Servers Control Panel

A production-ready web dashboard for monitoring multiple Ubuntu servers with automatic SSL.

Features

• Real-time Monitoring: Live server status with heartbeat monitoring
• Systemd Services: View service status, descriptions, and recent logs
• Storage Monitoring: Filesystem usage and disk information
• Nginx Monitoring: Service status, configured domains, and access/error logs
• Push-based Updates: Agents push data to main server (no inbound ports needed on managed servers)
• On-demand Refresh: Request fresh data from any server
• Secure: API key authentication and HTTPS
• Systemd Integration: Runs as system services on Ubuntu

Architecture

• Main Server: Hosts the dashboard, receives data from agents
• Agents: Run on managed servers, collect data and push to main server
• Database: SQLite for storing server data
• Frontend: React dashboard served by Node.js/Express
• Backend: Node.js/Express API with WebSocket support
• Web Server: Nginx reverse proxy with SSL termination

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Ubuntu 22.04+ server
• Root or sudo access
• Existing Nginx installation
• Existing Certbot installation
• Node.js will be installed automatically

1. Clone and Setup

cd /home
git clone <repository-url> con-manage
cd con-manage

2. Install Dependencies

sudo ./install.sh

This will:

• Install Node.js 18.x
• Install backend and frontend dependencies
• Build the React frontend
• Install systemd service files

3. Configure Services

sudo ./configure.sh

This will:

• Generate a secure API key
• Set up environment variables
• Configure SSL certificates with Certbot
• Set up Nginx configuration
• Start the services

4. Access Dashboard

• Dashboard: https://servers.conbackend.com
• Direct API: http://localhost:3001/api (for testing)

Service Management

Use the management script to control services:

# Check status
sudo ./manage.sh status

# Start services
sudo ./manage.sh start

# Stop services
sudo ./manage.sh stop

# Restart services
sudo ./manage.sh restart

# View logs
sudo ./manage.sh logs servers-control-panel
sudo ./manage.sh logs servers-frontend

Manual Service Control

You can also use systemctl directly:

# Backend service
sudo systemctl status servers-control-panel
sudo systemctl restart servers-control-panel

# Frontend service
sudo systemctl status servers-frontend
sudo systemctl restart servers-frontend

Agent Installation

On each server you want to monitor:

1. Install Node.js

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_18.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

2. Copy Agent Files

# Copy agent directory to the server
scp -r /home/con-manage/agent user@server:/home/agent

3. Configure Agent

On the managed server:

cd /home/agent

# Create environment file
cat > .env << EOF
SERVER_URL=https://servers.conbackend.com
API_KEY=your-api-key-here
SERVER_NAME=your-server-name
EOF

4. Install Dependencies and Start

npm install

# Run manually for testing
npm start

# Or install as a service (optional)
sudo cp /home/con-manage/systemd/servers-agent.service /etc/systemd/system/
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl enable servers-agent
sudo systemctl start servers-agent

The agent will:

• Collect data every 5 minutes
• Push data to the main server
• Run continuously in the background

API Endpoints

Backend API (Port 3001)

• GET /api/servers - List all servers
• GET /api/servers/:name - Get specific server details
• POST /api/servers/:name/data - Agent data submission (requires API key)

WebSocket (Port 3002)

• Real-time updates and refresh requests

Directory Structure

/home/con-manage/
├── backend/           # Node.js/Express API server
├── frontend/          # React dashboard
├── agent/            # Data collection agent
├── systemd/          # Systemd service files
├── nginx/            # Nginx configuration
├── install.sh        # Installation script
├── configure.sh      # Configuration script
├── manage.sh         # Service management script
└── README.md         # This file

Security

• API Key Authentication: All agent submissions require a valid API key
• HTTPS Only: All communication is encrypted
• Rate Limiting: Built-in rate limiting on API endpoints
• Security Headers: Helmet.js provides security headers
• CORS: Configured for secure cross-origin requests

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Services not starting

   # Check service status
   sudo ./manage.sh status
   
   # View detailed logs
   sudo ./manage.sh logs servers-control-panel
   sudo journalctl -u servers-control-panel -f

2. SSL Certificate Issues

   # Check certificate status
   sudo certbot certificates
   
   # Renew certificates
   sudo certbot renew

3. Nginx Configuration Issues

   # Test nginx configuration
   sudo nginx -t
   
   # Reload nginx
   sudo systemctl reload nginx

4. Permission Issues

   # Ensure correct ownership
   sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /home/con-manage

5. Port Conflicts

   # Check what's using ports
   sudo netstat -tlnp | grep :300
   sudo lsof -i :3000

Logs

# Backend logs
sudo journalctl -u servers-control-panel -f

# Frontend logs
sudo journalctl -u servers-frontend -f

# Nginx logs
sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/access.log
sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log

SSL Certificate Renewal

SSL certificates from Let's Encrypt expire every 90 days. Set up automatic renewal:

# Test renewal
sudo certbot renew --dry-run

# Add to crontab for automatic renewal
sudo crontab -e
# Add this line:
# 0 12 * * * /usr/bin/certbot renew --quiet --post-hook "systemctl reload nginx"

Backup

Important files to backup:

# Database
cp /home/con-manage/backend/data/servers.db /path/to/backup/

# Configuration files
cp /home/con-manage/backend/.env /path/to/backup/
cp /etc/nginx/sites-available/servers-control-panel.conf /path/to/backup/

# SSL certificates (optional, can be reissued)
cp -r /etc/letsencrypt/ /path/to/backup/

This will:

• Install Certbot
• Obtain SSL certificate for servers.conbackend.com
• Copy certificates to the nginx/ssl directory

4. Deploy with Docker

# Set environment variable
export API_KEY=your-secure-api-key-here

# Start all services
docker-compose up -d

5. Access Dashboard

Open https://servers.conbackend.com in your browser.

Agent Installation

On each server you want to monitor:

1. Install Node.js

curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_18.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

2. Copy Agent Files

# Copy agent directory to the server
scp -r ./agent user@server:/path/to/agent

3. Configure Agent

On the managed server:

cd /path/to/agent

# Create environment file
echo "SERVER_URL=https://servers.conbackend.com" > .env
echo "API_KEY=your-secure-api-key-here" >> .env
echo "SERVER_NAME=your-server-name" >> .env

4. Install Dependencies and Start

npm install
npm start

The agent will:

• Collect data every 5 minutes
• Push data to the main server
• Run continuously in the background

API Endpoints

Backend API (Port 3001)

• GET /api/servers - List all servers
• GET /api/servers/:name - Get specific server details
• POST /api/servers/:name/data - Agent data submission (requires API key)

WebSocket (Port 3002)

• Real-time updates and refresh requests

Security

• API Key Authentication: All agent submissions require a valid API key
• HTTPS Only: All communication is encrypted
• Rate Limiting: Built-in rate limiting on API endpoints
• Helmet Security: Security headers and protections
• CORS: Configured for secure cross-origin requests

Data Collected

Systemd Services

• Service name and description
• Current status (active/failed/inactive)
• Last 200 log lines per service

Storage

• Filesystem information (df command)
• Disk details (lsblk command)
• Usage percentages and mount points

Nginx

• Service running status
• Configured domains from enabled sites
• Last 200 lines of error and access logs

Heartbeat

• Server online status
• Last seen timestamp

Development

Local Development

# Backend
cd backend
npm install
npm run dev

# Frontend
cd frontend
npm install
npm start

# Agent (on test server)
cd agent
npm install
npm run dev

Building for Production

# Build frontend
cd frontend
npm run build

# Build backend
cd backend
npm run build

SSL Certificate Renewal

SSL certificates from Let's Encrypt expire every 90 days. Set up automatic renewal:

# Test renewal
sudo certbot renew --dry-run

# Add to crontab for automatic renewal
sudo crontab -e
# Add this line:
# 0 12 * * * /usr/bin/certbot renew --quiet

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. SSL Certificate Issues

   • Ensure domain DNS points to 5.78.126.101
   • Check certificate validity: sudo certbot certificates

2. Agent Connection Issues

   • Verify API_KEY matches between agent and server
   • Check SERVER_URL in agent .env file
   • Ensure outbound HTTPS is allowed from managed servers

3. Docker Issues

   • Check container logs: docker-compose logs
   • Verify environment variables are set
   • Ensure ports 80, 443, 3001, 3002 are available

Logs

# View all logs
docker-compose logs

# View specific service logs
docker-compose logs backend
docker-compose logs frontend
docker-compose logs nginx

License

MIT License