This guide covers installation of Sentora web hosting control panel on Linux servers.
Sentora installer supports multiple Linux distributions:
| Distribution | Versions | Support Level |
|---|---|---|
| Debian | 10, 11, 12 | ✅ Supported |
| Ubuntu | 20.04, 22.04, 24.04 LTS | ✅ Supported |
| CentOS | 7, 8 Stream | ⚠️ Legacy |
| Rocky Linux | 8, 9 | ✅ Supported |
| AlmaLinux | 8, 9 | ✅ Supported |
⚠️ Clean Installation Required: The Sentora installer expects a clean OS installation without pre-installed web server packages (Apache, Nginx, MySQL, PHP). If you have existing services, the installer may fail or cause conflicts.
⚠️ Version Compatibility:
# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y
# RHEL/CentOS/Rocky/Alma
sudo dnf update -y
# Set your server hostname
sudo hostnamectl set-hostname sentora.example.com
# Update /etc/hosts
echo "127.0.0.1 sentora.example.com sentora" | sudo tee -a /etc/hosts
# UFW (Ubuntu/Debian)
sudo ufw disable
# firewalld (RHEL/CentOS)
sudo systemctl stop firewalld
sudo systemctl disable firewalld
# Create temporary directory
mkdir -p /tmp/sentora
cd /tmp/sentora
# Download the installer script
curl -L -o sentora-install.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sentora/sentora-installers/master/install.sh
# Make executable
chmod +x sentora-install.sh
# Execute the installer
sudo ./sentora-install.sh
The installer will automatically:
The installer may prompt for:
After installation completes, access Sentora via:
https://sentora.example.com/
Default Admin Credentials:
admin (or the email you specified)Check that all services are running:
# Check Apache status
sudo systemctl status apache2 # Debian/Ubuntu
sudo systemctl status httpd # RHEL/CentOS
# Check MySQL status
sudo systemctl status mysql
sudo systemctl status mariadb
# Check BIND status
sudo systemctl status named
# Check ProFTPd status
sudo systemctl status proftpd
See Sentora Security for comprehensive hardening guidance.
Quick security steps:
# Change admin password immediately
mysql -u root -p sentora
UPDATE x_accounts SET ac_pass_vc = PASSWORD('YourNewStrongPassword123!') WHERE ac_email_vc = 'admin@sentora.com';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
# Set proper file permissions
sudo chown -R root:root /etc/sentora
sudo chmod -R 750 /etc/sentora
Issue: Installer fails with dependency errors
Solution:
# Remove any existing web services
sudo apt remove apache2 mysql-server php --purge # Debian/Ubuntu
sudo dnf remove httpd mysql-server php --remove-leaves # RHEL/CentOS
# Clean and retry
sudo apt autoremove && sudo apt autoclean
sudo ./sentora-install.sh
Issue: Panel not accessible via browser
Solution:
# Check Apache configuration
sudo apache2ctl configtest # Debian/Ubuntu
sudo httpd -t # RHEL/CentOS
# Check firewall rules
sudo ufw status # Ubuntu
sudo firewall-cmd --list-all # RHEL
# Check logs
sudo tail -f /var/log/apache2/error.log
Issue: Cannot connect to database
Solution:
# Reset MySQL root password
sudo mysql_secure_installation
# Check Sentora database connection
cat /etc/sentora/panel/inc/db_mysql.php
Setting up server control panels can be complex. We offer consulting services for:
Contact us at office@linux-server-admin.com or visit our contact page.