> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://kmerhosting.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Use a Tiny VPS

> Choose, access, secure, and deploy workloads on a KmerHosting Tiny VPS.

Tiny VPS provides a lightweight Linux container with root access for small applications, staging environments, automation tasks, and private services.

## Choose a plan

* **LXC1:** experiments, small scripts, cron jobs, and minimal services.
* **LXC2:** staging applications, small APIs, bots, and private tools.
* **LXC3:** larger lightweight applications and workloads requiring more RAM.

## Connect to the server

After activation, retrieve the IP address, SSH username, and credentials from the customer console.

\~\~bash
ssh root\@SERVER\_IP
\~\~

## Initial security steps

Update the operating system after your first connection:

\~\~bash
apt update
apt upgrade -y
\~\~

Create a non-root administrator:

\~\~bash
adduser deploy
usermod -aG sudo deploy
\~\~

Configure an SSH key before disabling password authentication.

## Suitable workloads

Tiny VPS works well for:

* Node.js, Python, PHP, and Go applications
* Development and staging environments
* Small databases used for testing
* Background workers and cron jobs
* Monitoring and private administration tools
* Lightweight websites and APIs

## Deploy a Node.js application

Install Node.js, npm, Git, and Nginx:

\~\~bash
apt install -y nodejs npm git nginx
\~\~

Clone the application:

\~\~bash
mkdir -p /var/www/application
git clone YOUR\_REPOSITORY\_URL /var/www/application
cd /var/www/application
\~\~

Install dependencies and build:

\~\~bash
npm install
npm run build
\~\~

Install PM2 and start the application:

\~\~bash
npm install --global pm2
pm2 start npm --name application -- start
pm2 save
\~\~

Enable PM2 at server startup:

\~\~bash
pm2 startup
\~\~

Run the command displayed by PM2, then execute:

\~\~bash
pm2 save
\~\~

## When to upgrade

Move to VPS Hosting when you require:

* Dedicated IPv4
* KVM virtualization
* Significantly more CPU, RAM, or storage
* Larger production databases
* High traffic or sustained compute workloads
* Advanced operating-system requirements

<Card title="Tiny VPS solution" href="/docs/solutions/tiny-vps" icon="arrow-right">
  Review the available plans and included features.
</Card>