Installing aaPanel on a Flex Instance

This documentation provides a comprehensive guide to installing the free version of aaPanel on an Ubuntu 24 instance running on Rackspace Flex Cloud. aaPanel is a lightweight, user-friendly control panel that simplifies server and website management by offering a graphical interface for handling web services, databases, and security configurations. There is also a paid version of aaPanel which you can purchase through them and install.

Target Audience

This guide is intended for system administrators, developers, and cloud engineers who need a straightforward method to deploy and manage web services on an OpenStack-based Ubuntu 24 instance. A basic understanding of Linux, networking, and OpenStack is recommended but not required.

Prerequisites

Before proceeding, ensure you have:

Ubuntu 24 instance deployed on Rackspace Flex Cloud
Floating IP assigned to the instance
SSH access to the instance
sudo privileges on the server
Security Group rules allowing traffic on necessary ports (15758|888|80|443|20|21)

If you're unsure of how to set this up, see our Getting Started guide here: https://docs.rackspace.com/docs/accessing-rackspace-flex-cloud

By the end of this guide, you will have a fully functional aaPanel installation on your OpenStack-based Ubuntu 24 instance, ready for web hosting and server management.

Step 1: Switch to Root User

Run the following command to switch to the root user:

sudo su -

Step 2: Download and Install aaPanel

Use the following command to download and install aaPanel:

URL=https://www.aapanel.com/script/install_7.0_en.sh && if [ -f /usr/bin/curl ];then curl -ksSO "$URL" ;else wget --no-check-certificate -O install_7.0_en.sh "$URL";fi;bash install_7.0_en.sh aapanel

You will be prompted to answer some Y/N questions

After installation, aaPanel will display:

==================================================================
Congratulations! Installed successfully!
==================================================================
aaPanel Internet Address: https://12.34.567.240:12345/5ca07b9c
aaPanel Internal Address: https://19.150.0.223:12345/5ca07b9c
username: rsad2ji
password: dcfdas6
Warning:
If you cannot access the panel,
release the following port (19148|888|80|443|20|21) in the security group
==================================================================
Time consumed: 1 Minute!

Save these credentials securely as you'll be able to access the panel using these URLs and credentials.

Step 3: Install Certbot for SSL

Install Certbot, which will be used to generate an SSL certificate:

sudo apt install -y certbot

Step 4: Obtain a Let's Encrypt SSL Certificate

Run the following command, replacing aapanel.mydomain.com with your actual domain:

sudo certbot certonly --standalone -d aapanel.mydomain.com

You'll be prompted for...

An email address to contact regarding the cert's expiration
Acceptance of Terms
Approve/Deny account registration

This command will generate SSL certificates and store them in /etc/letsencrypt/live/aapanel.mydomain.com/.

Step 5: Apply SSL Certificate to aaPanel

Copy the newly issued SSL certificate to aaPanel’s SSL directory:

sudo cp /etc/letsencrypt/live/aapanel.mydomain.com/fullchain.pem /www/server/panel/ssl/certificate.pem

Copy the private key as well:

sudo cp /etc/letsencrypt/live/aapanel.mydomain.com/privkey.pem /www/server/panel/ssl/privateKey.pem

Step 6: Restart aaPanel

To apply the SSL changes, restart aaPanel:

bt restart

Step 7: Verify SSL Installation

Open your browser and navigate to the Internet URL provided in the output of Step 2.

You should now be able to reach the login page successfully over HTTPS with the valid Let's Encrypt SSL certificate.

Conclusion

You have successfully installed aaPanel on an Ubuntu 24 OpenStack instance and secured it with SSL encryption. Your panel is now accessible via HTTPS with a valid certificate.

(Optional but Recommended): Automate SSL Renewal

Let's Encrypt certificates expire every 90 days, so it's best to set up automatic renewal.

Edit the crontab:

sudo crontab -e

You'll be prompted to choose the Linux text editor of choice to edit the crontab.

After making your selection add the following line to check for renewal daily at 3 AM:

0 3 * * * certbot renew --quiet && cp /etc/letsencrypt/live/aapanel.mydomain.com/fullchain.pem /www/server/panel/ssl/certificate.pem && cp /etc/letsencrypt/live/aapanel.mydomain.com/privkey.pem /www/server/panel/ssl/privateKey.pem && bt restart

Save and exit. Now your certificate will automatically renew for you.