Deployment Overview of FASTPANEL on Server¶

Prerequisites and Basic Requirements¶

To ensure a successful deployment, the server must meet the following requirements:

Operating System: Debian, Ubuntu, CentOS, Rocky Linux, or AlmaLinux.
Privileges: Root or sudo access is required for all installation steps.
Network/Ports:
8888: Internal management port for FastPanel.
443: External HTTPS traffic via Nginx proxy.
80: External HTTP traffic (used for ACME challenges).

FQDN of the final panel on hostkey.in domain¶

The application uses a specific domain template to assign a Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN) based on the server ID and provided configuration.

Parameter	Value
Prefix	`fastpanel`
Domain	`hostkey.in`
Full template	`fastpanel{Server_ID}.hostkey.in`

File and Directory Structure¶

The deployment creates several directories to manage Nginx configurations, SSL certificates, and webroot challenges:

/root/nginx: Contains the Docker Compose configuration for the proxy service.
/data/nginx: Main directory for user-defined Nginx configurations.
/data/nginx/user_conf.d: Stores specific site configuration files.
/data/nginx/letsencrypt/.well-known/acme-challenge: Used for Certbot SSL validation.

Application installation process¶

The installation of FastPanel is performed using a dedicated shell script that automates the setup of necessary system components and the panel itself.

System Preparation: The package cache is updated, and wget is installed. A configuration is added to /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/99lock-timeout to ensure the installer waits for the dpkg lock rather than failing immediately during unattended upgrades.
Script Execution: The installation script is downloaded from http://repo.fastpanel.direct/install_fastpanel.sh and executed via bash.
Verification: The system verifies that the nginx and mogwai services are present to confirm a successful installation.
User Setup: A system user named fastuser is created/configured with a secure password.

Access Rights and Security¶

Firewall: Ensure ports 80 and 443 are open for external access, and port 8888 is accessible (typically via the local proxy).
User Management: A dedicated user fastuser is managed by the system to handle panel operations.
SSL/TLS: The deployment automatically configures SSL certificates using Certbot to secure traffic on port 443.

Docker Containers and Their Deployment¶

The deployment utilizes a Docker container to act as a reverse proxy, handling SSL termination and routing traffic to the FastPanel service.

Nginx Proxy Container

Image: jonasal/nginx-certbot:latest
Ports: Uses network_mode: host to bind directly to the host's network interfaces.
Volumes:
nginx_secrets:/etc/letsencrypt: Persistent storage for SSL certificates.
/data/nginx/user_conf.d:/etc/nginx/user_conf.d: Custom Nginx configuration files.
/data/nginx/letsencrypt:/var/www/letsencrypt: Webroot for ACME challenges.
Environment Variables:
CERTBOT_EMAIL: Configured via an environment file (/data/nginx/nginx-certbot.env).
Restart Policy: unless-stopped.

Custom Scripts and Additional Setup¶

The deployment includes several automated configuration steps:

Nginx Configuration Generation: A dynamic Nginx configuration is generated to proxy traffic from port 443 to the internal FastPanel service running on 127.0.0.1:8888.
SSL Automation:
An initial HTTP-only configuration is deployed to allow Certbot to validate domain ownership via the .well-known/acme-challenge/ directory.
Once certificates are obtained, the Nginx configuration is updated to include an SSL block for HTTPS.
A dry-run of the certificate renewal process is performed to ensure long-term validity.

Application Update Instructions¶

To update the main application, follow the procedure corresponding to your deployment method:

Docker Proxy: To update the proxy service, navigate to /root/nginx and run:
```
docker compose pull && docker compose up -d
```
FastPanel Core: Updates are typically managed through the FastPanel interface or by re-running the installation script.

Location of configuration files and data¶

Nginx Proxy Configs: /root/nginx/compose.yml
User Site Configs: /data/nginx/user_conf.d/
SSL Certificates: Managed via Docker volume nginx_secrets.
Environment Variables: /data/nginx/nginx-certbot.env

Available ports for connection¶

Port	Service	Access Type
`80`	HTTP (Redirect to HTTPS)	External
`443`	HTTPS (Nginx Proxy)	External
`8888`	FastPanel Management	Internal/Localhost

Starting and Stopping the application¶

The proxy service is managed via Docker Compose:

Start: Navigate to /root/nginx and run docker compose up -d.
Stop: Navigate to /root/nginx and run docker compose down.