Requirement

Instance Configuration Requirements

Overview:

When setting up your AWS instance, you’ll need to configure a few key options. Here’s a detailed guide on the recommended configurations and selections.

1. Instance Type

The smallest instance type this image runs on is:

• t3a.small – 2 virtual CPUs and 2 GB memory.
• t3.small – 2 virtual CPUs and 2 GB memory.

Please note: smaller types such as t3.micro and t3a.micro are not supported. ISPConfig runs a web server, a database, a full mail stack and a virus scanner on the same instance, and together they need more memory than those types have. The installer checks this before it starts, and on an instance that is too small it stops without changing anything. Stop the instance, change its type in the EC2 console, start it again and run the installer.

A t3a.small runs the whole stack, and swap space is added automatically when the instance starts to give it headroom. It suits evaluation and a small number of sites. Here’s a quick reference table to help you decide:

Memory is what runs short first, and the virus scanner is usually the reason. ClamAV loads its signature database into memory and rebuilds it as signatures update. If you are running mail for real customers rather than evaluating, 4 GB is a more comfortable starting point than 2 GB.

For more details on different instance types and configurations, refer to the AWS Instance Types documentation.

2. Storage Space

The default allocated storage size for our AMI. You may specify the necessary storage size when launching a new instance or change it after deployment.

• 30 GB (default)

A hosting server grows on disk in three places at once: customer website files, mailboxes, and the databases behind the sites. Mail is usually the fastest growing of the three, because messages and attachments are kept until a customer deletes them. Allow room for years of accumulation rather than for the first month.

3. Ports Configuration

To ensure smooth operation of your installation, open the inbound ports below. A hosting control panel serves web, mail, FTP and its own interface, so it needs more open ports than a single web application does.

Please note: the database does not need an open port, and must not be given one. MariaDB listens only inside the instance and is reached by your sites locally, and through the panel’s own phpMyAdmin. Opening port 3306 to the internet would expose every customer database on the server, and is not required for anything.

Inbound Ports:

Deliberately not opened, and why:

• 3306, the database. Reachable only from inside the instance, as above.
• 53, DNS. BIND is installed and the panel’s DNS manager works, but the server does not answer queries from the internet as shipped. See the One-Click Installation page if you want to run your own nameservers.
• 9090, the Cockpit console. Not installed in this image.

Outbound Ports:

4. Important Notes:

• Mail sending restrictions. AWS blocks outbound port 25 by default on all EC2 instances. Your server can receive mail immediately, but it cannot send to external addresses until you request removal of the restriction through the AWS Support Center. This is an AWS account setting and cannot be changed from inside the instance.
• Use an Elastic IP. Without one, your public address changes whenever the instance is stopped and started, which breaks your domains and stops your SSL certificates renewing.
• Set a reverse DNS record. Receiving mail servers check that your address resolves back to your mail hostname. AWS sets this through the same Support Center request used to lift the port 25 restriction.