You may notice two buttons on your VPS/Server: Change OS and Rebuild.

In this guide, we will look at each and get to know the difference between these two actions.

Change OS

Change OS, as the name suggests, is a button allowing you to choose another operating system for your server. Say you have installed Ubuntu 22.04. However, you want to switch to Almalinux 8. This button will help you choose the preferred OS.

Take note that changing OS will delete all your data while installing the new OS. It is advisable to have a backup of your files before engaging in this action.

Once your operating system has been changed, a new user and password will be generated and sent to your email. The change will not affect your IP.

Rebuild

Rebuild involves resetting your server. This will involve the deletion of your data and reinstalling the OS you were using.

When you rebuild a server, you will lose your IP and a new IP will be assigned. The user will remain the same but a new password will be given to the user.

What’s the difference?

While both involve (permanently) deleting existing data on the server, there are a few differences:

Changing the operating system means a new operating system will be installed on your server. Consequentially, a new user and password will be assigned to the server. However, rebuild does not install a new operating system. Thus, only the user password is changed.

When a server is rebuilt, a new IP is assigned to it. However, changing OS does not affect the IP; the server’s IP will remain as it was.