Install ISPConfig with Nginx Webserver on Ubuntu 22.04

Introduction

ISPConfig is a very popular open‑source hosting control panel that lets

you manage websites, email accounts, DNS records, FTP, and more. Using

Nginx as the web server is typically more performant than Apache for

many scenarios (especially static content, reverse‑proxying etc). This

guide shows how to install ISPConfig 3 + Nginx on Ubuntu 22.04, starting

from a fresh system.

Important: This setup assumes a fresh, clean OS install with

minimal/no prior custom configuration. Doing this on a server with

many existing services/configs may lead to conflicts.

(howtoforge.com)

Prerequisites

Before you begin: - A server running Ubuntu 22.04 (64‑bit) with internet

access. - A hostname set correctly (see below). - A public IP address,

reachable, DNS configured (so your hostname resolves). - Ports such as

HTTP (80), HTTPS (443), and the ISPConfig panel port (8080) must not be

blocked. - You'll be logged in as root (or using sudo). - The OS should

be essentially "clean" (no major services already installed or

customised that the auto‑installer will clobber).

Step 1: Log in to the server

sudo -s

Step 2: Configure the hostname and hosts file

1. Pick a fully qualified domain name (FQDN) for your server such as
   
   server1.example.com. Do not just use example.com.



2. 
   

   Edit /etc/hosts:
   
   

   
   
   

   nano /etc/hosts
   
   

   
   
   
   
   

   and ensure you have a line like:

   
   
   

   127.0.1.1   server1.example.com   server1
   
   

   
   
   
   



3. 
   
   

   Edit /etc/hostname:
   
   

   
   
   

   nano /etc/hostname
   
   

   
   
   
   
   

   Put only the short hostname (e.g., server1).

   
   
   
   



4. 
   
   

   Reboot the server:
   
   

   
   
   

   systemctl reboot
   
   

   
   
   
   
   

   After reboot, verify:
   
   

   
   
   

   hostname
   
   hostname -f
   
   

   
   
   
   
   
   




5. Ensure your DNS provider has an A (and/or AAAA) record for
   
   
   server1.example.com pointing to your server's public IP.

Step 3: Update the system

apt update && apt upgrade -y

Step 4: Run the auto‑installer for ISPConfig with Nginx

Now is the key part: installing ISPConfig and choosing Nginx as the web

server.

wget -O - https://get.ispconfig.org | sh -s -- --use-nginx --use-ftp-ports=40110-40210 --unattended-upgrades

What the arguments mean

• --use-nginx → use Nginx instead of Apache.


• --use-ftp-ports=40110-40210 → set passive FTP port range for
  Pure‑FTPd.


• --unattended-upgrades → enables automatic updates/upgrades.

After installation completes

You'll see the generated passwords, e.g.:

[INFO] Your ISPConfig admin password is: <password>

[INFO] Your MySQL root password is: <password>

Ensure you record these.

Step 5: Setting up the firewall

Allow necessary ports through UFW or within ISPConfig UI → System →

Firewall.

TCP ports:

20,21,22,25,80,443,40110:40210,110,143,465,587,993,995,53,8080,8081

UDP:

53

Step 6: Finalizing

Log into ISPConfig panel:

https://server1.example.com:8080

Login user: admin

Step 7: Advanced options

• --channel=<stable|dev> → choose branch


• --lang=en|de → choose language


• --use-php=7.4,8.1 → install specific PHP versions


• --no-mail → skip mail server


• --no-dns → skip DNS server


• --debug → detailed log in
  /tmp/ispconfig-ai/var/log/ispconfig.log
  

Example for minimal install:

wget -O - https://get.ispconfig.org | sh -s -- --use-nginx --no-dns --no-mail --use-ftp-ports=40110-40210 --unattended-upgrades

Step 8: Troubleshooting

• Rerun with --debug if installation fails.


• Check /tmp/ispconfig-ai/var/log/ispconfig.log for details.


• Ensure fresh OS install to avoid config conflicts.

Summary

You can now manage websites, email, DNS, databases, and FTP through

ISPConfig 3 with Nginx on Ubuntu 22.04.

Reference:

• https://www.ispconfig.org/blog/ispconfig-installation-on-ubuntu-22-04/


• https://www.howtoforge.com/ispconfig-autoinstall-debian-ubuntu/