Server Manager

Navigation Path: Admin Dashboard → Server Manager
URL: /admin/ServerManager

Overview

The Server Manager provides comprehensive server configuration tools, including PHP settings management, system actions, and advanced server configurations for DirectAdmin environments.

Server Actions

Reboot server and system operations

PHP Configuration

Edit PHP.ini and settings

System Settings

Configure server parameters

Security

Firewall and security settings

Server Actions

Quick Actions

Server Reboot:

Restarts the entire server system
All services restart
Brief downtime expected
Use during maintenance windows

Unblock IPs:

Flushes CSF firewall blocked IPs
Removes all IP blocks
Useful after false positives
Restores access for blocked users

System Status:

Displays server online status
Shows current PHP version
Monitors system health
Real-time status indicators

Server Reboot: Rebooting the server will cause downtime for all websites and services. Only perform during scheduled maintenance windows and after notifying users.

Server Configuration Settings

PHP Shell Functions

Status Check:

Monitors shell_exec and exec functions
Shows enabled/disabled status
Critical for platform operation

Enabling Shell Functions: If disabled, follow these steps:

cd /usr/local/directadmin/custombuild
mkdir -p custom
echo "system,passthru,proc_close,proc_open,dl,popen,show_source,posix_kill,posix_mkfifo,posix_getpwuid,posix_setpgid,posix_setsid,posix_setuid,posix_setgid,posix_seteuid,posix_setegid,posix_uname" > custom/php_disable_functions
da build secure_php

Required Functions: shell_exec and exec are required for the platform to function properly. These functions enable server management and automation features.

open_basedir Restriction

Critical Setting - Must Be DISABLED: open_basedir restricts PHP file access and prevents proper platform operation. Status Indicators:

🔴 ENABLED - Must Disable! (Red badge)
✅ Disabled (Green badge - correct state)

Disabling open_basedir:

Click Disable Now (Required) button
System automatically:
- Finds all PHP ini files
- Comments out open_basedir lines
- Creates backups
- Restarts PHP services
Page reloads with updated status

Action Required: If open_basedir is enabled, the platform cannot access required directories. This MUST be disabled for proper operation.

DirectoryIndex Priority

Purpose: Ensures index.php loads before index.html Fix DirectoryIndex:

Click Fix DirectoryIndex button
System updates Apache configuration
Sets priority: index.php index.html index.htm
Apache reloads configuration

Configuration File: /etc/httpd/conf/extra/httpd-directoryindex.conf

PHP Configuration Management

Upload Max Filesize

Quick Update:

Enter desired file size (e.g., 256M, 512M, 1G)
Click Update button
System updates:
- upload_max_filesize
- post_max_size (set to same value)
PHP-FPM restarts automatically
Refresh page to verify new value

Recommended Values: For WordPress sites with media uploads, set to at least 256M. For sites with large file uploads, use 512M or 1G.

PHP.ini Editor

Advanced Configuration:

Click Edit PHP.ini button
Code editor opens with current php.ini content
Make desired changes
Click Save button
System:
- Validates changes
- Creates backup
- Writes new configuration
- Restarts PHP-FPM
Changes take effect immediately

Common PHP.ini Settings:

; Memory and Upload Limits
memory_limit = 512M
upload_max_filesize = 256M
post_max_size = 256M
max_execution_time = 300
max_input_time = 300

; Error Reporting
display_errors = Off
error_reporting = E_ALL & ~E_DEPRECATED & ~E_STRICT
log_errors = On
error_log = /var/log/php-errors.log

; Session Configuration
session.gc_maxlifetime = 1440
session.cookie_lifetime = 0

; Security
allow_url_fopen = On
allow_url_include = Off

Syntax Errors: Invalid PHP.ini syntax can prevent PHP from starting. Always backup before making changes and test thoroughly.

Advanced Server Management

PHP Service Management

Automatic Restart:

PHP-FPM restarts after configuration changes
Background process prevents connection loss
Service restart takes 3-5 seconds
Minimal impact on running sites

Service Commands:

# Restart PHP-FPM (specific version)
service php-fpm83 restart

# Restart all PHP services
systemctl restart php*-fpm

# Check PHP-FPM status
systemctl status php-fpm

Apache Configuration

Reload Apache:

# Reload configuration without downtime
systemctl reload httpd

# Full restart
systemctl restart httpd

# Check configuration syntax
apachectl configtest

CSF Firewall Management

Unblock All IPs:

Removes all temporary blocks
Clears deny list
Useful after false positives
Doesn’t affect permanent rules

CSF Commands:

# Flush all blocks
csf -df

# Restart CSF
csf -r

# Check blocked IPs
csf -g <ip_address>

System Information

PHP Information

Displayed Details:

PHP version
Loaded configuration file
Configuration directives
Loaded extensions
Server API

Key PHP Settings:

upload_max_filesize
post_max_size
memory_limit
max_execution_time
disable_functions
open_basedir

Server Information

System Details:

Server IP address
Operating system
DirectAdmin version
Apache version
MySQL/MariaDB version

Best Practices

PHP Configuration

Test changes on staging first
Always backup php.ini before editing
Document all configuration changes
Monitor error logs after changes
Keep php.ini organized with comments
Review settings quarterly
Match settings to workload requirements

Server Maintenance

Schedule reboots during off-peak hours
Notify users before maintenance
Keep system updated
Monitor resource usage
Review logs regularly
Test backups frequently
Document server configuration

Security

Keep firewall rules updated
Monitor blocked IPs
Review security logs
Disable unnecessary PHP functions
Use secure PHP settings
Keep software updated
Implement fail2ban rules

Performance

Optimize PHP settings for workload
Monitor PHP-FPM pool usage
Adjust memory limits appropriately
Enable OPcache
Configure session handling
Monitor slow queries
Optimize Apache configuration

Troubleshooting

PHP Not Restarting

Issue: PHP-FPM fails to restart after configuration changeSolutions:

Check php.ini syntax errors
Review PHP error logs
Verify PHP-FPM service status
Check for conflicting processes
Manually restart PHP-FPM
Restore from backup if needed
Check DirectAdmin logs

Configuration Not Applying

Issue: PHP.ini changes don’t take effectSolutions:

Verify correct php.ini file edited
Check if multiple php.ini files exist
Restart PHP-FPM service
Clear OPcache
Check file permissions
Verify DirectAdmin isn’t overwriting
Use phpinfo() to confirm settings

Upload Limit Not Changing

Issue: upload_max_filesize update doesn’t workSolutions:

Verify both upload_max_filesize and post_max_size updated
Check nginx limits if using nginx
Restart PHP-FPM completely
Clear browser cache
Check .htaccess overrides
Verify DirectAdmin limits
Test with phpinfo()

Sites Down After Change

Issue: Websites not loading after configuration changeSolutions:

Check PHP-FPM is running
Review error logs immediately
Restore php.ini from backup
Restart all services
Check Apache error logs
Verify syntax of configuration files
Rollback recent changes

Configuration Examples

WordPress Optimized PHP Settings

; Memory and Execution
memory_limit = 512M
max_execution_time = 300
max_input_time = 300
max_input_vars = 3000

; Upload Limits
upload_max_filesize = 256M
post_max_size = 256M

; OPcache (Performance)
opcache.enable = 1
opcache.memory_consumption = 256
opcache.interned_strings_buffer = 16
opcache.max_accelerated_files = 10000
opcache.revalidate_freq = 60

; Session
session.gc_maxlifetime = 1440
session.save_path = "/tmp"

High-Traffic Configuration

; Increased Limits
memory_limit = 1024M
max_execution_time = 600
max_input_time = 600

; Upload
upload_max_filesize = 512M
post_max_size = 512M

; OPcache Optimization
opcache.enable = 1
opcache.memory_consumption = 512
opcache.interned_strings_buffer = 32
opcache.max_accelerated_files = 20000
opcache.validate_timestamps = 0

Quick Reference

Common Tasks

Task	Steps
Update Upload Limit	Enter size → Click Update → Wait for restart
Edit PHP.ini	Click Edit → Make changes → Save
Reboot Server	Click Reboot Server → Confirm → Wait
Unblock IPs	Click Unblock All IPs → Confirm
Fix DirectoryIndex	Click Fix DirectoryIndex → Wait for reload
Disable open_basedir	Click Disable Now → Wait for completion

Recommended PHP Values

Setting	Small Sites	Medium Sites	Large Sites
memory_limit	256M	512M	1024M
upload_max_filesize	128M	256M	512M
max_execution_time	120	300	600
OPcache memory	128	256	512

WordPress Updates

Manage WordPress versions

IP Manager

Manage IP assignments

Server Migration

Server migration tools

Website Configuration

Website settings

Getting Started

Configuration

Integrations

Usage

Server Management

Extra

Overview

Server Actions

PHP Configuration

System Settings

Security

Server Actions

Quick Actions

Server Configuration Settings

PHP Shell Functions

open_basedir Restriction

DirectoryIndex Priority

PHP Configuration Management

Upload Max Filesize

PHP.ini Editor

Advanced Server Management

PHP Service Management

Apache Configuration

CSF Firewall Management

System Information

PHP Information

Server Information

Best Practices

Troubleshooting

Configuration Examples

WordPress Optimized PHP Settings

High-Traffic Configuration

Quick Reference

Common Tasks

Recommended PHP Values

WordPress Updates

IP Manager

Server Migration

Website Configuration

Getting Started

Configuration

Integrations

Usage

Server Management

Extra

​Overview

Server Actions

PHP Configuration

System Settings

Security

​Server Actions

​Quick Actions

​Server Configuration Settings

​PHP Shell Functions

​open_basedir Restriction

​DirectoryIndex Priority

​PHP Configuration Management

​Upload Max Filesize

​PHP.ini Editor

​Advanced Server Management

​PHP Service Management

​Apache Configuration

​CSF Firewall Management

​System Information

​PHP Information

​Server Information

​Best Practices

​Troubleshooting

​Configuration Examples

​WordPress Optimized PHP Settings

​High-Traffic Configuration

​Quick Reference

​Common Tasks

​Recommended PHP Values

​Related Documentation

WordPress Updates

IP Manager

Server Migration

Website Configuration

Overview

Server Actions

Quick Actions

Server Configuration Settings

PHP Shell Functions

open_basedir Restriction

DirectoryIndex Priority

PHP Configuration Management

Upload Max Filesize

PHP.ini Editor

Advanced Server Management

PHP Service Management

Apache Configuration

CSF Firewall Management

System Information

PHP Information

Server Information

Best Practices

Troubleshooting

Configuration Examples

WordPress Optimized PHP Settings

High-Traffic Configuration

Quick Reference

Common Tasks

Recommended PHP Values

Related Documentation