When you have root-level access to a hosting server, it indicates that you'll have full control of it. In other words, you can install any server-side app regardless of the changes that it will make to the software setting on your server, and you're able to both access and update any kind of file, which includes system files, and change various settings. You can do this by connecting to the server as a root user who has full privileges to perform the aforementioned things as well as to make other users, including users that also have full privileges. The connection can be established through a web-based graphical interface or a Secure Shell console. For security reasons, it's recommended that you make a different user for your daily work and employ the root user only when you have to modify the server or to set up software that may be required by some script-driven application that you wish to run.

Full Root-level Access in Dedicated Servers

When you choose the cPanel or the DirectAdmin website hosting Control Panel, you will have full root access to your new dedicated server, regardless of which of our packages you'll choose throughout the signup process. The same is valid if you choose not to add a Control Panel at all. Our servers will provide you with the possibility to run both very resource-demanding apps which are too heavy for a standard shared website hosting account and applications that have certain requirements as to what the software environment on your server needs to be. The latter is something which cannot be achieved on a shared machine, as no server-side software can be installed on it. The difference between the aforementioned alternatives is that without a Control Panel, server management can be done only via a console, while if you obtain cPanel or DirectAdmin, most system settings and your website content will be managed through a graphical interface. If you choose Hepsia, which is the last Control Panel option on the registration page, you will have a server with limited root access.