Getting Started with Debian 12 (Bookworm) on Your VPS

Debian 12 (Bookworm) is the current stable release with modern packages, improved performance, and long-term support until 2026. Debian is known for stability, security, and minimal bloat. Perfect for production servers, development, and learning Linux.

About Debian 12

• Release date: June 2023
• LTS support until: June 2026 (and longer)
• Package manager: apt/dpkg
• Init system: systemd
• Kernel: Linux 6.1+

Connect via SSH

ssh root@your-vps-ip

# Or with SSH key
ssh -i ~/.ssh/id_rsa root@your-vps-ip

Once logged in, you're in the root shell. All commands require no sudo.

Update System

# Update package lists
apt update

# Upgrade packages to latest versions
apt upgrade -y

# Install security updates (recommended)
apt install unattended-upgrades
dpkg-reconfigure -plow unattended-upgrades

User Management

# Create new user (instead of using root)
useradd -m -s /bin/bash deploy

# Set password
passwd deploy

# Add to sudo group
usermod -aG sudo deploy

# Switch to user
su - deploy

Configure Firewall

# Install firewall (ufw)
apt install ufw -y

# Enable firewall
ufw enable

# Allow SSH (critical!)
ufw allow 22/tcp

# Allow HTTP/HTTPS
ufw allow 80/tcp
ufw allow 443/tcp

# Check status
ufw status

Disk & Storage

# Check disk space
df -h        # Overall usage
du -sh /*    # Per-directory breakdown

# Check disk usage by process
ps aux --sort=-%mem | head -10

# List mounted filesystems
lsblk        # Block devices
mount        # Mounted filesystems

Package Management

Monitor Resources

# Check CPU and memory
top       # Real-time resource usage
free -h   # Memory summary

# Check system uptime
uptime

# View last login
last

# Check network connections
netstat -tlnp
ss -tlnp

Related: OS comparison | Choose your OS | VPS setup | Linux basics

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