DirectAdmin has become a popular choice among control panels for its reliability, affordability, and ease of use. This guide will walk you through the step-by-step process of installing DirectAdmin on your VPS or dedicated server from ServerMO.
What is DirectAdmin?
DirectAdmin is a featureristic modern control panel designed to efficiently manage your dedicated servers. It's well-known for its user-friendly interface and clean, efficient design, which makes server management easier. DirectAdmin offers powerful features like phpMyAdmin, SSL management, web server configuration, SSH access, and email server setup. It gives you full control over your server, making complex server configurations easy for users. Additionally, DirectAdmin is one of the fastest control panels available, ensuring smooth performance.
Supported Operating Systems
DirectAdmin works well with several Linux-based operating systems. Here’s a quick look at the compatible systems and their versions:
| AlmaLinux / RHEL / CentOS | 7.x 64-bit, 8.x 64-bit |
|---|---|
| CloudLinux | 6.x, 7.x, 8.x (all 64-bit) |
| Ubuntu | 16.04, 18.04, 20.04 (all 64-bit) |
| Debian | 9.x, 10.x, 11.x (all 64-bit) |
| FreeBSD | 11.x, 12.x (both 64-bit) |
| VzLinux | 8.x 64-bit |
Although DirectAdmin is efficient in resource usage, it’s best to have at least a 500MHz CPU and 1GB of RAM (2GB or more is recommended). You should also ensure there’s at least 2GB of free disk space available. If you're using CentOS 8 or newer, a minimum of 2GB RAM is required, but 4GB or more will lead to better performance.
Pre-Installation Requirements
- Root access to your server via SSH.
- A valid DirectAdmin license – DirectAdmin is a paid control panel, and you need a license for installation. You can obtain it directly from DirectAdmin.
- Updated OS – It’s important to update your system to the latest version for a smooth installation process. Update CentOS by using:
-y reboot
Installing DirectAdmin
ServerMO provides unmanaged servers where customers can either install DirectAdmin themselves or request our assistance for installation.
To install DirectAdmin, follow these steps:- Log in as root to your server via SSH.
- Run the installation command that suits your license configuration.
If you have your DirectAdmin license, use the following command to initiate the installation:
https://www.directadmin.com/setup.sh) 'auto'
This command downloads the setup script and initiates the installation process.
How to Activate DirectAdmin
After you finish installing, you need to turn on your DirectAdmin license. Follow these steps:
-
Go to the scripts folder:
cd /usr/local/directadmin/scripts
-
Run the activation script, but make sure to put your UID and LID license info:
./getLicense.sh UID LID
-
Then restart DirectAdmin so the license works:
service directadmin restart
After this, your DirectAdmin should be fully activated and ready to use.
Final Thoughts
Setting up DirectAdmin is simple and doesn’t take long. You can either do it on your own or ask ServerMO to help you. DirectAdmin is a good option for managing websites because it doesn’t use much of your server’s power and offers many useful tools. If you run into trouble while installing or adding features, you can always check the DirectAdmin guide for help. ServerMO provides unmanaged servers, but if you need help installing DirectAdmin, we can do it for you, making everything run smoothly.
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