How to Install FastPanel on Ubuntu

Fastpanel is a web-hosting control panel. It provides web-based intuitive, point-and-click interfaces for common tasks such as transferring files, installing applications, updating PHP versions, and creating email accounts.

Fastpanel is written in PHP5, uses the PEAR DB database layer, and includes over 100 database functions (including MySQL-specific functions such as “orelse” or “bcp”) as well as a large number of other useful functions (including file management, image conversion, HTTP authentication, and session handling). Fastpanel is compatible with all major web servers on Unix/Linux platforms: Apache 1.3+, Nginx 0.7+, and Lighttpd 1.5+.

Have you ever wanted to install FastPanel on Ubuntu? Have you been scared to try it because you thought it would be a huge pain to get started? We’ve done all the hard work for you. Read this guide, then follow along, step by step. In no time, FastPanel will be up and running on your Ubuntu server in minutes.

Prerequisites

In order to install FastPanel on your Ubuntu server you will need to have a few things:

• A Ubuntu server. You can set up a VPS or a dedicated server with root access.
• A working internet connection to download the installation script.
• Basic knowledge of the command line and common commands ( ls , cd , mkdir ) are also required.
• It is also advised that you already have a Domain Name pointing to your server.

Updating Your Ubuntu Server

It’s a best practice to keep your Ubuntu server up-to-date with the latest security patches installed, as well as performance and compatibility enhancements. It’s recommended that you stay up-to-date with all security patches, especially if you use the FastPanel web interface.

Run the command below to start updating.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Install FastPanel on Ubuntu 20.04

Now that you’ve updated your Ubuntu server, it’s time to start the installation. Follow these steps to download Fastpanel and get it up and running.

There are several ways to install Fastpanel, either using the GitHub repository, a Docker container, or from the source. In this example, we will install Fastpanel using the FastPanel installation script from its developer.

Installation scripts are a convenient way to install or update the software on Unix-like systems. They typically start with a line that specifies the operating system (e.g., Ubuntu) followed by the version of the software (e.g., FastPanel 3.0). The installation script then provides a series of instructions to the system, each named with a numbered argument and an argument description. The FastPanel installation script will automate the installation process and save you time.

Run the wget http://repo.fastpanel.direct/install_fastpanel.sh command to download FastPanel installation script. The wget command downloads a file named install_fastpanel.sh from the internet to your Ubuntu server. The location of the script is http://repo.fastpanel.direct/install_fastpanel.sh. This is all in one line.

wget http://repo.fastpanel.direct/install_fastpanel.sh

Run the sudo bash install_fastpanel.sh command to run the installation script. You should execute this command as sudo because Fastpanel requires root permissions which is necessary for installation. The bash command starts a Bash interpreter to run commands in the next argument (install_fastpanel.sh).

sudo bash install_fastpanel.sh

The Installation of FastPanel is as simple as it looks. The install_fastpanel.sh script will handle most of the configuration settings on your Ubuntu server.

The installation process might take a while to complete. Once the installation is finished, you’ll see a success message on your command line. You can also see the username and password, which you can use to login to your Fastpanel’s Control Panel, as shown below. Copy and save these details to somewhere safe.

Configure Your Firewall

A firewall is a program that blocks unwanted traffic from accessing your computer. It normally sits on the computer’s front-line and blocks incoming traffic. When you run a web server, it is important to have a good firewall in place for security reasons.

Ubuntu uses UFW (Uncomplicated Firewall) as its default firewall which can be managed from the command line interface. If you put your server behind a UFW firewall, you will need to configure UFW to allow incoming traffic to Fastpanel.

Fastpanel uses port 8888 to communicate with your clients by default. On the firewall, add a rule to allow traffic to this port as follow:

sudo ufw allow 8888

Run the sudo ufw status command to check if the firewall rule has been added successfully.

sudo ufw status

You will get the following output.

Accessing FastPanel Web UI

Now that Fastpanel is installed, it’s time to check if it works.

Open your favorite web browser, navigate to your server’s IP address or domain name. For example, if your server IP address is 123.456.789.012, then visit http://123.456.789.012.

https://server-ip

You should see the following welcome screen from FastPanel.

Now, navigate to your server’s IP address followed by 88888 in your web browser address bar to access your admin panel. For example, if your server IP address is 123.456.789.012, then visit http://123.456.789.012/88888.

You will get a Your connection is not private message as shown below. This is a warning message shown by your browser, when you visit a website without an SSL certificate. It warns you that the server is trying to steal your information. This is perfectly normal since we have not installed any SSL certificate yet.

To overcome this warning message, click Advanced ----> Proceed to (unsafe)

You should see the following login screen from FastPanel’s administration panel. Provide your admin username and password you noted earlier and click on Login log in to your control panel.

Click on Accept Terms and conditions

You will be taken to the FastPanel dashboard page as shown below. Here you can explore and manage your server and add new modules, modules, groups, and users.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, you have successfully installed Fastpanel on your Ubuntu server. You have also configured your firewall to allow the necessary ports for the web interface.

At this point, you have done all the necessary configuration to get your Fastpanel up and running.