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Get started with ISPConfig on your VPS

ISPConfig is a free, open-source control panel for hosting websites, email, DNS and databases on Linux. This guide is for people who run their own VPS or cloud server and want to set up ISPConfig on it, from the first sign-in to a working website with SSL, email and backups.

For a VPS or cloud server you manage yourself

This guide is for a VPS or cloud server where you manage the operating system yourself. If you use DomainPilot web hosting, you don't need to install a control panel.

How ISPConfig organizes hosting​

  • The admin user manages the whole system: servers, settings and every client.
  • A client is a person or business with their own login. Resellers can create and manage clients of their own.
  • Sites (websites), mail domains, databases and DNS zones are created for a client, within limits you set. Templates let you reuse the same limits for many clients.
  • ISPConfig can manage several servers from one interface, a setup called multiserver. For example, one server can handle websites and another email, while you manage both in the same panel. A single server running everything is the simplest place to start.

Get ISPConfig onto the server​

There are two ways to start:

  • A ready panel image. Some providers let you pick an image with ISPConfig already installed when you order the server.
  • The official installer. Create the server with a supported operating system, take a snapshot, then follow the installation instructions linked from the ISPConfig website. The installer sets up the web server, mail server, databases and the panel together, and asks which services to include.

Note any passwords the installer shows at the end and store them in a password manager.

At DomainPilot

DomainPilot VPS plans offer a ready image with ISPConfig, among other panels. VPS is self-managed: DomainPilot looks after the hardware, network and virtualization, and you manage the operating system and the panel.

Sign in for the first time​

By default, the ISPConfig interface listens on port 8080 over HTTPS:

https://server.example.com:8080

The server's firewall, and any cloud firewall in front of it, must allow this port. Until the server has a certificate from a trusted authority, your browser may warn that the certificate is self-signed (created by the server itself rather than a certificate authority). That is expected on a new server. Check that the address is your own server before you continue.

Sign in as admin with the password set during installation. If you used a ready image, follow your provider's notes for the first login, and change the password straight away.

Complete the initial setup​

ISPConfig is free, so there is no licence to activate. In general terms:

  1. Set a strong, unique password for the admin user.
  2. Check the system settings, including the contact email for notifications. Use an address that is not hosted on this server, so alerts still reach you if the server has a problem.
  3. If the server will run DNS for your domains, set up the nameservers, for example ns1.example.com and ns2.example.com. See Nameservers explained.
  4. Create your first client, with its own login and limits.
  5. Create a website for that client, such as example.com.
  6. Point the domain at the server, then upload the site over SFTP or install an app.

SSL certificates​

Each website in ISPConfig has an option to request a free Let's Encrypt certificate, which then renews automatically. It only works once the domain's DNS points at the server, so if it fails, check the A records first. See SSL certificates for how certificates work.

Email​

Create a mail domain for each domain that sends or receives email, then add mailboxes. Each domain needs DNS records: an MX record pointing at the server, plus SPF, DKIM and DMARC records that prove the mail is genuine. ISPConfig can generate a DKIM key for each mail domain. See SPF, DKIM and DMARC.

Receiving providers also check reverse DNS, which maps the server's IP address back to a name. It should match the server's hostname. Reverse DNS is set by whoever controls the IP address, so ask your server provider how to set it.

Backups​

ISPConfig can back up websites and databases on a schedule. Store copies off the server too, for example in remote storage, because a backup on the same disk is lost with the server. Server snapshots add another layer before risky changes, such as an ISPConfig upgrade. See Snapshots and server backups.

Updates and security​

  • Keep ISPConfig and the operating system updated. Take a snapshot before upgrading the panel.
  • Use strong, unique passwords for admin and every client, and turn on two-factor authentication where available.
  • Open only the ports you need, and restrict SSH where you can.
  • Give clients their own logins instead of sharing the admin account.

Secure a new Linux server covers the general approach.

Official documentation​

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