Documentation Glossary

The Setup Process

1. Configuration

This is when you choose what software you want to deploy onto your server. You'll do this through the server configuration page on this website.

2. Installation

This is when you actually install TableOS onto your server. You'll do this by plugging in and booting from your Easy Install USB and following some simple prompts. Doing so will permanently erase all existing data on the device.

3. Deployment

After installation completes, you'll be prompted to log in using the email address and password of your TableOS account. This allows your server to fetch the configuration(s) you created in step one, so it knows what software to install for you. Select your configuration, and your server will begin automatically deploying your chosen software. Once complete, it will reboot again and be ready for use.

For a detailed walkthrough of this process, please refer to our Setup Guide.

Domains and DNS

What's a domain name?

A domain name is the human-friendly name that gets mapped to your server's IP address so people can easily visit it. For example, "tableos.net" is the domain name of the website you're on right now. You'll choose one for your server and we'll handle everything else for you.

What's a DNS?

DNS stands for Domain Name System. It's like the phone book of the internet, translating domain names into IP addresses so computers can find each other. When you type a domain name such as "google.com" into your web browser, DNS servers look up the corresponding IP address and connect you to the right server.

What about DDNS?

DDNS stands for Dynamic DNS. It's a service that automatically keeps your chosen domain name in sync with your server's current IP address. This is necessary if your internet service provider (ISP) changes your IP address frequently, something that's very common with residential internet connections.

The Dashboard

The Dashboard is a screen that runs locally on your server and displays basic status information. It also allows you to perform basic operations such as managing backups, granting or revoking support access to your server, and viewing your encryption passphrase.

You can view this screen by plugging a monitor into your server, or, if you're managing your server remotely via terminal, you can enter the command "dashboard". For more information on how to use the Dashboard, please refer to the Using Dashboard section of our documentation.

Remote Support

Who can access my server?

By default, only you have remote access your server. If you wish to grant remote access to support staff, you can do so through the dashboard screen. Requiring physical access to your server to do this ensures your privacy. The only way we can access your server is for you to allow us.

How does it work?

When your server is first deployed, a support account is created with a randomly generated password. When you grant support access, your server shares this password with us so we can connect and provide support. You may revoke our access again at any time through the server management page on this website, or through the Dashboard screen on your server directly. Doing so will generate a new, random password for the support account.

What's Quick Support?

For maximum convenience, you can configure your server to grant support staff remote access upon deployment. Choose this if you think you'll need help getting set up. This only applies to the initial installation. Once your server is up and running, it will never automatically grant remote access again.

Port Forwarding

What are ports?

When you self-host a service such as a website or game server, your computer needs a way to communicate with the outside world. That's where ports come in. Ports are virtual doors to your device, each with their own number, that help organize internet traffic. Each service uses a specific port. For example, websites often use port 80 (HTTP) or 443 (HTTPS). If you install other software on your server, it may make use of additional ports for specific purposes.

What does it mean to forward them?

Port forwarding directs incoming traffic from the outside internet through your router and to a device inside your local area network (LAN). Without port forwarding, only devices on the same network as your server will be able to communicate with it. For detailed instructions on how to forward ports, please refer to the Port Forwarding Guide in our documentation.

What are network protocols?

When port forwarding, you will see the terms TCP and UDP. These are protocols that define how information is sent across the network. Depending on the software you install on your server, you may need to forward one, the other, or both.

The details don't really matter, your server configuration will tell you which protocols are needed for each port. If you're interested in the difference, TCP is more reliable, as it checks that data arrives correctly. This makes it ideal for websites and file transfers. UDP is faster but less reliable and is often used for things like video calls or games where speed is the most important factor.

Backing Up Your Data

How are backups created?

You can configure your server to automatically create backups at set intervals, and you can manually initiate a backup at any time. You can initiate a backup from the server management page on this website, or through the dashboard screen. When you create a backup, your server will build a file containing all its important data. This file is compressed to save space and is encrypted to keep its contents private using your server's encryption passphrase, detailed in the section below. For detailed instructions on how to create and manage backups, please refer to the Managing Backups section of our documentation.

What is an encryption passphrase?

This is a secure password generated for you during deployment that's used to protect backups of your server's data. It consists of four random words and a four digit number. Its length makes it secure, and its usage of words makes it easier to read, type, and remember. If you ever need to restore a backup of your data you will have to type in this key to do so. When you create a backup, whatever your encryption passphrase is at that time will be what's required to restore it later. You can generate a new, random one at any time, but old backups will still require their original passphrase to decrypt. We cannot access or restore any data from your backups without your encryption passphrase.

Where are backups stored?

By default, backups will be stored on your server's primary drive in the "/opt/backups" directory. You can change this or add additional locations. It's highly recommended to store them on a second drive so that in the event of a primary drive failure you would still have a redundant copy to restore from. If your only backups are stored on the same drive that failed, there will be no way to recover your data. If your computer only has one hard drive, you can simply leave a sufficiently large USB flash drive plugged in and use that instead.

For added redundancy, you can also deploy additional server(s) to act as an off-site backup network. For example, you could host your main server on a desktop computer at your office, and host a backup server on an old laptop at home.