# Initializing vStor

To initialize the vStor server after installation, follow these steps using the vStor Management Interface:

1. Verify the server installation and ensure the hostname is resolvable or the IPv4 address is reachable.
2. Open a web browser and navigate to `https://<vStor_hostname_or_IP>:8900`.
3. Log in with the username `admin` and the set password (default is `admin`).
4. Upon first login, you will see the initialization screen with the following options:\\

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* **Create pool during initialization**: Automatically creates a storage pool during initialization.
* **Initialize without creating pool**: Initializes the server without creating a storage pool. The user will need to create a pool at a later stage.
* **Attempt config recovery**: Initializes and recovers from a previous configuration.\
  See [Restoring Configuration Settings of Catalogic vStor](https://docs.catalogicsoftware.com/vstor-4.14/basic-configuration/restoring-configuration-settings-of-catalogic-vstor).
* **Recover from another vStor**: Initializes and recovers from a configuration stored on another accessible vStor. See [Restoring Configuration Settings from Another vStor](https://docs.catalogicsoftware.com/vstor-4.14/basic-configuration/restoring-configuration-settings-from-another-vstor).
* **Initialize manually**: Requires SSH access and command-line initialization using `vstor system init`.

{% hint style="warning" %} <mark style="color:orange;">**Attention!**</mark> Run `vstor system init` with a flag `--skip_pool` to manually create pools after initialization. This option allows you to create a storage pool using advanced redundancy options and a specific list of disks.
{% endhint %}

{% hint style="info" %} <mark style="color:blue;">**Note.**</mark> Multipool is enabled by default for all vStor versions. To disable it, run `vstor system init` with `--multipool off` flag.
{% endhint %}

5. Click **Yes** to start initialization, which may take several minutes. Once completed, the dashboard will indicate successful initialization. If the **Create pool during initialization** option was selected, a pool will also be created.
