If you’re serious about hosting game servers, whether for a community, clients, or your own gaming projects, you’ll want a control panel that’s powerful, flexible, and easy to use. That’s where Open Game Panel (OGP) comes in.

🧰 What You’ll Need Before You Begin

  • A Linux VPS (Ubuntu 20.04/22.04 recommended)
  • Root access or sudo privileges
  • Basic SSH and terminal knowledge
  • 15–30 minutes of setup time

If you’re using VM6 Networks hosting, you’re already off to a great start—our VPS environments are optimized for game server performance and control panel deployment.

🔌 Step 1: Connect to Your VPS via SSH

Open your terminal and connect to your VPS:

ssh root@your-vps-ip

Replace your-vps-ip with your actual server IP address.

🛠️ Step 2: Update Your System Packages

Run the following command to update your system:

apt update && apt upgrade -y

📦 Step 3: Install Apache, MariaDB, PHP, and Other Dependencies

Install the required packages:

apt install apache2 mariadb-server php php-mysql php-curl php-xml php-mbstring php-zip unzip git -y

Enable and start services:

systemctl enable apache2
systemctl start apache2

systemctl enable mariadb
systemctl start mariadb

🔐 Step 4: Secure Your MariaDB Installation

Run the security script:

mysql_secure_installation

🧱 Step 5: Create a Database for OGP

Log into MariaDB:

mysql -u root -p

Then enter:

CREATE DATABASE ogpweb;
CREATE USER 'ogpuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'yourpassword';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON ogpweb.* TO 'ogpuser'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

🌐 Step 6: Download and Install the OGP Web Panel

Navigate to your web directory:

cd /var/www/html

Clone the OGP files:

git clone https://github.com/OpenGamePanel/OGP-Website.git ogp

Set permissions:

chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/ogp
chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/ogp

🧭 Step 7: Configure Apache for OGP

Create a virtual host file:

nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/ogp.conf

Paste this config:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerAdmin admin@yourdomain.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html/ogp
    ServerName yourdomain.com

    <Directory /var/www/html/ogp>
        Options Indexes FollowSymLinks
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>

    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/ogp_error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/ogp_access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Enable the site and restart Apache:

a2ensite ogp.conf
a2enmod rewrite
systemctl restart apache2

🧩 Step 8: Install the OGP Agent (Optional but Recommended)

Install the agent locally:

cd /root
wget https://github.com/OpenGamePanel/OGP-Agent-Linux/archive/master.zip
unzip master.zip
cd OGP-Agent-Linux-master
chmod +x install.sh
./install.sh

🚀 Step 9: Complete Setup via Web Browser

Visit your panel in a browser:

http://your-vps-ip/ogp

Follow the installer prompts to configure your database and admin account.

✅ Final Tips and Best Practices

  • 🔒 Secure your panel with HTTPS using Let’s Encrypt
  • 🧠 Back up your database and config files regularly
  • 🛡️ Use a firewall like UFW to restrict access
  • 📈 Monitor server performance and keep packages updated

🎉 You’re Ready to Host!

With Open Game Panel installed, you now have a sleek, browser-based interface to manage game servers with ease. Whether you’re hosting for fun or running a commercial operation, OGP gives you the control and flexibility you need.

If you’re using VM6 Networks or Own Web hosting, you’re backed by infrastructure that’s built for speed, reliability, and scalability. Take a look at UK VPS Hosting packages we have available.