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Server Management

enconf supports multi-server operation. Hosting accounts can be distributed across different servers, each running a management agent.


Architecture

The panel consists of two components:

  • Management API (Controller) — The panel backend that provides the user interface
  • Management Agent — Executes system operations on the server (Nginx, PHP-FPM, users, etc.)

The controller communicates with the agent via HTTP. Even in single-server mode, the agent runs as a standalone service.

┌──────────────┐     HTTP (Port 50000)     ┌──────────────┐
│  Controller  │ ─────────────────────────▸ │    Agent     │
│  (Panel API) │                            │ (Server 1)   │
└──────────────┘                            └──────────────┘
       │         HTTP (Port 50000)     ┌──────────────┐
       └──────────────────────────────▸│    Agent     │
                                       │ (Server 2)   │
                                       └──────────────┘

Server Overview

The server table under Settings > Servers shows all configured servers:

Column Description
Name Server name
Hostname FQDN of the server
Agent URL URL of the management agent
Roles Assigned server roles
Max. Accounts Maximum number of hosting accounts
Agent Version Installed agent version
Reachable Online/Offline status
Update Available agent update
Active Server active (accepting new accounts)

Add Server

  1. Navigate to Settings > Servers
  2. Click Add Server
  3. Fill out the form:
Field Required Description
Name Yes Display name of the server
Hostname Yes FQDN of the server (e.g. web1.example.com)
Mail Hostname No Hostname for email (e.g. mail.example.com)
Agent URL Yes URL of the agent (e.g. http://localhost:50000 or https://web1.example.com:50000)
Agent Token Yes Shared secret for authentication
Roles Yes Server roles (see below)
Max. Accounts No Upper limit for hosting accounts
Panel URL No URL of the panel on this server
phpMyAdmin Path No Path to phpMyAdmin (e.g. /phpmyadmin)
Roundcube Path No Path to Roundcube (e.g. /webmail)
Active Yes Server accepts new accounts
  1. Click Create

Server Roles

Each server can have one or more roles:

Role Description
web Web server (Nginx + PHP-FPM)
mail Email server (Postfix + Dovecot)
dns DNS server (PowerDNS)
db Database server (MariaDB)
backup Backup server

Single Server

In single-server mode, the only server has all roles: web,mail,dns,db,backup.

Multi-Server

In multi-server mode, roles can be distributed:

  • Server 1: web,db — Web server with databases
  • Server 2: mail,dns — Email and DNS
  • Server 3: backup — Dedicated backup server

Agent Installation

On a New Server

  1. Install the agent package:
apt install netcell-webpanel-agent
  1. Configure the agent in /etc/netcell-webpanel-agent/config.env:
AGENT_TOKEN=YourSecretToken
AGENT_PORT=50000
  1. Start the agent:
systemctl enable --now netcell-webpanel-agent
  1. Add the server in the panel (see above)

Installation Script

Alternatively, an installation script can be generated through the panel:

  1. Click Generate Installation Script
  2. Copy the script
  3. Run it on the new server

Edit Server

  1. Click the edit icon in the server table
  2. Change the desired settings
  3. Click Save

Delete Server

  1. Click the delete icon
  2. Confirm the deletion

Hosting Accounts

A server cannot be deleted while hosting accounts are running on it. Migrate all accounts to another server first.


Online/Offline Status

The agent status is checked regularly:

  • Green indicator — Agent reachable and operational
  • Red indicator — Agent unreachable

Agent Offline

When an agent is offline, no system operations can be performed on that server (no new sites, no configuration changes, no backups).


SSL Configuration

SSL certificates can be configured for each server:

Panel SSL

Mode Description
letsencrypt Automatic Let's Encrypt certificate
custom Upload a custom certificate
selfsigned Self-signed (for testing only)

Mail SSL

Custom SSL certificate for the mail server (IMAP/SMTP):

  • Same options as panel SSL
  • Should include the mail hostname

Agent Updates

When a newer agent version is available:

  1. An update badge is displayed in the server table
  2. Update the agent on the affected server:
apt update && apt upgrade netcell-webpanel-agent
  1. The agent automatically restarts with the new version