Preparation
DirectAdmin works on specific Linux Operating Systems. Check “Which operating systems are supported by DirectAdmin?” if your Operating System is supported. With a VPS of Yourwebhoster.eu you can always change the Operating System that is supported by DirectAdmin.
Installation
Use one of the commands below to prepare your server for DirectAdmin.
Redhat / Fedora / CentOS
yum install wget gcc gcc-c++ flex bison make bind bind-libs bind-utils openssl openssl-devel perl quota libaio libcom_err-devel libcurl-devel gd zlib-devel zip unzip libcap-devel cronie bzip2 cyrus-sasl-devel perl-ExtUtils-Embed autoconf automake libtool which patch mailx bzip2-devel lsof db4-devel -y
When you run CentOS 7, you also need to run the following command:
yum install psmisc net-tools systemd-devel libdb-devel perl-DBI xfsprogs -y
Debian 7
apt-get install gcc g++ make flex bison openssl libssl-dev perl perl-base perl-modules libperl-dev libaio1 libaio-dev zlib1g zlib1g-dev libcap-dev bzip2 automake autoconf libtool cmake pkg-config python libdb-dev libsasl2-dev libncurses5-dev patch libjemalloc-dev
Debian 8
apt-get install gcc g++ make flex bison openssl libssl-dev perl perl-base perl-modules libperl-dev libaio1 libaio-dev zlib1g zlib1g-dev libcap-dev bzip2 automake autoconf libtool cmake pkg-config python libdb-dev libsasl2-dev libncurses5-dev libsystemd-dev bind9 quota libsystemd-daemon0 patch libjemalloc-dev
Debian 9
apt-get install gcc g++ make flex bison openssl libssl-dev perl perl-base perl-modules libperl-dev libaio1 libaio-dev \ zlib1g zlib1g-dev libcap-dev cron bzip2 automake autoconf libtool cmake pkg-config python libdb-dev libsasl2-dev \ libncurses5-dev libsystemd-dev bind9 dnsutils quota patch libjemalloc-dev logrotate rsyslog libc6-dev libexpat1-dev \ libcrypt-openssl-rsa-perl
FreeBSD
By default, FreeBSD has everything that is required. CustomBuild does require gmake, however it will try to install it by itself. Optionally you can run the following command to install gmake by yourself:
pkg_add -r gmake perl wget bison flex gd cyrus-sasl2 cmake python autoconf libtool libarchive mailx
FreeBSD 10 (not yet supported
pkg install gcc gmake perl5 wget bison flex cyrus-sasl cmake python autoconf libtool libarchive iconv bind99 mailx
FreeBSD 11 (not yet supported)
pkg install gcc gmake perl5 wget bison flex cyrus-sasl cmake python autoconf libtool libarchive iconv bind99 mailx webalizer
Install DirectAdmin
You can install DirectAdmin using the following commands. Note: when you are using FreeBSD, replace the wget command with fetch .
When you connect as a non-root user to SSH, you have to add your account as authorised to SSH. If you fail to do so, you will not be able to access the server via SSH after installing DirectAdmin.
Add in /etc/ssh/sshd_config a line with AllowUsers your_username and restart the ssh server.
wget http://www.directadmin.com/setup.sh chmod 755 setup.sh sh setup.sh
CustomBuild will ask you to execute the pre-install commands.
*** 64-bit OS *** ***************************************************** * * DirectAdmin requires certain packages, described here: * http://help.directadmin.com/item.php?id=354 * * Would you like to install these required pre-install packages? (y/n): y * * Installing pre-install packages ....
We recommend to run the pre-install commands before running the DirectAdmin setup. The setup requires perl to function, which is not available on some minimal Operating Systems by default which causes the setup file to fail.
***************************************************** Please enter your Client ID : 17373 Please enter your License ID : 12345 Please enter your hostname (server.domain.com) It must be a Fully Qualified Domain Name Do *not* use a domain you plan on using for the hostname: eg. don't use domain.com. Use server.domain.com instead. Do not enter http:// or www Enter your hostname (FQDN) : demoserver.yourwebhoster.eu Client ID: 17373 License ID: 12345 Hostname: demoserver.yourwebhoster.eu Is this correct? (y,n) : y
In this step DirectAdmin asks you for the Client ID. This is the id we have with DirectAdmin and always is 17373. The License ID is always unique to your server and is provided by us when you have send us the Operating System you want to use. Lastly, fill in the Hostname of your server.
If everything is correct, enter y when DirectAdmin asks Is this correct? which stands for yes.
Is eth0 your network adaptor with the license IP (123.123.123.123)? (y,n) : y
Enter y when the IP matches the IP in your license.
Your external IP: 123.123.123.123 The external IP should typically match your license IP. Is 123.123.123.123 the IP in your license? (y,n) : y
An extra check if done to verify that the IP is correct. Enter y when the IP matches.
DirectAdmin will now be installed on: Enterprise 7.0 Is this correct? (must match license) (y,n) : y
In this example we will install DirectAdmin on CentOS 7. DirectAdmin recognises this as Enterprise 7.0 Enter y when this is correct or cancel the installation and contact us to change the Operating System.
Would you like the default settings of apache 2.4 with mod_ruid2 and php 5.5 cli? (y/n):
Enter y to use the default DirectAdmin settings for PHP, the webserver and e-mail server. Enter n if you want to customise the settings (recommended). It is possible to change the settings afterwards.
Would you like to backup the current options.conf? (yes/no): yes
Always enter yes to prevent that any old settings will get lost. If this is a new installation, you will not have an existing options.conf.
Please select webserver you would like to use (apache/nginx/nginx_apache/litespeed):
Every web server has its pro’s and cons. In the tabel below you can find them. We recommend to use nginx_apache so you can benefit of the performance of nginx and use the features of Apaches. Are you using the server for yourself only? In that case you can consider to only use nginx.
| Webserver | Pro | Con | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| apache | Offers lots of features, more flexible compared to Nginx. | In general slower than Nginx because of the extra features. | ||
| nginx | Faster than Apache. | Less flexible than Apache (does not support .htaccess) | ||
| nginx_apache | Use the speed of Nginx and the features of Apache. | Requires more RAM. | ||
| litespeed | Build for high-traffic websites. | Is a commercial product available in a free or paid version. Litespeed comparison |
Please select FTP server you would like to use (proftpd/pureftpd/no):pureftpd
In general, Pureftpd uses less memory compared to Proftpd. However, Proftpd provides your more features. For default installations, pureftpd is good enough.
Please select default PHP version you would like to use (5.3/5.4/5.5/5.6/7.0):7.0 Please select default PHP mode you would like to use (php-fpm/fastcgi/suphp/lsphp/mod_php):php-fpm
We recommend to always use the latest PHP version but please make sure that the software you are planning to run, is compatible with the PHP version. Also check with the authors of PHP if the version is still maintained.
Tip: when you are forced to run old versions of PHP that are not supported by the authors, we recommend to use CloudLinux. They backport every security patches that are received by new PHP versions and therefore reduce the chance of being vulnerable. Also, you can have multiple PHP versions at the same time and every user can select their desired PHP modules in DirectAdmin or Cpanel. Besides these benefits, CloudLinux also adds extra security features. Contact us for a license.
Would you like to have a second instance of PHP installed? (yes/no): yes Please select additional PHP version you would like to use (5.3/5.4/5.5/5.6/7.0):5.6 Please select additional PHP mode you would like to use (php-fpm/fastcgi/suphp/lsphp/mod_php):php-fpm
If you are not using CloudLinux, you can select the second PHP version here. Do note that only CloudLinux can run old PHP versions with the latest security patches.
Please select if you would like to use mod_ruid2 (yes/no):yes
With mod_ruid2 you can run Apache as the local Linux user which can improve the security. This feature is only available for Apache and mod_php.
Please select if you would like to use ionCube (yes/no):yes Please select if you would like to use Zend Guard Loader (yes/no):yes
You can run both Ioncube and Zend Guard Loader at the same time. They are modules to run encrypted PHP code. We recommend to enable this on shared hosting environments as this is a much wanted feature. If you only use the server for yourself or for a limited set of applications, you should check if these modules are required for performance reasons.
Please select if you would like to use suhosin (yes/no):yes
Suhosin is an additional security layer on the server for PHP code. Our experience is that this solution can provide problems in a shared hosting environment and therefore we recommend to check if your setup allows/accepts such protection. It may require finetuning as it can break applications. Some input data may be blocked or some requests can get denied.
Please select if you would like CustomBuild to manage Exim installation (yes/no):yes Please select if you would like CustomBuild to manage Dovecot installation (yes/no):yes Please select if you would like CustomBuild to manage phpMyAdmin installation (yes/no):yes Please select if you would like CustomBuild to manage SquirrelMail installation (yes/no):no Please select if you would like CustomBuild to manage RoundCube installation (yes/no):yes
We recommend to answer the questions like in the example. Exim allows you to send and receive e-mails over the SMTP protocol and is required for every regular hosting setup. Dovecot is to receive the e-mails using POP3 or IMAP. With phpMyAdmin you can manage the MySQL databases (the logins are managed by DirectAdmin). Of course, you can read the e-mails using Roundcube and we do not recommend to install SquirrelMail.
Would you like to search for the fastest download mirror? (y/n): y
When you enter n, the primary fileserver will be used. This server has the latest updates and is also the slowest one. Pressing Y allows you to use the fastest server with updates that may be several hours older than the primary server. We recommend to enter Y for the installation and change to the primary fileserver (files.directadmin.com) in case you have to perform an emergency update.
Once the installation is done, you will see the following information customised for your server:
## INSTALL_COMPLETE ## ACCOUNT_INFO The following information has been set: Admin username: admin Admin password: *password* Admin email: [email protected] Server IP: 123.123.123.123 Server Hostname: demoserver.yourwebhoster.eu To login now, follow this link: http://123.123.123.123:2222 and enter your Admin username and password when prompted. You should now visit http://admin.site-helper.com and http://www.directadmin.com/newinstall.html to learn how to get started. Thank you for using DirectAdmin. Should you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact us at [email protected] ## REPORT_END Permissions set System Security Tips: http://help.directadmin.com/item.php?id=247
We recommend to reboot the server afterwards.
Ps do not forget to install a firewall for DirectAdmin and DirectAdmin backup.
Tip: check the security recommendations by DirectAdmin.