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Self-hosting phpIPAM 1.8.2 on a VPS gives you a browser-based inventory of subnets, addresses, VLANs and related IPAM objects without sending that data to a hosted service. The reliable deployment sequence is: prepare a supported web and database stack, install the phpIPAM files, create config.php, initialize the database, finish the web installer, publish the application over HTTPS, and establish tested backups.
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Choose a native Nginx/Apache installation when you want the fewest moving parts on a single VPS. Choose Docker when packaging and repeatable upgrades matter more, provided you run the separate frontend and cron roles correctly and preserve their database and persistent volumes. The current requirements and release information are maintained in the phpIPAM documentation index.
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What phpIPAM does and what this VPS must provide
phpIPAM is an open-source web IP address management application. It tracks address utilization and relationships such as sections, subnets, folders and VLANs through a web interface and a REST API. The documentation index lists release 1.8.2 and current installation guidance; use that guidance rather than old blog posts that describe earlier minimum versions (official documentation index).
A VPS deployment has four logical layers:
- Web layer: Apache with PHP or Nginx with PHP-FPM serves the application.
- PHP layer: the interpreter and required extensions run the web UI, scans and API.
- Database layer: MySQL-compatible storage holds the IPAM data.
- Operations layer: HTTPS termination, scheduled jobs, backups, monitoring and access control keep the service usable.
You can place all layers on one VPS for a small installation or put the database on a separate host. In either case, restrict the database listener and credentials so only the application host can connect.
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Native installation or Docker?
Both approaches are supported. The trade-off is operational rather than feature-based: a native install uses the VPS distribution’s web server, PHP packages and service manager, while Docker packages the application runtime but still needs a database and durable storage.
| Decision point | Native Nginx/Apache | Docker |
|---|---|---|
| Operational complexity | Fewer layers on one VPS, but you maintain host PHP, extensions, web-server configuration and service upgrades. | Application packaging is consistent, but you maintain Docker, networks, volumes, environment files and container lifecycle. |
| Upgrade method | Pull the new application code, review configuration and run the release’s upgrade steps while keeping host packages compatible. | Pull and deploy a tested image; keep the database and persistent volumes outside the disposable container. |
| Isolation | phpIPAM shares the host’s PHP and web-server environment. | The frontend and cron processes are packaged separately from the host runtime. |
| Backups | Back up the MySQL database plus configuration files and any uploaded or otherwise persistent application data. | Back up the MySQL database and every Docker volume or bind mount required by the chosen deployment; an image alone is not a backup. |
| Reverse proxy | Terminate TLS in Nginx or Apache, or place another proxy in front of the web server. | Terminate TLS in a proxy and forward traffic to the frontend container; preserve the correct URL base and forwarded-header policy. |
| Network discovery | The host’s PHP/CLI process can use the required networking functions when permissions and extensions are present. | The frontend and cron containers need NET_ADMIN and NET_RAW for ping and SNMP functions. Kubernetes deployments also need allowPrivilegeEscalation=true for those capabilities. |
Docker’s maintained layout uses a phpipam-www frontend container and a separate phpipam-cron container. You may load-balance multiple frontend replicas, but run only one cron container so scheduled work is not duplicated (official Docker image documentation).
Prerequisites and version requirements
Web server and PHP
The official installation guide supports Apache2 with PHP or Nginx with PHP-FPM. Install PHP through your distribution and verify that the web-server user can read the application directory and write only where phpIPAM requires it. The documented extension set includes:
- PDO and PDO MySQL
- Sessions and sockets
- OpenSSL
- GMP
- LDAP
- crypt
- SimpleXML and JSON
- gettext and filter
- mbstring
- PEAR
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Package names differ between distributions, so check each module with your operating system’s PHP module tool and confirm the CLI and FPM versions match. A missing extension usually appears as an installer error or as a feature that fails only when scanning, LDAP authentication or API requests are used.
Database compatibility
The installation guide’s legacy requirement text says MySQL 5.1 or newer, but current repository guidance supersedes that minimum for modern releases. MySQL 5.7.7 or newer is mandatory for utf8mb4 from phpIPAM 1.6.0 onward. MySQL 8.0 or newer, or MariaDB 10.2.1 or newer, is highly recommended for common-table-expression support (phpIPAM repository compatibility guidance). Confirm the actual server version before importing the schema.
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Network and access prerequisites
- A DNS name that resolves to the VPS, or a controlled internal name for private use.
- Firewall rules allowing HTTPS to the proxy or web server and database traffic only from the application host.
- SSH or console access with enough privilege to install packages, create a database and configure services.
- A backup destination outside the VPS, preferably encrypted and access-controlled.
- A plan for administrator authentication, least-privilege database credentials and secret storage.
Install phpIPAM natively on the VPS
1. Prepare the host and web root
Patch the VPS, set its time zone and hostname, then install Apache2 with PHP or Nginx with PHP-FPM. Create a dedicated web root for phpIPAM rather than placing unrelated applications in the same directory. Keep the application owner and web-server group intentional, and do not make the entire tree world-writable.
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2. Obtain the application code
Download a tagged release or clone the official repository from the phpIPAM project repository. Keep the release under version control or retain the release archive so you can identify exactly what is running. Do not overwrite a working installation blindly; read the release notes and preserve your configuration before upgrading.
3. Create and edit config.php
Inside the phpIPAM directory, copy config.dist.php to config.php. Set the database host, database name, database user, database password and the application’s base path or URL setting. The base path must match how the web server exposes phpIPAM: an installation at the domain root and one under a subdirectory require different values.
Store the file with restrictive permissions. The database account should be dedicated to phpIPAM and granted only the permissions needed for its schema and normal operation. Do not reuse a server administrator account or place the password in a publicly readable web directory.
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4. Create the database and initialize the schema
Create an empty database using the character set and collation appropriate for your supported MySQL or MariaDB version, then create the dedicated user and grant it access to that database. Import db/SCHEMA.sql from the application tree, or leave the schema creation to the browser installer if you prefer the guided route. Whichever route you choose, record the database name and credentials in config.php and verify that the PHP process can connect before troubleshooting the web UI.
5. Complete the browser installer
- Open the configured HTTPS URL in a browser.
- Enter the database connection details if the schema was not imported manually.
- Allow the installer to create or validate the schema and initial settings.
- Create the first administrator account with a unique, long password.
- Confirm that the selected base path, timezone and URL produce working links and static assets.
- Sign in and create a non-administrator test account so you can verify permissions safely.
After the first successful login, disable the installation helper. Leaving an installer endpoint available gives an attacker an unnecessary way to alter configuration or initialize a database.
6. Configure the virtual host
Point the Apache document root or Nginx server block at the phpIPAM directory, pass PHP requests to the matching PHP-FPM pool when using Nginx, and enable the rewrite rules required by the application. Test the home page, a subnet view, a deliberately unauthorized page and an API URL. Review the web-server error log and PHP-FPM log before changing permissions if a request fails.
Deploy with Docker
Use the two official roles correctly
The maintained image separates the web frontend from scheduled work. Run one or more phpipam-www containers behind your reverse proxy. Run exactly one phpipam-cron container. Multiple cron replicas can execute the same scheduled task more than once, causing duplicate scans or other race conditions.
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Provide configuration and secrets
The image accepts environment variables for database and application settings. For production, prefer the corresponding *_FILE variables so passwords are read from mounted secret files rather than exposed in process listings or a compose file. Keep the database outside the disposable frontend container and attach a persistent volume or bind mount for every application path the image documents as stateful (Docker image configuration reference).
A deployment manifest should define the database host, port, name, user and password source; the public URL or base path; the frontend service; the single cron service; health checks; and restart policies. Put the proxy and containers on a private network, expose only the proxy’s HTTPS port, and restrict database connectivity to that network.
Initialize, then lock the installer
- Start the database and frontend services with the required environment variables or secret files.
- Open the frontend through the proxy and complete the web installer.
- Verify login, subnet creation and any required discovery function.
- Set
IPAM_DISABLE_INSTALLER=1in the frontend configuration and restart the affected container. - Start the single cron container and inspect its logs for a successful scheduled run.
For an upgrade, pull the intended image version, back up the database and persistent volumes, recreate the frontend and cron containers, and run any database migration required by that release. Keep the previous image available for rollback, but do not roll back application code across an untested database migration without a restoration plan.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Publish phpIPAM safely over HTTPS
Terminate TLS at the right layer
Use a valid certificate and redirect plain HTTP to HTTPS. TLS may terminate in Nginx or Apache on the VPS, or in a dedicated reverse-HTTPS proxy in front of the Docker frontend. Ensure the proxy forwards the original scheme and host so generated links, cookies and redirects remain HTTPS.
Trust forwarded headers only from your proxy
When phpIPAM is behind a reverse proxy, set $trust_x_forwarded_headers = true in config.php only when that proxy strips or overwrites client-supplied forwarding headers. The project specifically warns that these headers must be filtered or overwritten to prevent abuse and login-loop problems (phpIPAM repository reverse-proxy guidance).
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Filter or replace all of the following at the trusted proxy:
X_FORWARDED_FORX_FORWARDED_HOSTX_FORWARDED_PORTX_FORWARDED_PROTOX_FORWARDED_SSLX_FORWARDED_URI
Never accept these values directly from an internet client and then tell phpIPAM to trust them. Test a normal login, an expired session, a redirect from HTTP to HTTPS and a request containing a deliberately forged forwarding header.
Backups, restoration and routine operations
Back up the database every day
The installation guide gives a daily mysqldump schedule and an example of deleting dump files older than 10 days (official installation guide). Treat that retention as an example, not a universal policy. A practical job should:
- Run with a dedicated backup credential and produce a timestamped dump.
- Compress and encrypt the dump before it leaves the VPS.
- Copy it to storage in a different failure domain.
- Alert when the job, upload or encryption step fails.
- Apply a retention period that matches your recovery-point and compliance needs.
Back up everything that is stateful
For a native deployment, include the database and the production config.php, while excluding secrets from unencrypted archives. For Docker, include the database plus every persistent application volume or bind mount required by the image. Container layers and a compose file without their data do not restore an IPAM installation.
Test restoration, not just backup creation
At regular intervals, restore a dump into a separate test database or isolated phpIPAM instance. Confirm that users can log in, subnet records and permissions are present, and scheduled jobs can run. Record the restore time and any manual steps. A backup that has never been restored is an unverified assumption, not a recovery plan.
Monitor the service
- Watch disk usage, database growth, certificate expiry and VPS memory.
- Alert on failed cron runs, failed backup jobs and repeated PHP-FPM or container restarts.
- Review authentication logs and proxy logs for unusual requests.
- Patch the operating system, PHP, database and phpIPAM release on a defined schedule.
Use the REST API for controlled automation
phpIPAM exposes a REST API with authentication, authorization, encrypted-request options and controllers for sections, subnets, folders, VLANs and other IPAM objects (official REST API documentation). URL rewriting must work before API calls will function reliably.
Create narrowly scoped API credentials, store them in a secret manager or protected automation environment, and avoid embedding them in source control or job output. Start with read-only calls, validate the returned object identifiers, and test bulk changes against a non-production instance. Add idempotency checks to provisioning scripts so a retried job does not create duplicate objects or overwrite a manually corrected address.
Quick Recap
Troubleshooting by symptom
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Installer reports missing modules | A required PHP extension is absent from the web or CLI runtime. | Compare enabled modules for PHP-FPM/Apache and CLI; install the missing PDO MySQL, mbstring, LDAP, GMP, sockets, XML, JSON, gettext, PEAR or other documented module. |
| Database connection fails | Wrong host, port, credentials, grant or PHP database driver. | Test the same credentials from the VPS, verify the user is allowed from the application host, and confirm the server meets the current MySQL/MariaDB guidance. |
| CSS, links or redirects point to the wrong place | The base path or forwarded scheme/host is inconsistent. | Match the phpIPAM base setting to the virtual host or subdirectory and review proxy handling of X_FORWARDED_HOST, X_FORWARDED_PROTO and X_FORWARDED_URI. |
| API endpoints return 404 | URL rewriting is disabled or the proxy is not passing the request to the application. | Enable the Apache rewrite module or the equivalent Nginx rules, then test a simple API route through the same public URL. |
| Ping or SNMP discovery fails in Docker | The container lacks raw-socket and network-administration capabilities. | Grant NET_RAW and NET_ADMIN; on Kubernetes also set allowPrivilegeEscalation=true. Confirm the cron role, not an unintended second replica, performs scheduled scans. |
| Login loops behind a proxy | Client-controlled forwarded headers or a mismatch between HTTP and HTTPS. | Strip and overwrite every documented forwarded header at the proxy, enable trust only for that sanitized proxy path, and verify TLS termination and cookie scheme. |
| Scheduled work runs twice | More than one cron container or scheduler is active. | Keep one phpIPAM cron container and disable duplicate host timers or replicas. |
A production-readiness checklist
- phpIPAM 1.8.2 or the intended supported release is recorded, with its upgrade notes.
- The PHP web and CLI runtimes have the documented extensions.
- The database meets the current utf8mb4 and common-table-expression recommendations.
- The application uses a dedicated, least-privilege database account.
- The correct base path and URL rewrite behavior have been tested.
- HTTPS is enforced and certificates are monitored.
- Forwarded headers are sanitized before phpIPAM trusts them.
- The installer helper is disabled with
IPAM_DISABLE_INSTALLER=1after setup, or otherwise removed from exposure. - Docker deployments run one cron container and grant discovery capabilities only when needed.
- Daily encrypted backups leave the VPS, failures alert someone, and a recent restore has succeeded in isolation.
- API credentials are scoped, secret and tested against a non-production instance.
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