deploy.md

Why Vultr is a Great Choice Right Now for You

• No ID required upfront in most cases (unlike Hetzner which often asks for photo ID during signup). You mainly need a valid payment method (credit/debit card, PayPal, or even crypto via BitPay). Ramp cards sometimes work if they support standard authorization.
• Very beginner-friendly dashboard.
• 33+ global locations (many in the US) → pick one close to you for low latency.
• Hourly billing (you only pay for what you use).
• One-click Ubuntu deployment.
• Full root access + Docker works perfectly.
• Good performance with NVMe storage.

Pricing (as of 2026):
A solid starter for OpenEMR:

• High Performance plan → $6/month (1 vCPU, 1–2 GB RAM, 25–64 GB NVMe SSD, 2–3 TB bandwidth).
  This is plenty for a small clinic or testing. You can upgrade later in one click.

Step-by-Step: Set Up Vultr + OpenEMR

1. Sign Up (Takes 2–5 minutes)

   • Go to: https://www.vultr.com/
   • Click “Create free account” or “Deploy Now”.
   • Sign up with email + strong password (or use Google/GitHub).
   • Add a payment method right away (this is required to deploy servers).
     • Try your Ramp card again here.
     • Or use any regular Visa/Mastercard/Debit card.
     • PayPal is also accepted (if you have one linked to a card).
   • Verify your email if prompted.
   • You should be able to deploy immediately after adding payment (no ID in most normal cases).

2. Deploy Your Server

   • After login, click “Deploy New Server” (big blue button) or go to Products → Deploy.
   • Server Type: Choose Cloud Compute → High Performance (or Regular if you want even cheaper).
   • Location: Pick the closest to you (e.g., New York, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, etc.).
   • Operating System: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (recommended).
   • Plan: Start with the $6 or $10 plan (1–2 vCPU / 2–4 GB RAM).
   • SSH Key (recommended – more secure than password):
     • On your computer (Terminal / Git Bash):

       ssh-keygen -t ed25519

       Press Enter to accept default location.
       Then copy the public key:

       cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

       Paste the whole output into Vultr’s “Add SSH Key” section.
   • Click Deploy Now.

   The server usually boots in 30–60 seconds.

3. SSH Into Your Server

   • Vultr shows your server’s IP address on the dashboard.
   • From your computer:

     ssh root@YOUR_VULTR_IP_ADDRESS

     (If you used SSH key, it logs in automatically.)

4. Install Docker + Deploy OpenEMR (Exact same commands as before) Copy-paste these one by one:

apt update && apt upgrade -y
apt install git -y

# Install Docker
apt install ca-certificates curl -y
install -m 0755 -d /etc/apt/keyrings
curl -fsSL https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu/gpg -o /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
chmod a+r /etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc
echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/docker.asc] https://download.docker.com/linux/ubuntu $(. /etc/os-release && echo "$VERSION_CODENAME") stable" | tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/docker.list > /dev/null
apt update
apt install docker-ce docker-ce-cli containerd.io docker-buildx-plugin docker-compose-plugin -y

usermod -aG docker $USER   # Then log out and SSH back in

Now deploy OpenEMR:

git clone https://github.com/openemr/openemr.git
cd openemr/docker/production
nano .env   # Edit with strong passwords (change OE_PASS, MYSQL_ROOT_PASS, etc.)
docker compose up -d

5. Open Firewall Ports

ufw allow 22
ufw allow 80/tcp
ufw allow 443/tcp
ufw --force enable

6. Access OpenEMR
   • Go to http://YOUR_VULTR_IP in your browser.
   • SSL (HTTPS) will be auto-enabled if you set DOMAIN=yourdomain.com in the .env file and point your domain’s A record to the IP.

Done! You now have OpenEMR running on Vultr.

Quick Tips

• Monitor costs in the Vultr dashboard (very transparent).
• To stop billing: just Destroy the server when you don’t need it.
• Backups: Vultr offers automatic snapshots (cheap extra).
• If your Ramp card is declined again → try PayPal or another card. Many people succeed with Vultr where others fail.