How to Install ISPConfig 3 on Ubuntu 24.04

byronthurmanBlog

ISPConfig 3 is a powerful open-source hosting control panel that allows you to manage websites, email accounts, DNS, FTP, databases, and more from a web interface. In this guide, we’ll walk you through installing ISPConfig 3 on a fresh Ubuntu 24.04 LTS server.

Prerequisites

  • A fresh Ubuntu 24.04 VPS or dedicated server
  • Root or sudo access
  • A fully qualified domain name (FQDN), e.g., alpha.yourdomain.com
  • Basic knowledge of SSH and Linux terminal

Step 1: Set Your Hostname

Make sure your server’s hostname is an FQDN and has a matching A record in DNS.

hostnamectl set-hostname alpha.yourdomain.com

Edit /etc/hosts to reflect the hostname:

127.0.0.1   localhost
127.0.1.1   alpha.yourdomain.com alpha

Step 2: Update Your System

apt update && apt upgrade -y

Step 3: Install Required Packages

apt install -y software-properties-common curl wget nano gnupg2 \
lsb-release apt-transport-https ca-certificates unzip

Step 4: Install the LAMP Stack

apt install -y apache2 mariadb-server mariadb-client \
php php-cli php-mysql php-curl php-gd php-mbstring php-soap \
php-xml php-zip php-bcmath php-imap php-intl libapache2-mod-php

Enable required Apache modules:

a2enmod rewrite ssl headers http2 proxy_fcgi setenvif
systemctl restart apache2

Step 5: Secure MariaDB

mysql_secure_installation

Follow the prompts to secure your database installation.

Step 6: Install Mail Services

apt install -y postfix postfix-mysql dovecot-core dovecot-imapd \
dovecot-pop3d dovecot-mysql dovecot-lmtpd mailutils spamassassin spamc

Step 7: Install FTP, DNS, and Firewall

apt install -y pure-ftpd mysql-client bind9 dnsutils ufw

Enable UFW (optional):

ufw allow OpenSSH
ufw allow 80,443,21,25,110,143,587,993,995/tcp
ufw enable

Step 8: Enable Let’s Encrypt SSL

apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-apache

Step 9: Download and Install ISPConfig 3

cd /tmp
wget -O ispconfig.tar.gz https://www.ispconfig.org/downloads/ISPConfig-3-stable.tar.gz
tar xfz ispconfig.tar.gz
cd ispconfig3*/install
php -q install.php

Follow the interactive installer prompts:

  • Select “Standard” install.
  • Enter database credentials when asked.
  • Enable services like web, DNS, mail, FTP, etc.

Step 10: Access ISPConfig

Once installed, access ISPConfig in your browser:

https://your-server-ip:8080

Login with the credentials you created during installation.

ISPConfig 3 is now successfully installed on your Ubuntu 24.04 server. You can begin adding websites, creating email accounts, managing databases, and configuring DNS all from one intuitive panel. Make sure to back up your server regularly and secure your panel with strong passwords and firewall rules.