CloudLinux

CloudLinux improves stability, density, and security on shared hosting by isolating each account and controlling its resources. AdminBolt converts your server to CloudLinux through a guided, staged installer, then exposes CloudLinux features directly in the panel: per-account resource limits on hosting plans, unified PHP versions across three repositories, and the native LVE Manager UI embedded in the admin panel.

What it provides

• LVE resource isolation - per-account limits on CPU, memory, I/O, IOPS, processes, and entry processes, so a single account cannot exhaust the node.
• Language selectors - PHP, Node.js, Python, and Ruby selectors, including legacy Alt-PHP versions down to PHP 5.2.
• CageFS - per-account filesystem isolation that keeps accounts from seeing each other. Installed when you complete the LVE Manager setup wizard (see Install LVE Manager).
• Hardened kernel - the CloudLinux kernel with the security and stability improvements the platform is built on.
• Guided installer - a staged wizard that validates your key, converts the OS, reboots, and confirms the result.
• Panel integration - resource limits on hosting plans, a unified PHP Manager → Versions page, and the embedded LVE Manager.

Before you start

• Your server runs a supported OS: AlmaLinux 9 or Rocky Linux 9, which converts to CloudLinux 9.
• You have a valid CloudLinux activation key (API key). An empty key runs an IP-based check only, which is not enough to install.
• You are signed in to the admin panel. Converting to CloudLinux is a node-level action and is admin-only.
• You have taken a provider snapshot of the server before you begin.

Converting to CloudLinux rewrites the operating system and requires a reboot. The conversion is effectively irreversible, and it interrupts active sessions and services on the node. Take a provider snapshot first, and plan the change for a quiet moment.

Install CloudLinux

The installer is a staged wizard with the steps Validate → Install → LVE Manager → Manage. Open it from the left menu at Applications → CloudLinux, or click the CloudLinux card in Applications → Modules. Both open the installer at /admin/cloudlinux-installer.

1. Validate your activation key

1. Enter your CloudLinux activation / API key.
2. Click Validate.

An empty key runs an IP-based validation, but that does not unlock the install - a valid activation key is required. On success, step 1 turns green and Install CloudLinux unlocks.

2. Install CloudLinux

1. Click Install CloudLinux and confirm in the dialog.
2. The panel converts the operating system in the background, streams the live deploy log from /var/log/cldeploy.log, and shows the state converting.

This step converts the OS and is effectively irreversible. The server reboots as part of the process, and active sessions and services are interrupted, so make sure your snapshot is in place before you confirm.

3. Reboot onto the CloudLinux kernel

When the conversion finishes, the state becomes installed-pending-reboot ("CloudLinux installed - reboot required"). Click Reboot now and confirm. The server reboots onto the CloudLinux kernel, with about one to two minutes of downtime.

4. Confirm the conversion

After the reboot, the installer shows the state converted ("CloudLinux is already installed"), with an Open LVE Manager button. Your server now runs CloudLinux.

Install LVE Manager

After conversion, the LVE Manager web UI is installed on demand. Open CloudLinux → LVE Manager (/admin/cloudlinux-lvemanager); the page shows Install LVE Manager to continue. Click Install and confirm - it runs in the background.

Once installed, the native CloudLinux LVE Manager UI is embedded in the panel. Use it for per-user resource usage, statistics, selectors, and CageFS. On first open, CloudLinux shows its own setup wizard, which installs and initializes CageFS and enables the CloudLinux end-user PHP Selector.

Do not skip the CloudLinux setup wizard if you want CageFS. Skipping it leaves CageFS not installed, and AdminBolt does not add it automatically later. Per-account PHP versions still work without CageFS (AdminBolt serves them through mod_lsapi, independent of CageFS), but per-user CageFS isolation and the end-user PHP Selector stay off until you either re-run the wizard or install CageFS over SSH with cagefsctl --init.

PHP selectors and versions

After conversion, PHP Manager → Versions unifies three repositories on one page: REMI, LiteSpeed (LSPHP), and CloudLinux (Alt-PHP). In our test this listed 30 versions in total - 7 from REMI, 7 from LiteSpeed, and 16 from CloudLinux, including legacy versions down to PHP 5.2. Filter the list by repository to focus on one source.

Filtering by the CloudLinux repository shows the Alt-PHP versions, which is where the legacy PHP versions come from.

For how versions are installed and assigned, see PHP Versions.

Per-account resource limits

After conversion, editing a hosting plan gains a Resource Limits tab. Open Hosting Services → Plans → Edit, then the Resource Limits tab, to set the LVE limits applied to every account on that plan:

• CPU Speed %
• Physical Memory (MB)
• Virtual Memory (MB)
• I/O Throughput (KB/s)
• IOPS
• Processes (NPROC)
• Entry Processes (EP)

Empty fields inherit the platform default. These values map to CloudLinux LVE packages applied to every account on the plan.

For how plans are created and assigned, see Hosting Plans.

Coexistence with LiteSpeed

CloudLinux and LiteSpeed work together. After conversion, the active web server (Apache or LiteSpeed) is unchanged, and your domains keep their PHP engine. If you also run LiteSpeed, see LiteSpeed for how the two fit together.

Who can do what

• Admin - validates the activation key, converts the server to CloudLinux, reboots, installs the LVE Manager, and sets per-plan resource limits. These are node-level actions and are admin-only.
• Clients - choose the PHP version for their domains and use the language selectors. The version list includes the CloudLinux Alt-PHP versions once conversion is done.
• Resellers - manage hosting plans and accounts, which inherit the resource limits set on their plans. They do not convert the server or install the LVE Manager.

Troubleshooting

• Install CloudLinux stays locked - an IP-based validation (empty key) does not unlock the install. Enter a valid CloudLinux activation key and click Validate so step 1 turns green.
• CloudLinux features do not appear after conversion - the conversion only takes effect after a reboot. Complete the Reboot now step so the server boots onto the CloudLinux kernel and the state reads converted.
• LVE Manager shows "Install LVE Manager to continue" - the LVE Manager web UI is installed on demand after the reboot. Open CloudLinux → LVE Manager, click Install, and wait for the background install to finish.
• Resource Limits tab is missing on a hosting plan - the tab appears after the server is converted to CloudLinux. Confirm the installer shows the converted state, then reopen Hosting Services → Plans → Edit.
• PHP versions work but CageFS is not installed - this is expected if you skipped the CloudLinux setup wizard. AdminBolt assigns each account's PHP version at the web-server level through mod_lsapi, which does not require CageFS, so per-account PHP works without it. CageFS and the CloudLinux end-user PHP Selector are installed only by the LVE Manager setup wizard. Re-run that wizard, or install CageFS over SSH with cagefsctl --init.

Known limitations

• Converting to CloudLinux is effectively irreversible and requires a reboot to take effect. Take a provider snapshot before you start.
• MySQL Governor is installed by CloudLinux but is not managed from the AdminBolt panel. AdminBolt does not provide MySQL Governor configuration or per-database limits.
• Deep LVE tuning and CageFS management live in the embedded LVE Manager UI, not in native AdminBolt panel screens.

Further reading

The LVE Manager, language selectors, CageFS, and MySQL Governor are CloudLinux's own components. For in-depth reference on those features, see the CloudLinux documentation.