Terminology considerations

“Server management interface”, “control panel”, “dashboard”… While investigating Free and Open Source graphical server management software, I had trouble establishing the categorical difference between the different solutions I was reading about.

My use case being a “single user homelab/server” and not a multi-tenancy reseller/web hosting solution, I initially left aside the well established category of control panels (with the exception of HestiaCP).

The projects that caught my interest were Cockpit, HestiaCP, Portainer, CapRover, CasaOS, Cloudron, and to a lesser extent, Yacht.

But try as I might, I just couldn’t wrap my head around what precisely distinguished them. Of course I could see that they had different focus: some were more sysadmin/general server management-oriented while others were more app- and Docker-oriented; but I lacked a general category theory for them.

My search-fu not yielding anything relevant, I thought I’d probe ChatGPT about it. This resulted in a most enlightening conversation, as it answered with a distinction that felt like a Eureka moment to me:

The solutions you’ve mentioned, including Portainer, HestiaCP, CapRover, CasaOS, Cloudron, and Yacht, represent a different category of software compared to the server management tools like Cockpit, Webmin, Ajenti, and others.

It then went on to provide the following breakup:

Server Management Tools (e.g. Cockpit, Webmin, Ajenti):

  1. Purpose:

    • Primarily focused on server administration and configuration.
    • Provide a broad range of controls over system settings, users, and services.

  2. Complexity:

    • Varies from beginner-friendly to advanced, catering to users with different skill levels.

  3. Interface Type:

    • Often web-based but can include desktop GUI options.
    • Aimed at managing servers directly, not specifically for application or container orchestration.

  4. Scalability:

    • Typically suitable for small to large enterprises.
    • Designed for overall server management, including security, networking, and system configuration.

  5. Community Support:

    • Active open-source communities provide support and contribute to feature development.

  6. Integration:

    • Extensive third-party module or plugin support for customization.
    • May include features for managing server-wide tasks and configurations.

Application and Container Orchestration Tools (e.g. Portainer, HestiaCP, CapRover, CasaOS, Cloudron, Yacht):

  1. Purpose:

    • Focused on managing and orchestrating applications, containers, and services.
    • Streamlined for deploying and managing web applications and services in containerized environments.

  2. Complexity:

    • Typically designed to be user-friendly, catering to developers and administrators with varying skill levels.

  3. Interface Type:

    • Primarily web-based interfaces, emphasizing container and application management.
    • Often include features for easy deployment, scaling, and monitoring of applications.

  4. Scalability:

    • Suited for small to medium-scale applications and services.
    • Designed for ease of use in deploying and managing containerized applications.

  5. Community Support:

    • Active communities, often developer-focused, providing support and contributing to the development of container-related features.

  6. Integration:

    • Strong integration with containerization technologies (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes).
    • Emphasis on managing application stacks, updating applications, and maintaining service availability.

Note that:

  • the content of some categories don’t really fit their header (e.g. “Interface Type”)
  • HestiaCP is lumped in the “Application and Container Orchestration Tools” category, despite its features being arguably more control panel-y/towards server management.

This is to just highlight the very reasonable limits of ChatGPT (3.5), in what was otherwise a super useful answer.

Coming up with a unified categorization

I kept poking at the prompt until I managed to formulate a General Category Theory of Server Management Graphical User Interfaces™, inclusive of control panels and mere dashboards. Here’s the result:

The terms “server management tools”, “control panels”, “application and container orchestration tools” and “server dashboards” are sometimes used interchangeably, but they often refer to different aspects of managing and monitoring servers. Here’s how you can distinguish between them:

  1. Server Management Tools:

    • Purpose: Server management tools are software applications designed to facilitate the configuration, administration, and monitoring of servers. They offer a range of features for tasks such as user management, service configuration, and system monitoring.
    • Scope: Server management tools encompass a broad set of functionalities related to overall server administration, configuration, and maintenance.
    • Examples: Cockpit, Webmin, Ajenti and ISPConfig are examples of server management tools.

  2. Control Panels:

    • Purpose: Control panels are specialized interfaces that provide centralized control over specific server functionalities, often in a web-based environment. They are designed to simplify the management of specific server aspects, such as web hosting, email services, or database management.
    • Scope: Control panels are more focused and may not cover all aspects of server management. They often excel in specific use cases and are user-friendly for individuals who may not have extensive server administration experience.
    • Examples: HestiaCP, Froxlor and Virtualmin are examples of control panels.

  3. Application and Container Orchestration Tools:

    • Purpose: These tools aim to streamline application deployment, scale applications automatically to handle varying workloads, provide centralized management for containers, and automate various aspects of deployment and updates, ultimately enhancing overall efficiency.
    • Scope: Their scope includes container orchestration, service discovery, load balancing, health monitoring, and automated rollbacks and updates. They focus on managing and coordinating the deployment, scaling, and operation of application containers in a containerized environment, ensuring seamless and efficient operations.
    • Examples: Portainer, CapRover and Yacht are examples of application and container orchestration tools.

  4. Server Dashboards:

    • Purpose: Server dashboards are visual representations of real-time or historical server data, allowing users to monitor key metrics and performance indicators. They provide a quick overview of the server’s health and status.
    • Scope: Dashboards are primarily focused on providing visibility into server performance metrics and may not offer the same depth of configuration and administration features as management tools or control panels.
    • Examples: Grafana, Kibana, and custom dashboards created using tools like Prometheus or Nagios are examples of server dashboards.

In summary, while there is some overlap in functionality, server management tools generally provide a comprehensive set of features for overall server administration. Control panels are more specialized, focusing on specific server functionalities. Application and container orchestration tools are geared towards managing and orchestrating applications and containers, ensuring efficient deployment, scaling, and maintenance. Server dashboards, on the other hand, offer visual representations of server performance metrics for monitoring purposes. The choice between them depends on the specific needs and preferences of the user or organization.

So, even though ChatGPT kind of threw my FOSS requirement to the wind by mentioning famous proprietary panels (that I replaced here), all in all I feel like we did a great job coming up with a good typology of graphical, general purpose GNU/Linux server management solutions (what a mouthful 😅).

Category members

Now that our categories are well defined, it is time to flesh them out by filling them with our candidates!

Without further ado, here’s a curated list with stuff somewhat beyond my initial use case:

Server Management Tools:

  1. Cockpit Project

    • License: LGPL 2.1
    • Purpose: Web-based server administration and monitoring.
    • Complexity: Beginner to Intermediate.
    • Interface Type: Web-based.
    • Scalability: Suitable for both SMEs and large enterprises.
    • Community Support: Growing community.
    • Integration: Focus on integration with systemd and containers.
    • GitHub Repository

  2. Webmin

    • License: BSD
    • Purpose: Comprehensive web-based server configuration and management.
    • Complexity: Varies from beginner-friendly to advanced.
    • Interface Type: Web-based.
    • Scalability: Suitable for SMEs and large enterprises.
    • Community Support: Active community.
    • Integration: Extensive third-party module support.
    • GitHub Repository

  3. Ajenti

    • License: AGPLv3
    • Purpose: Web-based server administration with support for plugins.
    • Complexity: Intermediate.
    • Interface Type: Web-based.
    • Scalability: Suitable for SMEs.
    • Community Support: Active community.
    • Integration: Supports various plugins for extended functionality.
    • GitHub Repository

  4. ISPConfig

    • License: BSD
    • Purpose: All-in-one server management panel.
    • Complexity: Intermediate to Advanced.
    • Interface Type: Web-based.
    • Scalability: Suitable for SMEs and large enterprises.
    • Community Support: Active community.
    • Integration: Strong support for multi-server setups.
    • GitHub Repository

  5. Zentyal

    • License: GPLv2
    • Purpose: Linux Small Business Server.
    • Complexity: Intermediate.
    • Interface Type: Web-based.
    • Scalability: Suitable for SMEs.
    • Community Support: Active community.
    • Integration: Offers a wide range of server modules.
    • GitHub Repository

Web hosting/Control Panels

  1. HestiaCP

    • License: GPLv3
    • Purpose: Web hosting control panel.
    • Complexity: Intermediate.
    • Interface Type: Web-based.
    • Scalability: Suitable for SMEs.
    • Community Support: Active community.
    • Integration: Manages website hosting, email services, and server configurations.
    • GitHub Repository

  2. Froxlor

    • License: GPL
    • Purpose: Server management panel with a focus on web hosting and server administration.
    • Complexity: Intermediate.
    • Interface Type: Web-based.
    • Scalability: Suitable for SMEs.
    • Community Support: Active community.
    • Integration: Manages web hosting, domain configurations, and server settings.
    • GitHub Repository

  3. Virtualmin

    • License: GPL
    • Purpose: Web hosting control panel with a focus on managing virtual hosts.
    • Complexity: Intermediate.
    • Interface Type: Web-based.
    • Scalability: Suitable for SMEs.
    • Community Support: Active community.
    • Integration: Manages website hosting, email services, and server configurations.
    • GitHub Repository (Note: Virtualmin is primarily available through its official website, and its source code is available on GitHub for specific components.)

  4. CyberPanel

    • License: GPL
    • Purpose: Web hosting control panel with a focus on performance and security.
    • Complexity: Intermediate.
    • Interface Type: Web-based.
    • Scalability: Suitable for SMEs.
    • Community Support: Active community.
    • Integration: Manages website hosting, email services, and server configurations.
    • GitHub Repository (Note: CyberPanel is primarily available through its official website, and its source code is available on GitHub.)

  5. AlternC

    • License: GPLv3
    • Purpose: Web hosting control panel with a focus on environmental responsibility.
    • Complexity: Intermediate.
    • Interface Type: Web-based.
    • Scalability: Suitable for SMEs.
    • GitHub Repository

Application/Container Orchestration Tools:

  1. Portainer

    • License: AGPLv3
    • Purpose: Docker container management.
    • Complexity: Beginner to Intermediate.
    • Interface Type: Web-based.
    • Scalability: Suitable for SMEs.
    • Community Support: Active community.
    • Integration: Manages Docker containers with a user-friendly interface.
    • GitHub Repository

  2. CapRover

    • License: Apache License 2.0
    • Purpose: Automated deployment for web apps.
    • Complexity: Beginner to Intermediate.
    • Interface Type: Web-based.
    • Scalability: Suitable for SMEs.
    • Community Support: Active community.
    • Integration: Focus on automated deployment of web applications.
    • GitHub Repository

  3. CasaOS

    • License: AGPLv3
    • Purpose: Server management and automation.
    • Complexity: Intermediate.
    • Interface Type: Web-based.
    • Scalability: Suitable for SMEs.
    • Community Support: Active community.
    • Integration: Provides server management and automation features.
    • GitHub Repository

  4. Cloudron

    • License: Proprietary
    • Purpose: Self-hosted web app platform.
    • Complexity: Beginner to Intermediate.
    • Interface Type: Web-based.
    • Scalability: Suitable for SMEs.
    • Community Support: Active community.
    • Integration: Manages self-hosted web applications.
    • GitHub Repository

  5. Yacht

    • License: MIT
    • Purpose: Docker management with a focus on simplicity.
    • Complexity: Beginner to Intermediate.
    • Interface Type: Web-based.
    • Scalability: Suitable for SMEs.
    • Community Support: Active community.
    • Integration: Simplifies Docker container management.
    • GitHub Repository

Now it’s experimentation time! 🥳

PS: If you need even more, here is a random article listing 30 similar solutions including many dashboards.

Happy hacking!