can roll back if something goes wrong.

Use the new disk space after an upgrade

After moving to a plan with a bigger disk, extend drive C: as described in upgrade or downgrade a service.

Troubleshooting

Remote Desktop does not connect. See Remote Desktop connection problems.

The server is slow after a restart. Windows Update and Defender scans often run after a restart. Check Task Manager; sustained load comes from an application. See high CPU or memory usage.

Drive C: is full. See disk full for Disk Cleanup and component store cleanup.

Next steps

• Run virtual machines inside: VDS and nested virtualization.
• Keep it patched: automatic updates.