Deploy Froxlor Server Management Panel on a VPS

Lightweight, open-source hosting panel for managing domains, email, FTP, databases, and customer resources — no licensing fees, built by sysadmins for sysadmins.

At a Glance

Project	Froxlor 2.3
License	GPL v2
Recommended Plan	RamNode Cloud VPS 2 GB+
OS	Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
Stack	Apache, MariaDB, PHP-FPM
Estimated Setup Time	20–30 minutes

Prerequisites

A RamNode VPS with at least 2 GB RAM and 20 GB storage (Ubuntu 24.04 LTS)
Root SSH access to your VPS
A registered domain with a dedicated FQDN for the panel (e.g., panel.yourdomain.com)
An A record pointing the panel hostname to your VPS IP

Update the System

Update and reboot

apt update && apt upgrade -y
reboot

Install Apache, MariaDB, and PHP

Install full stack

apt install -y apache2 mariadb-server \
  php php-fpm php-mysql php-curl php-cli php-zip php-xml \
  php-gd php-common php-mbstring php-bcmath php-json \
  php-intl php-soap php-gmp php-gnupg php-imap php-sqlite3

Enable services

systemctl enable apache2 mariadb
systemctl start apache2 mariadb

Secure MariaDB

Run security script

mysql_secure_installation

Set a strong root password, remove anonymous users, disallow remote root login, remove the test database, and reload privilege tables. Answer Y to each prompt.

Create the Froxlor Database Users

Create privileged user

mysql -u root -p

SQL commands

CREATE USER 'froxroot'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'CHANGE_THIS_PASSWORD';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON *.* TO 'froxroot'@'localhost' WITH GRANT OPTION;
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Tip: Avoid special characters like quotes, spaces, and # in the password — they can cause issues in config files.

Add the Froxlor Repository and Install

Add GPG key and repo

apt -y install apt-transport-https lsb-release ca-certificates curl gnupg

curl -sSLo /usr/share/keyrings/deb.froxlor.org-froxlor.gpg \
  https://deb.froxlor.org/froxlor.gpg

sh -c 'echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/deb.froxlor.org-froxlor.gpg] \
  https://deb.froxlor.org/ubuntu $(lsb_release -sc) main" \
  > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/froxlor.list'

Install Froxlor

apt update
apt install -y froxlor

Configure the Apache Virtual Host

froxlor.conf

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName panel.yourdomain.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html/froxlor

    <Directory /var/www/html/froxlor>
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>

    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/froxlor-error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/froxlor-access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Enable site and modules

a2ensite froxlor.conf
a2enmod rewrite
a2enmod proxy_fcgi setenvif
a2enconf php*-fpm
systemctl restart apache2

Run the Web Installer

Navigate to http://panel.yourdomain.com and complete the installer:

Requirements check — All PHP extensions should be green
Database config — Use froxroot as privileged user, create froxlor as the unprivileged user and database name
Admin account — Set username, password, and email
Server settings — Enter VPS IP, FQDN, select Apache and PHP-FPM

Configure Services

In the admin panel, go to System → Configuration. Select Ubuntu 24.04 for each service category and execute the generated commands on your server:

Web server: Apache 2.4
Mail server: Postfix with Dovecot (if using email)
FTP server: ProFTPD or Pure-FTPd
DNS server: Bind (if managing DNS locally)
Cron: Follow the commands to set up the Froxlor cron job

Enable Let's Encrypt SSL

In the admin panel: System → Settings → SSL → enable SSL. Then System → Settings → Let's Encrypt → enable.

Trigger certificate request

php /var/www/html/froxlor/bin/froxlor-cli froxlor:cron --run-task 1
php /var/www/html/froxlor/bin/froxlor-cli froxlor:cron --run-task 99

Harden the Installation

Firewall

UFW rules

apt install -y ufw
ufw default deny incoming
ufw default allow outgoing
ufw allow 22/tcp
ufw allow 80/tcp
ufw allow 443/tcp
ufw allow 21/tcp    # FTP (if using)
ufw allow 25/tcp    # SMTP (if using mail)
ufw allow 587/tcp   # Submission (if using mail)
ufw allow 993/tcp   # IMAPS (if using mail)
ufw enable

Auto Security Updates & Fail2Ban

Install protection

apt install -y unattended-upgrades
dpkg-reconfigure -plow unattended-upgrades

apt install -y fail2ban
systemctl enable fail2ban
systemctl start fail2ban

Panel security: Enable 2FA under System → Settings → Panel for all admin and reseller accounts.

What's Next

Hosting plans — Create resource-limited plans under Resources → Hosting Plans
Reseller accounts — Froxlor supports reseller tiers with resource quotas
API access — Froxlor 2.3 offers a comprehensive API for automation
SSH key management — Customers can manage SSH keys through the panel

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