Install aaPanel on Ubuntu 22.04: Free Web Hosting – OrcaCore

This guide will walk you through the process of installing aaPanel on Ubuntu 22.04. aaPanel is a free and open-source web hosting control panel that simplifies server management. It provides a graphical user interface (GUI) for managing multiple websites, databases, FTP servers, and other server configurations, making it an excellent alternative to paid control panels. Install aaPanel on Ubuntu 22.04 and you will see how easy it is to manage your servers.

aaPanel leverages APIs to give developers greater control over their server environments and offers easily deployable web stacks. It supports various web environments, including:

LNMP (Linux, Nginx, MySQL, PHP)
LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP)

Let’s dive into the steps required to complete the aaPanel on Ubuntu 22.04 setup.

Before proceeding, ensure you have a server running Ubuntu 22.04. You should be logged in as a non-root user with sudo privileges and have a basic firewall configured. If you haven’t already done so, refer to our guide on Initial Server Setup with Ubuntu 22.04 on the Orcacore website.

1. aaPanel Control Panel Setup on Ubuntu 22.04

First, update your system’s package index:

sudo apt update

Download aaPanel Installer Script

Now, download and execute the aaPanel installer script using the following command:

wget -O install.sh http://www.aapanel.com/script/install-ubuntu_6.0_en.sh && sudo bash install.sh aapanel

The installation process will take some time. Upon completion, you’ll see output similar to this:

... (Installation logs) ...
Congratulations! aaPanel install completed!
The panel address: https://your_server_ip:7800/random_string
username: your_username
password: your_password

Next, verify that aaPanel is listening on the correct port (default is 7800):

sudo netstat -nltp

If you have UFW firewall enabled, confirm that port 7800 is allowed:

sudo ufw status

aaPanel listening port thorugh UFW firewall

2. Access aaPanel Dashboard Login

Now, access the aaPanel web interface using the URL provided during the installation:

https://your-server-ip:7800/random_string

Replace your-server-ip with your server’s IP address and random_string with the unique string provided after installation.

Enter the username and password from the installation output and click Login.

After logging in, you’ll be prompted to install software packages. It’s recommended to install the LNMP stack (Linux, Nginx, MySQL, PHP) by clicking the one-click install option.

Software Packages for aaPanel — Software Packages

The installation of the LNMP stack will take a considerable amount of time.

Once the installation is complete, you’ll be able to view the status of the installed packages on the aaPanel dashboard.

3. How To Use aaPanel on Ubuntu 22.04?

From the aaPanel dashboard, you can easily add domains and create websites under the Website tab. Ensure your domain has an A record pointing to your server’s IP address.

You can also add FTP servers under the FTP tab for file management.

aaPanel allows you to connect to and manage databases, and provides a terminal for executing shell commands directly on your server.

To install PHP extensions, navigate to App Store >> Installed, click on the PHP version you wish to modify (e.g., PHP 7.4), and then click the settings icon. From there, you can select the extensions you want to install.

For more detailed information and advanced configurations, visit aaPanel’s official page.

Conclusion

You have now successfully learned how to Install aaPanel on Ubuntu 22.04 and use its basic features. aaPanel is a powerful, free, and user-friendly control panel that simplifies server management.

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Alternative Solutions for Web Hosting Management on Ubuntu 22.04

While aaPanel offers a convenient GUI for managing your web server, other approaches exist. Here are two alternative solutions for web hosting management on Ubuntu 22.04:

1. Using Docker with Docker Compose:

Docker allows you to containerize your web applications and their dependencies, ensuring consistency across different environments. Docker Compose simplifies the management of multi-container applications.

Explanation: Instead of relying on a control panel to install and configure web server software (like Nginx or Apache), databases (like MySQL or PostgreSQL), and PHP, you can define these services within Docker containers. Docker Compose then orchestrates these containers, making it easy to start, stop, and manage your entire web application stack. This method provides greater isolation, portability, and control over your environment.

Code Example:

Create a docker-compose.yml file:

version: "3.8"
services:
  web:
    image: nginx:latest
    ports:
      - "80:80"
      - "443:443"
    volumes:
      - ./html:/usr/share/nginx/html
      - ./nginx/conf.d:/etc/nginx/conf.d
    depends_on:
      - php

  php:
    image: php:8.1-fpm
    volumes:
      - ./html:/var/www/html

  db:
    image: mysql:8.0
    environment:
      MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: your_root_password
      MYSQL_DATABASE: your_database
    volumes:
      - db_data:/var/lib/mysql

volumes:
  db_data:

In this example:

web service uses the official Nginx image and maps ports 80 and 443 to the host. It also mounts a directory containing your website’s HTML files and Nginx configuration files.
php service uses the official PHP-FPM image.
db service uses the official MySQL image and sets environment variables for the root password and database name. It also creates a volume to persist database data.

To start the services:

docker-compose up -d

This command will build and start the containers in detached mode.

2. Manual Configuration with Command-Line Tools:

This approach involves installing and configuring each component of your web server stack manually using the command line.

Explanation: This method provides the greatest flexibility and control over your server environment. However, it requires a deeper understanding of Linux system administration and the configuration of each software component.

Steps:

Install Nginx or Apache:
```
sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx
```
Install MySQL or PostgreSQL:
```
sudo apt install mysql-server
```
Install PHP:
```
sudo apt install php php-fpm php-mysql
```
Configure Nginx/Apache: Configure the web server to serve your website files and pass PHP requests to PHP-FPM. This involves editing configuration files like /etc/nginx/sites-available/default or /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf.
Secure your server: Configure firewalls (UFW), set up SSL certificates (Let’s Encrypt), and implement other security measures.

This method is more complex than using aaPanel, but it provides a deeper understanding of the underlying technologies and allows for highly customized configurations. While Install aaPanel on Ubuntu 22.04 is easy, this method is not.