How to install CloudPanel on a VPS or a Dedicated Server

Objective

CloudPanel is a modern, lightweight, and high-performance hosting control panel, offering a web interface to deploy and manage:

• websites using PHP or Node.js;
• databases;
• SSL/TLS certificates (Let’s Encrypt);
• users;
• a firewall.

This guide explains how to install CloudPanel on a VPS or a Dedicated Server and how to connect to it to perform the initial configuration.

Requirements

• A VPS or a Dedicated Server with a recommended configuration in your OVHcloud Control Panel.
• An administrative access (sudo) via SSH to your server.

Instructions

Step 1 — Connect and update the system

Connect to the server

Open a terminal and connect to your VPS (or Dedicated Server) using the following command:

ssh user@IP_VPS

Replace:

• user with your username.
• IP_VPS with your VPS's IP address.

Update the system

Update your operating system. This operation may take several minutes.

sudo apt update && sudo apt -y upgrade

sudo dnf -y update

Step 2 — Open required ports (firewall)

To allow incoming and outgoing connections, refer to the Port Firewall section of the official CloudPanel documentation to find out which ports to open based on your needs.

Example of port opening for Debian and Ubuntu

1. Install UFW:

sudo apt -y install ufw

2. Open the necessary ports (examples: SSH, CloudPanel panel, HTTP/HTTPS):

sudo ufw allow 22/tcp
sudo ufw allow 8443/tcp
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp

3. Enable UFW and check its status (the value "ALLOW" is expected):

sudo ufw enable
sudo ufw status

Example of port opening for AlmaLinux 9 and Rocky Linux 8

1. Install firewalld:

sudo dnf -y install firewalld

2. Enable and start the service:

sudo systemctl enable --now firewalld

3. Open the necessary ports (examples: SSH, CloudPanel panel, HTTP/HTTPS):

sudo firewall-cmd --add-service=ssh --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --add-service=http --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --add-service=https --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --add-port=8443/tcp --permanent

4. Apply the configuration:

sudo firewall-cmd --reload
sudo firewall-cmd --list-all

Step 3 — Install CloudPanel

1. Install wget:

sudo apt -y install wget

sudo dnf -y install wget

2. Download the CloudPanel installation script:

wget https://installer.cloudpanel.io/ce/v2/install.sh -O install.sh

3. Run the installer with the desired database engine:

Run the script specifying the database you want to install (MySQL or MariaDB).

• Example with MySQL 8.4:

sudo DB_ENGINE=MYSQL_8.4 bash install.sh

• Example with MariaDB 11.4:

sudo DB_ENGINE=MARIADB_11.4 bash install.sh

The installation may take several minutes, as the script automatically installs the necessary dependencies.

Step 4 — First connection

Once the installation is complete, enter the URL https://<IP_VPS>:8443 in your browser, replacing <IP_VPS> with your VPS's IP address.

The following interface appears:

On the first launch, CloudPanel asks you to create the administrator account by providing a username, an email address, and a password. After completing this step, enter the username and password you just set to log in. You then arrive at the CloudPanel administration interface.

Go further

How to secure a VPS

How to secure a Dedicated Server

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