Install aaPanel on Ubuntu 22.04: Free Web Hosting – OrcaCore

This guide is designed to walk you through the process of Install aaPanel on Ubuntu 22.04. aaPanel stands out as a powerful, open-source web hosting control panel, providing a viable alternative to commercial solutions. It empowers you to host a multitude of websites and configure advanced server settings through an intuitive GUI interface.

aaPanel leverages APIs to grant developers control and offers deployable web environments, with support for the following configurations:

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

You can now proceed to the guide steps below on the Orcacore website to finish the Install aaPanel on Ubuntu 22.04 control panel setup.

Before beginning, ensure you’re logged into your Ubuntu 22.04 server as a non-root user with sudo privileges and have set up a basic firewall. Our guide on Initial Server Setup with Ubuntu 22.04 can assist you with this prerequisite.

1. aaPanel Control Panel Setup on Ubuntu 22.04

First, update your local package index using the following command:

sudo apt update

Download aaPanel Installer Script

Next, download and execute the aaPanel installer script using the command below:

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

This process will take some time. Upon completion, you should see output similar to the following:

... (Installation progress) ...

Congratulations! aaPanel has been installed successfully!

Login address: https://your_server_ip:7800/xxxxxxxx
username:  your_username
password:  your_password

Verify that aaPanel is listening on the correct port (typically 7800) using:

sudo netstat -nltp

If you have an active firewall (UFW), confirm that port 7800 is allowed:

sudo ufw status

2. Access aaPanel Dashboard Login

Access the aaPanel web interface on your Ubuntu 22.04 server using the URL provided during the installation:

https://<mark>your-server-ip</mark>:7800/11fe7c8e

Enter the username and password obtained during installation and click Login.

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

The installation will take a considerable amount of time.

After the installation is complete, you can view the status of the installed packages.

3. How To Use aaPanel on Ubuntu 22.04?

From the aaPanel dashboard, you can easily add your domain and create a website. A domain with an AAA record can be added and a website can be created under the website tab.

You can also add an FTP server under the FTP tab.

Furthermore, you can connect to and manage databases from within aaPanel. You also have easy access to a terminal, allowing you to execute shell commands directly on your system.

PHP extensions can be installed under App Store >> Installed. Click on the PHP version (e.g., PHP 7.4). Clicking the settings icon allows you to install extensions by selecting them.

For more detailed information, visit the aaPanel official page.

Conclusion

You have now successfully learned to Install aaPanel on Ubuntu 22.04. aaPanel offers a free and user-friendly interface for managing your server with a range of features. This guide provided a comprehensive overview of the Install aaPanel on Ubuntu 22.04 process.

Enjoy using aaPanel! You might also be interested in these related articles:

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Alternative Solutions for Web Hosting on Ubuntu 22.04

While aaPanel provides a convenient GUI for managing web hosting, other approaches offer different benefits, such as greater control, resource efficiency, or deeper integration with existing infrastructure. Here are two alternative solutions for web hosting on Ubuntu 22.04:

1. Manual Configuration with Nginx, MySQL, and PHP-FPM

This approach involves setting up each component of the web server stack (Nginx, MySQL, and PHP-FPM) individually. While it requires more technical expertise, it provides complete control over the configuration and allows for fine-tuning the server for optimal performance.

Explanation:

• Nginx: A high-performance web server that acts as a reverse proxy, load balancer, and HTTP cache.
• MySQL: A popular open-source relational database management system for storing website data.
• PHP-FPM (FastCGI Process Manager): An alternative PHP FastCGI implementation with some additional features useful for sites of any size, especially busier sites.

Steps:

1. Install Nginx:

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install nginx

2. Install MySQL:

   sudo apt install mysql-server
   sudo mysql_secure_installation

3. Install PHP and PHP-FPM:

   sudo apt install php php-fpm php-mysql

4. Configure Nginx to work with PHP-FPM: This involves editing the Nginx configuration file (usually /etc/nginx/sites-available/default or a custom file you create) to pass PHP requests to PHP-FPM. A typical configuration block for a PHP site might look like this:

   server {
       listen 80;
       server_name yourdomain.com;
       root /var/www/yourdomain;
       index index.php index.html index.htm;
   
       location / {
           try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
       }
   
       location ~ .php$ {
           include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
           fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.1-fpm.sock; # Adjust PHP version if necessary
       }
   
       location ~ /.ht {
           deny all;
       }
   }

   Explanation of the Nginx configuration:

   • listen 80;: Listens for HTTP traffic on port 80. Use listen 443 ssl; for HTTPS.
   • server_name yourdomain.com;: Specifies the domain name this configuration applies to.
   • root /var/www/yourdomain;: Sets the root directory for the website.
   • index index.php index.html index.htm;: Specifies the index files to look for.
   • location / { ... }: Handles general requests.
   • location ~ .php$ { ... }: Handles PHP requests, passing them to PHP-FPM. The fastcgi_pass directive is crucial; it tells Nginx where to find the PHP-FPM socket. The socket path depends on the PHP version.
   • location ~ /.ht { ... }: Denies access to .htaccess files (common with Apache, but generally not used with Nginx).

5. Create a MySQL database: Log into the MySQL server and create a database and user for your website.

   sudo mysql -u root -p

   CREATE DATABASE your_database_name;
   CREATE USER 'your_username'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_password';
   GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON your_database_name.* TO 'your_username'@'localhost';
   FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
   EXIT;

6. Place your website files in the root directory: Upload your website’s HTML, PHP, and other files to the directory specified in the root directive of the Nginx configuration (e.g., /var/www/yourdomain).

7. Restart Nginx and PHP-FPM:

   sudo systemctl restart nginx
   sudo systemctl restart php8.1-fpm # Adjust PHP version if necessary

Benefits:

• Maximum control: You have complete control over every aspect of the server configuration.
• Optimized performance: You can fine-tune the server for optimal performance based on your specific needs.
• Resource efficiency: You only install the components you need, minimizing resource usage.

Drawbacks:

• Complexity: Requires significant technical knowledge and manual configuration.
• Time-consuming: Setting up and maintaining the server can be time-consuming.

2. Docker Compose for Containerized Web Hosting

This approach uses Docker and Docker Compose to create a containerized web hosting environment. Each component of the web server stack (Nginx, MySQL, PHP) runs in its own container, providing isolation and reproducibility.

Explanation:

• Docker: A platform for running applications in isolated containers.
• Docker Compose: A tool for defining and managing multi-container Docker applications.

Steps:

1. Install Docker and Docker Compose: Follow the official Docker documentation for installing Docker and Docker Compose on Ubuntu 22.04.

2. Create a docker-compose.yml file: This file defines the services (containers) that make up your web server stack. Here’s an example:

   version: "3.8"
   services:
     nginx:
       image: nginx:latest
       ports:
         - "80:80"
         - "443:443"
       volumes:
         - ./nginx/conf.d:/etc/nginx/conf.d
         - ./data:/var/www/html
       depends_on:
         - php
   
     php:
       image: php:8.1-fpm # Adjust PHP version as needed
       volumes:
         - ./data:/var/www/html
   
     mysql:
       image: mysql:8.0
       environment:
         MYSQL_ROOT_PASSWORD: your_root_password
         MYSQL_DATABASE: your_database_name
         MYSQL_USER: your_username
         MYSQL_PASSWORD: your_password
       volumes:
         - db_data:/var/lib/mysql
   
   volumes:
     db_data:

   Explanation of the docker-compose.yml file:

   • version: "3.8": Specifies the Docker Compose file version.
   • services:: Defines the services (containers) to be run.
   • nginx:: Defines the Nginx service.
     • image: nginx:latest: Uses the latest Nginx image from Docker Hub.
     • ports:: Maps ports from the container to the host (port 80 and 443).
     • volumes:: Mounts volumes to share data between the host and the container. ./nginx/conf.d mounts a directory containing Nginx configuration files. ./data mounts the directory where your website files will be stored.
     • depends_on:: Specifies that the Nginx service depends on the PHP service.
   • php:: Defines the PHP-FPM service.
     • image: php:8.1-fpm: Uses the PHP-FPM image from Docker Hub. Adjust the version as needed.
     • volumes:: Mounts the ./data directory so PHP can access your website files.
   • mysql:: Defines the MySQL service.
     • image: mysql:8.0: Uses the MySQL image from Docker Hub.
     • environment:: Sets environment variables for MySQL, including the root password, database name, username, and password. Important: Do not use these default values in production.
     • volumes:: Mounts a volume (db_data) to persist the MySQL database data.
   • volumes:: Defines the named volume db_data.

3. Create the necessary directories and configuration files:

   • Create the nginx/conf.d directory and a configuration file for your website (e.g., nginx/conf.d/default.conf). This file is similar to the Nginx configuration described in the manual configuration section. You’ll need to adjust the fastcgi_pass directive to point to the PHP-FPM container: fastcgi_pass php:9000;
   • Create the data directory where you’ll place your website files.

4. Start the containers:

   docker-compose up -d

   This command starts all the services defined in the docker-compose.yml file in detached mode (-d).

Benefits:

• Isolation: Each service runs in its own container, preventing conflicts and improving security.
• Reproducibility: The Docker Compose file defines the entire environment, making it easy to reproduce the setup on different machines.
• Scalability: Docker makes it easier to scale your application by running multiple containers.
• Simplified deployment: Docker simplifies the deployment process by packaging the application and its dependencies into a single container.

Drawbacks:

• Overhead: Docker introduces some overhead compared to running applications directly on the host.
• Complexity: Requires understanding of Docker and Docker Compose.
• Learning Curve: Setting up Docker and Docker Compose may be initially complex.

Both manual configuration and Docker Compose offer powerful alternatives to aaPanel for web hosting on Ubuntu 22.04. The best choice depends on your technical expertise, project requirements, and desired level of control.