IONOS
Install HF Panel on an IONOS Cloud Server or VPS: the system, the firewall policy, reverse DNS, outgoing port 25 (closed by default) and the install.
These steps take you from a new IONOS account to a running HF Panel. Providers change their menus and rules from time to time — if a step looks different, IONOS's own documentation or support has the current way. The general advice for any VPS is in Choose a VPS and prepare it.
1. Create the server
Order a Cloud Server or VPS (managed in the IONOS Cloud Panel) with:
- System: a plain Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (or Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12 or 13, Rocky Linux or AlmaLinux 9 or 10), x86-64, with no control panel or application preinstalled.
- Size: 2 GB of memory or more (1 GB works with the swap file the installer adds), 20 GB of disk or more.
- Access: your SSH key, or a root password.
Note its public IPv4 address.
2. Point your domain at it
Create the DNS records DNS setup lists — at least srv., cp. and mail. your domain,
pointing at the server's address. They can take a few minutes to work.
3. The firewall
In the Cloud Panel, a firewall policy (Network › Firewall policies) lists the allowed incoming ports; once a policy is active and attached to the server, add a rule for each port below. Without a policy, the server's own firewall (set up by the installer) is the only one.
| Port | Protocol | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| 22 (or your SSH port) | TCP | SSH and SFTP |
| 80, 443 | TCP | websites, Mail, Files, DB Studio, Let's Encrypt |
| 8443 | TCP | the panels (srv., cp., rs.) |
| 21, 40000–40100 | TCP | FTP with TLS |
| 25, 465, 587, 993, 995 | TCP | email (not with --no-mail) |
| 53 | TCP and UDP | the DNS server (not with --no-dns) |
4. Reverse DNS
Mail from the server is trusted more when its address points back to its name. In the Cloud Panel, open the server's public IP addresses, click the IP address, then the pencil icon next to Reverse DNS and enter the full host name. The host name must already point at the address.
5. Outgoing mail (port 25)
IONOS closes outgoing port 25 by default on Cloud Servers and VPSs. The block is set in IONOS's network, not in the firewall policy. Before they open it, IONOS asks for a fixed host name, a reverse DNS entry for the IP address and an SPF record for the domain. Then call IONOS customer service by phone and ask for port 25 to be released. Websites and the panels work either way; only sending email needs port 25. Where port 25 cannot be opened, set an outgoing mail relay (Server Admin › Email › Server mailboxes): a mail service you connect to on port 587 or 465.
6. Check, then install
Sign in to the server as root, check it, then install with the command from your licence page:
cd /home && curl -o latest -L https://cdn.hostfog.com/latest && bash latest --check
cd /home && curl -o latest -L https://cdn.hostfog.com/latest/licence/YOUR-KEY && bash latest
The check marks each item ✔, ! or ✘ and changes nothing; fix anything marked ✘ first. Then carry on with After installation.