Introduction
In the following cases, you may need to reboot your server:
- Install new software
- Restart the processes
- Restore connectivity to the system
Types of reboot
A reboot can be performed in two ways:
- Soft reboot (preferred)
- Hard reboot
Soft reboot
A soft reboot is preferred to a hard reboot as a soft reboot closes all running processes on the system before the rebooting the server. It is usually done from the operating system. When the operating system receives a reboot request from a user or a program, it sends a termination signal to all running processes, which are then closed safely.
The benefit of a soft reboot is that all processes have time to be closed safely, and the file system(s) can be cleanly unmounted. The risk of data loss is very low if all processes are shut down properly.
Hard reboot
A hard reboot the last option to restore connectivity to the operating system. If the connection to the server is lost for an unknown reason, you need to perform a hard reboot to have the server rebooted into the operating system. Before you proceed with a hard reboot, ensure that the connectivity issue is not caused by network interruption towards the server. The current network status can be viewed on our Leaseweb Service Status page (www.leasewebstatus.com), or if you suspect your server to be offline due to bad connectivity, you could perform an MTR.
A hard reboot comes with some risks as the power source to the server is cut off without the services running on the system being safely closed. Because the power is disconnected suddenly, there is a risk of data loss and/or file system corruption. However if the user is unable to perform a soft reboot, a hard reboot is inevitable to restore possible usage of the server.
Performing a reboot
Soft reboot
A soft reboot can be performed from the operating system. Supported operating systems by Leaseweb are Microsoft Windows 2008/2012, Unix, Linux, and FreeBSD.
Microsoft Windows reboot (can be performed from the start menu):
Linux reboot from shell:
#shutdown –r now
Option ‘-r’ will make the server reboot after shutdown.
FreeBSD reboot from shell:
#shutdown –r now
Hard reboot
For instructions on how to reboot (powercycle) your server from the Leaseweb Customer Portal, please see: Powercycle your server.
