Machines and services
nginx, PHP-FPM pools, Postfix, Dovecot and the queue are configured from the panel. State is rendered from a definition, never patched by hand.
Rendered, not hand-editedControlDeskPanel · CDP
The panel we run our own network on.
ControlDeskPanel manages servers, domains, vhosts, certificates, mail and users — nginx-native, without a licensed third-party panel underneath. It is not a demo: the CTPF network is operated with it every day.
Four jobs
Everything a server needs, in one place.
A domain goes from the nameserver to a working, certified, defended site without leaving the panel — and without a hand-edited config file anywhere.
Vhosts and TLS
A new domain gets its own document root, an HTTP-only vhost for the ACME challenge, then the certificate, HSTS and HTTP/3 — in that order, automatically.
From zero to A+ hardeningMailboxes and aliases
Virtual domains, mailboxes, aliases and webmail. Postfix and Dovecot maps are rebuilt from one store, so the running system always matches the panel.
One store, two daemonsCDPGuard built in
The PowerFirewall is a licensable module of the panel: rules, rate limits, block sets and security events are managed in the same interface.
Not a separate consoleCapabilities
What you actually work with.
- Domain onboardingDNS zone, vhost, document root, certificate and mail in one guided sequence.
- CertificatesIssue and renew via ACME, with a token guard that serves only real challenge names.
- Web security blocksDotfiles, backup files and editor leftovers are refused on every vhost by default.
- PHP poolsPer-site FPM pools with their own user, socket and limits.
- Mail accountsMailboxes, aliases and catch-alls; maps and password store rebuilt in one transaction.
- Users and 2FAPanel logins follow the CTPF standard layout and always carry a two-factor field.
- Security eventsLogins, blocks and rule changes are recorded as events you can read back.
- File managerBrowse and edit a document root without SFTP, inside the panel session.
- BackupsTimestamped copies before every change that touches a live file.
The stack
No layer we do not own.
These are properties of the system, not marketing figures.
nginxNative configuration, no Apache underneath
PHP 8.5Runtime on the CDP servers
HTTP/3With TLS 1.3, HSTS and CAA as default
0Third-party panel licences
Principles
Six rules the panel is built on.
State is derived
Configuration is rendered from a definition and reconciled, never edited in place.
Back up before you write
Every change to a live file leaves a timestamped copy beside it.
Secure by default
A new vhost starts closed: dotfiles, backups and source files are refused from the first request.
One place per job
Domains, mail, TLS and firewall are one interface, not four tools that disagree.
Every action is an event
If it cannot be read back afterwards, it did not happen.
We run it ourselves
The panel manages our own network first. Nothing ships that we would not operate.
Three products, one platform.
ControlDeskPanel operates, CDPCMS publishes, CDPGuard defends.