Install Froxlor Server Management on AlmaLinux 9 | Comprehensive Guide

This tutorial guides you through the process of installing Install Froxlor Server Management on AlmaLinux 9 with a LAMP Stack (Linux, Apache, MariaDB, PHP). Froxlor, as described on its official site, is a free and open-source server management control panel designed to manage web hosting, domain names, FTP accounts, email accounts, and more. Follow the steps outlined on this guide to Install Froxlor Server Management on AlmaLinux 9 and take control of your server environment.

Requirements for Froxlor Setup

Before you begin, ensure you have the following prerequisites in place:

Server Access: You need access to your AlmaLinux 9 server as a non-root user with sudo privileges. You should also have a basic firewall set up. For instructions on how to achieve this, refer to a guide like Initial Server Setup with AlmaLinux 9.
LAMP Stack: A fully functional LAMP stack is essential for Froxlor to operate. If you haven’t already installed it, follow a guide like How To Install LAMP Stack on AlmaLinux 9.

Once these requirements are met, proceed with the following steps to Install Froxlor Server Management on AlmaLinux 9.

Step 1 – Download Latest Froxlor Tarball package on AlmaLinux 9

Begin by navigating to your web server’s document root directory. This is typically /var/www/html/.

cd /var/www/html/

Next, use the wget command to download the latest Froxlor tarball package from the official Froxlor website:

sudo wget https://files.froxlor.org/releases/froxlor-latest.tar.gz

After the download is complete, extract the archive:

sudo tar xvfz froxlor-latest.tar.gz

This will create a directory named froxlor within /var/www/html/ containing the Froxlor files.

Optionally, you can remove the downloaded archive file:

sudo rm froxlor-latest.tar.gz

Finally, set the correct ownership for the Froxlor directory to ensure the Apache webserver can access the files:

sudo chown -R apache:apache /var/www/html/froxlor

Step 2 – Create Froxlor Privileged Database User on AlmaLinux 9

Froxlor requires a dedicated database user with sufficient privileges to manage its database. Log in to the MariaDB shell as the root user:

sudo mysql -u root -p

Enter the root password when prompted.

Inside the MariaDB shell, create a new user for Froxlor, replacing <froxloruser> with your desired username and <password> with a strong, unique password:

CREATE USER '<froxloruser>'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY '<password>';

Grant all privileges to this user on all databases. This is necessary for Froxlor to create and manage databases for your hosted websites.

GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON *.* TO '<froxloruser>'@'localhost' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Apply the changes and exit the MariaDB shell:

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Step 3 – Configure Firewall Rules for Froxlor on AlmaLinux 9

To allow access to Froxlor through your web browser, you need to open ports 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS) in your firewall. Use the firewall-cmd utility:

sudo firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-service=http --permanent
sudo firewall-cmd --zone=public --add-service=https --permanent

Reload the firewall to apply the changes:

sudo firewall-cmd --reload

Step 4 – Access and Install Froxlor through Web Interface on AlmaLinux 9

Now, you can complete the Froxlor installation through the web interface. Open your web browser and navigate to the following URL, replacing <server-ip-address> with the actual IP address of your server:

http://<server-ip-address>/froxlor

Note: If your default web-root directory is different from /var/www/html/, you’ll need to adjust your Apache virtual host configuration to set /var/www/html/ as the DocumentRoot. You can modify the httpd.conf file:

sudo vi /etc/httpd/conf/httpd.conf

Find the DocumentRoot directive and change it to:

DocumentRoot /var/www/html/

Then, restart the Apache web server to apply the changes:

sudo systemctl restart httpd

When you access the Froxlor welcome screen, click "Start Install" to begin the installation process.

[Image of Froxlor server management welcome screen]

The system check will then run to verify all required components are available. If everything is ok, click "start installation".

[Image of System check for Froxlor on AlmaLinux 9]

Next, enter the database credentials for the privileged Froxlor user you created in Step 2. Froxlor will use this user to create the database and an unprivileged user. Click "Next".

[Image of Froxlor database settings]

You’ll then be prompted to create an administrator user account for accessing the Froxlor dashboard. Enter your desired username, email, and password, and click "Next".

[Image of Create admin user]

Enter your server’s details, including its IP address and hostname. For the "Distribution" setting, you can choose Debian 12 if AlmaLinux is not listed.

[Image of System details]

A command will be displayed which needs to be executed. Wait for the process to finish automatically or run it manually and click "Finish setup".

[Image of Finsih setup]

You will then be redirected to the Froxlor login screen. Enter the credentials for the admin user you just created and click "Login".

[Image of Froxlor login page]

Finally, you will see the Froxlor dashboard on AlmaLinux 9.

[Image of Froxlor dashboard]

From the dashboard, you can easily manage your server, create hosting accounts, manage domains, and more.

For more detailed information and advanced configurations, refer to the official Froxlor documentation: Froxlor documentation.

Conclusion

You have now successfully installed Install Froxlor Server Management on AlmaLinux 9 with a LAMP Stack and accessed the Froxlor dashboard. You can now use Froxlor to simplify your server management tasks.

You may also be interested in the following articles:

Alternative Solutions for Server Management on AlmaLinux 9

While Froxlor is a viable option, several other server management panels offer different features and approaches. Here are two alternative solutions:

1. CyberPanel:

CyberPanel is a web hosting control panel powered by OpenLiteSpeed. It offers excellent performance due to its integration with the LiteSpeed web server and provides a user-friendly interface for managing websites, databases, email accounts, and more.

Explanation: CyberPanel differentiates itself by leveraging the speed and efficiency of OpenLiteSpeed. This can result in faster website loading times and improved server performance compared to Apache-based setups, particularly for websites with high traffic. It also offers a free version with a generous feature set, making it an attractive alternative.

Installation (Simplified):

While a full installation guide is beyond the scope of this article, the general steps involve downloading the CyberPanel installer script and running it. The installer will handle the installation of OpenLiteSpeed, MariaDB, PHP, and other necessary components.

wget https://cyberpanel.net/install.sh
chmod +x install.sh
sudo ./install.sh

Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the installation.

2. cPanel/WHM:

cPanel/WHM is a widely used, commercial web hosting control panel. It provides a comprehensive suite of tools for managing websites, email accounts, databases, security settings, and more. WHM (Web Host Manager) allows server administrators to manage multiple cPanel accounts.

Explanation: cPanel/WHM is an industry standard, known for its extensive features, user-friendliness, and wide range of integrations. It’s a robust solution suitable for both individual website owners and web hosting providers. The downside is that it’s a paid solution and can be relatively expensive compared to open-source alternatives.

Note: Due to its commercial nature, providing a complete installation guide without a license is not possible. The general process involves purchasing a license from cPanel and following their official installation documentation. This typically involves downloading the installation script and running it on your server. The script handles the configuration and setup of all the required services. Before you Install Froxlor Server Management on AlmaLinux 9, compare your other options.