# How to set up FreeBSD as VPS host?



## FKEinternet (Jan 16, 2016)

I'm not sure which Forum I should be asking this.

When I do a Web search for "FreeBSD set up VPS" I get _lots _of results about how to set up FreeBSD on somebody else's VPS, but that's not what I'm trying to do:  I want to set up _my_ FreeBSD system as a VPS host, e.g., I want to be the host for example.com and when example.com's owner logs in as root, they only get access to their VPS, not to my whole system.

I'm pretty sure this isn't done using jails, my understanding is that users in a jail are the same as users in the base system, and IIRC when I log in to a jail as root, I have access to the whole base system's files, etc.

Do I have to set up virtual machines to be a VPS host?  What would be the best software to use?  What other requirements am I facing, e.g., does each VPS need its own IP address?

Is there a published resource somewhere I can refer to before asking more questions?


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## drhowarddrfine (Jan 16, 2016)

Actually, jails are the way to go. While they have access to root, that root only has access to their own jail and those contents.

But I'm out of touch with all that and I'll let someone more knowledgeable jump in with more and better explanations.


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## gkontos (Jan 17, 2016)

FKEinternet said:


> I'm pretty sure this isn't done using jails, my understanding is that users in a jail are the same as users in the base system, and IIRC when I log in to a jail as root, I have access to the whole base system's files, etc.


Actually it is quite the opposite. A jail is an isolated instance of the OS and any user that logs in the jail has access only to the jail files. The only problem is that jails can only run FreeBSD. So, if you are looking at a more solid virtualization, you might want to have a look at bhyve.


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