click the Add Server button in the upper right corner
on the "Create a server" page:
choose a location near you and/or your users
for the operating system, choose Ubuntu and the latest version (24.04 as of this writing)
for the type of machine, choose x86 (Intel/AMD)
you should be able to pick a machine with as low as 2 Gb of memory (if you pick a machine with 4 Gb or less, you might want to follow these instructions to extend your server memory)
under SSH Keys, select one of your ssh keys. if you haven't configured your ssh keys, click the "Security" tab on the left, then add a key (see this tutorial on Hetzner)
set up a dedicated domain or subdomain for the server itself if you haven't done so yet, as in disco.yourdomain.com -- point that domain or subdomain to the server's IP address using an A record
after the server has been setup (usually under a minute), you can set up your server
click the Create button in the upper right corner and choose Droplets
on the "Create Droplets" page:
choose a location near you and/or your users
for the operating system, choose Ubuntu and the latest version (24.04 as of this writing)
for the "Droplet Type", you can pick Basic
under "CPU Options", you can pick Regular and a server size with as low as 2 Gb of memory (if you pick a machine with 4 Gb or less, you might want to follow these instructions to extend your server memory)
under "Choose Authentication Method" make sure to pick SSH Key and select one of your ssh keys (see this page on how to add an ssh key to Digital Ocean)
set up a dedicated domain or subdomain for the server itself if you haven't done so yet, as in disco.yourdomain.com -- point that domain or subdomain to the server's IP address using an A record
after the server has been setup (usually under a minute), you can set up your server
we're assuming that your Raspberry Pi has direct, public access to the Internet with a fixed IP address (i.e. it's not behind a NAT or firewall). If you're running your Raspberry Pi from home or behind a firewall, please see the "Host from Home with a Pi" guide.
using Raspberry Pi Imager, flash Ubuntu Server 24.04 LTS onto your SD card
configure the network settings, hostname, and ssh key during setup
set up a dedicated domain or subdomain for the server itself if you haven't done so yet, as in disco.yourdomain.com -- point that domain or subdomain to the server's IP address using an A record
once you've confirmed your Raspberry Pi is up and running, you can set up your server