How to install Docker on your LWS VPS with the Docker CE template

Procédure

To install Docker on your LWS VPS in just a few minutes, the fastest method is to use the preconfigured Docker CE template available in your customer area. This ready-to-use system frees you from having to manually install the repositories, the container engine, and the various add-ons. We will see how to reset your virtual machine with this template, connect via SSH, check the services, and deploy a first website with Nginx.

Reinstall the server with Docker CE

1. Access VPS management

   Log in to your LWS customer area and go to the Servers tab. On the line corresponding to your virtual machine, click the Manage button to open the KVM administration panel of your VPS.

   

2. Open the reinstallation menu

   In the side menu on the left of the administration panel, click Reinstallation. This interface lets you completely reset the operating system of your machine.

   

3. Select the Docker CE template

   Click the Select the template to install field and type “Docker” to filter the list. Two Docker CE templates are offered: one based on Ubuntu 24.04, the other on Debian 13; choose the one you prefer (this tutorial uses Debian 13). Then make sure your SSH key is checked under SSH keys to install: you will be able to connect without a password.

   

4. Launch the reinstallation request

   Once the Docker CE template has been selected and your SSH keys have been verified, click the red Reinstall the server button located at the bottom right of the page.

   

5. Confirm your server name

   A security modal window appears to warn you that the disk contents will be permanently deleted. Copy your server identifier exactly into the input field, then click the Reinstallation button to start the process.

   

Connect and test the environment

1. Connect to your server via SSH

   Open a terminal on your computer and start the SSH connection to your server using the root account. Replace the example IP address 203.0.113.10 with the actual IP address of your VPS, visible in your customer area. During the first exchange, validate the security fingerprint by typing “yes”.

   ⌨ On your computerCopy

   ssh root@203.0.113.10

   Expected result

   The authenticity of host '203.0.113.10 (203.0.113.10)' can't be established.
   ED25519 key fingerprint is SHA256:…
   Are you sure you want to continue connecting (yes/no/[fingerprint])? yes

2. Check the Docker and Compose versions

   Query the Docker binaries to make sure that the daemon and the Compose plugin are properly installed and working on your machine.

   ⌨ On the serverCopy

   docker --version
   docker compose version

   Expected result

   Docker version 29.9.0, build f415da8
   Docker Compose version v5.6.0

3. Test with the hello-world image

   Download and run the official verification container. This command confirms that the Docker engine communicates correctly with the Docker Hub registry and can instantiate containers without any issues.

   ⌨ On the serverCopy

   docker run hello-world

   Expected result

   Hello from Docker!
   This message shows that your installation appears to be working correctly.

Deploy a first web container

1. Deploy an Nginx web server

   Start an Nginx container in the background with the -d option by linking port 80 of your VPS to port 80 of the container. Then check the status of the active container with the docker ps command.

   ⌨ On the serverCopy

   docker run -d --name web -p 80:80 nginx
   docker ps

   Expected result

   CONTAINER ID   IMAGE     COMMAND                  CREATED         STATUS                  PORTS                                 NAMES
   c3b46a4e354c   nginx     "/docker-entrypoint.…"   2 seconds ago   Up Less than a second   0.0.0.0:80->80/tcp, [::]:80->80/tcp   web

2. Display the web page in your browser

   Open your web browser and enter your VPS's public IP address in the address bar. The default Nginx home page appears, proving that HTTP requests are reaching the container correctly.

   

3. Close the SSH session

   Return to your terminal and end the remote session by entering the disconnect command. Your web container will continue running in the background on the server.

   ⌨ On the serverCopy

   exit

   Expected result

   disconnection
   Connection to 203.0.113.10 closed.

Glossary

Docker CE

Community and free version of the Docker containerization engine, allowing isolated applications to run.

Docker Compose

Tool used to define and orchestrate multi-container applications using a single configuration file.

Docker image

Read-only template containing the code, dependencies, and configuration required to launch an application.

Container

Live, isolated instance created from a Docker image that runs a specific program.

VPS template

Preinstalled and preconfigured system image provided by the host to deploy a ready-to-use server in a few clicks.

SSH

Secure communication protocol used to control a remote server from the command line.

Nginx

Open source web server known for its speed and low memory usage.

Frequently asked questions