VestaCP is a partially free web panel used to manage Linux servers. It is an easy to use hosting panel with which you can install a web server, a DNS server, a database server, FTP server, mail server, firewall and many more. If you are looking for a panel that is free, simple and safe, this is one of the best options. It is all you need to manage a server, be it VPS or dedicated efficiently. It also has an active forum where you can ask any questions, in English; until a couple of years ago it was almost all in Russian.
VestaCP is available in several languages and has automatic updates, SSL certificate management, a simple interface to configure the firewall, the option of creating automatic backups and many other features. Something exciting about it is that it has an API for creating a web hosting accounts, updating and managing many different aspects to automate the processes and, for example, allowing accounts to be created using web forms that pass their data to the API.
VCP can be installed on servers with RHEL/CentOS 5, 6, 7, Debian 6, 7, 8 and Ubuntu 12 to 16. The primary condition for installing VCP is to be installed on a minimal and clean operating system.
I said in the first paragraph that VestaCP is partially free. That’s because it has some extra features that require payment (monthly or single payment, of your choice): File Manager and sFTP. If we can easily work without acquiring FileManager (using the TAR command and the SCP command), without sFTP will sometimes be more difficult, and we will have to pay for having it.
Installing VCPCP
Within a few minutes, you can have VestaCP installed on your new Linux server that has any of the distributions mentioned above installed. We need to follow the steps below:
First we need to update the server:
• for Ubuntu
apt-get update && apt-get upgrade
• for CentOS
yum update
• connecting via ssh to the server with the command:
ssh [email protected]
• download the installation script:
curl -O http://vestacp.com/pub/vst-install.sh
• the script will be run (other script, depending on the distribution used: vst-install-rhel.sh for RHEL/CentOS, or vst-install-ubuntu.sh for Ubuntu):
bash vst-install.sh
Click YES. You are required to enter an email address and the hostname of the server. After a short time for bringing and installing packages, the Vesta control panel is ready to be used.
Accessing VCPCP
To get the VestaCP control panel, you must go to the browser at:
https://192.168.0.102:8083
You will be greeted by a window that warns you that you have an insecure connection – do not worry, it’s because the security certificate is not signed. Click Advanced then Proceed to userIP (unsafe).
Then you’ll have to enter the username and password provided at the end of the installation and after logging in you’ll be greeted by VestaCP web panel.
The interface is quite intuitive, so it will not be very difficult to add domains or set up databases or FTP accounts. For those who do not handle English very well, it is possible to set the VestaCP interface in other languages as well (admin -> language).