This article covers the most common changes you can make to an existing Virtual Private Server (VPS) or Virtual Dedicated Server (VDS): upgrades, downgrades, relocation, region migration, reinstallation, and storage type changes.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Quick Reference
• Upgrading your server
• Downgrading your server
• Relocating your server within the same region
• Migrating your server to a different region
• Reinstalling your server
• Changing your storage (SSD ↔ NVMe)

Quick Reference

Upgrading your server

You can upgrade an existing VPS or VDS directly through the Customer Panel (my.contabo.com). Upgrades are currently only available for VPS and VDS. Dedicated Servers and add-ons cannot be upgraded through the panel and require contacting support.

Steps (old Customer Panel - my.contabo.com):

1. Log in at my.contabo.com.
2. Navigate to Your services on the left side of the page.
3. Hover over the server you want to upgrade and select Manage.
4. Click Upgrade VPS.
5. Choose your desired specifications and a provisioning method.
6. Confirm the upgrade request and complete the order.

Provisioning methods:

• New Deployment: Faster, but all current server data is irreversibly lost. Choose this if you don't need to keep existing data.
• Live Migration: Data is transferred to the upgraded server with no data loss. Requires a short reboot (a few minutes of downtime) once migration completes.

Notes:

• Provisioning method availability depends on your current and target configurations - for example, live migration isn't available when changing storage type.
• The IP address stays the same in all upgrade scenarios.
• You'll be notified automatically once the upgrade is complete.
• There's no fee for the upgrade itself, but the price difference for the remaining prepaid period is calculated on a per-day basis.

Downgrading your server

Downgrades are not possible. If you wish to downgrade, order a new server and cancel your current one.

If you want a smaller plan:

1. Order a new server with the desired (lower) specifications.
2. Manually migrate your data from the old server to the new one.
3. Cancel the original server.

Since this involves spinning up a new server, the IP address will change, and any data transfer must be handled manually by you (no managed migration is provided for downgrades).

Relocating your server within the same region

If you have existing servers spread across multiple data centers within the same region, we offer a free migration service to consolidate them into a single data center.

To request a migration, please contact our support team and confirm that you acknowledge the change of IP address that will occur as part of the process.

Migrating your server to a different region

You can move a VPS or VDS to a different region, as long as it doesn't have additional SSDs attached. Dedicated Servers cannot change region - they're physically bound to the datacenter where they were originally purchased.

Steps:

1. Log in to the Customer Control Panel.
2. Go to Servers & Hosting, and select the corresponding product (VPS/VDS).
3. Click the three dots under More next to the server, then select Move to Other Region.
4. Choose the region you'd like to move to.
5. Choose a provisioning method (see below).
6. Tick all required acknowledgment boxes and confirm to start the process.

Provisioning methods:

• Live Migration: Preserves your data. Expect up to 12 hours of downtime. Comes with a one-time fee.
• New Setup: Creates a fresh instance in the new region; all existing data is deleted. This option is free.

Required acknowledgments before confirming:

• Accept the terms and conditions.
• Accept the monthly location surcharge, if applicable (applies to all regions except the European Union; added to your next invoice).
• (New Setup only) Acknowledge that all data on the VPS will be permanently deleted.
• Acknowledge that your server's IPv4 and IPv6 addresses will change. PTR records are updated automatically, but IPv6 /64 reconfiguration is your responsibility.

Fees:

• A one-time migration fee applies to Live Migration; New Setup is free.
• Some regions carry an additional monthly location surcharge (not charged for European Union regions) — check the location fee overview on the Contabo website before migrating.

IP address changes:

• The main IPv4 address will change to a new one. This is usually automatic; you'll be notified if any action is needed on your part.
• The VNC address changes automatically - you'll use a new VNC address to access your server post-migration.
• All additional IPv4 addresses and all IPv6 addresses are replaced. You're responsible for manually reconfiguring anything that depends on these.
• Contabo provides all new IP addresses immediately after migration.
• The PTR record for the main IPv4 is set automatically; PTR records for additional IPv4 and all IPv6 addresses must be configured by you.

Additional configuration after the move:

• DNS records on Contabo's own name servers update automatically; DNS records on any other name servers must be updated manually.
• Any service relying on your server's IP address statically (additional IPs, firewalls, etc.) needs manual reconfiguration.

Impact on Add-Ons:

• Backup-Space Add-On: Data does not transfer to the new region. Contabo deletes the backup space at the old location and creates a new, empty one at the new location. Back up anything important elsewhere beforehand (not on the backup space or the server itself).
• Full-Monitoring Add-On: The monitored IP updates automatically.
• Floating-IP Add-On: Floating IPs do not work across regions/locations.
• Any other location-tied benefit (e.g., a free-location perk) is lost when the region changes.

Reinstalling your server

Reinstalling a server is a quick self-service action, just keep in mind it will erase the data currently on the server.

Steps:

1. Log in to the Customer Control Panel.
2. Go to Servers & Hosting.
3. Locate the server and click More (...).
4. Select Reinstall.

Notes:

• The IP address does not change.
• There is no fee for reinstallation.

Changing your storage (SSD ↔ NVMe)

Storage type and capacity changes work differently depending on the product and direction of change.

Upgrading NVMe storage on a VPS

If you have a Cloud VPS with NVMe storage, you can upgrade to a larger NVMe plan directly in the Customer Control Panel:

1. Log in at my.contabo.com.
2. Navigate to Your services in the left-hand menu
3. Click Upgrade Now next to the corresponding server.
4. Review the available Core VPS NVMe plans and pricing.
5. Select a plan and complete the upgrade.

If you need more storage than the available NVMe plans offer, consider a Storage VPS (see below).

NVMe storage on VDS / Dedicated Servers

This isn't self-service. Open a support ticket via the Customer Panel and the team will advise on available options for your specific plan.

Switching from SSD to NVMe

This requires a technician and is not self-service. Please submit a support ticket. Switching from SSD to NVMe results in complete data loss, so back up your data first.

Extending storage on a Cloud VPS

(A Storage Extension cannot be added to a Storage VPS; only to a Cloud VPS.)

1. Go to Your Services in the Control Panel.
2. Locate the server, hover over Manage.
3. Select Extend Storage and complete the order form.

You'll get a confirmation email, and the extension is provisioned within 24 hours.

Need a large amount of storage?

For high-capacity needs, consider a dedicated Storage VPS plan - see contabo.com/en/storage-vps/.

A note on Object Storage

Object Storage (S3-compatible buckets) is a separate product from VPS/VDS storage and is scaled differently - more information about Object Storage

Fees

Storage type changes are free if requested within 14 days of the original order; after that, a standard technical handling fee applies.