The EHCP force installer automatically installs several packages that we need, so we don’t have to mess about installing them manually.
There has been some major changes to the Ubuntu 26.04 version.
Please read the information below before you start the install process.
The install script on this page installs a modified version of EHCP force.
The main application file for EHCP force has not been modified, it is only the installer that I have modified.
The latest version of EHCP force has some bugs in the installer and at the time of wiring this, it won’t properly install on Ubuntu 26.04.
As the official version of EHCP won’t install on Ubuntu 26.04 (it used to, before the 25/03/26 update). We can only assume that it still has no functioning email system, coupled with the fact that the email system is outdated, and considered by some to be a security risk.
I have actually got the official email system in EHCP force working on Ubuntu 26.04 (pre 25/03/26 version), however I don't recommend you use it, I have added an option in my custom installer to convert your installation to a more modern email system.
The official EHCP force email system uses 4 applications: Postfix, Courier, Saslauthd and pop-before-smtp.
My email system for EHCP force uses just 2 applications: Postfix and Dovecot, EHCP force is fully compatible with Postfix and Dovecot without any modifications.
I can see very few circumstances where you would choose the use the default email system, but I am not you, therefore the installer will give you the option to choose, but seriously please choose Postfix and Dovecot.
NOTE: If this install is an upgrade on an existing server, and you are using EHCP force backup and restore, EHCP force will NOT be able to restore courier mailbox contents to Dovecot, so if this is the case, you should say no to Dovecot during the install, then restore your backup, and finally convert to Dovecot, using THIS FAQ.
During the installation process you will be asked to provide two email addresses, one for the EHCP force admin user, and the other for the postmaster, both these email addresses should be @YouNewDomain.co.uk, (replace YouNewDomain.co.uk with your actual domain name).
The postmaster email account will receive notifications from the the email system such as undeliverable emails for example, the postmaster account will also receive system notifications, such as outputs from scheduled tasks. The admin email will receive notifications from EHCP force, for example if a new domain had been added.
Before running the installer you should decide what email addresses you are going to use for the postmaster and admin accounts, it is best to avoid addresses that can be easy to guess like postmaster@, admin@ or webmaster@, this will help to prevent spam emails.
Finally during the install process you will be asked about turning off Ubuntu automatic updates, and using an update script that will run in the early hours of the morning and then reboot your server.
Ubuntu auto updates can stop your server from working at anytime of the day or night,until the system is manually rebooted, where if you schedule the updates and a reboot, you should have a more stable server.
No update script is ever going to be 100% perfect, but the postmaster email account will receive a breakdown on how the script has performed, if you spot a problem its then easy to update your server manually which will fix the issue.
It is very unlikely that even if the script has a problem with an update that you will experience any downtime, however with Ubuntu automatic updates, in my opinion downtime is guaranteed. I have been using the script on my server for over a year and only had a single failure which was on the beta version on Ubuntu 26.04, On Ubuntu 24.04 is has been perfect.
So, lets get right to it.
Logon to your server using your PC and putty.
Copy this script.
Code: Select all
wget -O "ehcpforce_stable_snapshot.tar.gz" -N https://downloads.ghostnetwork.co.uk/fixes/ehcpforce/2604/april26/ehcpforce_stable_snapshot.tar.gz
tar -zxvf "ehcpforce_stable_snapshot.tar.gz"
cd ehcp
sudo bash install.sh
cd ..
Press enter.
EHCP force should now download.
Where it is unlikely, you may need to press enter to run the second to last command in the script…… (sudo bash install.sh)
As always you may need to re-type your password.
The installer will continue…
Eventually, you will be presented with your new server credentials, these are the details you will need to use your new server. You don’t have to make a note of them now as you will given them at the end of the install process, after a few seconds the installer will continue.
Ok, the first question you will be asked is to enter your new postmaster email address, choose this address very carefully as mentioned above, then type in in (press enter).
Next you will given a quick overview of the Ubuntu update replacement script and be asked if you want to turn off automatic updates, and use the script instead, so you need to say yes, so type y and press enter.
Next up, it’s the admin email address as detailed above, again choose this address very carefully, and type it in (then press enter).
You will now be asked to enter your new domain name, remember to enter it without any prefixes such as www or https etc, for example google.co.uk or ghostnetwork.co.uk, remember this is YOUR new domain name, not mine, So please type it in, and then press enter.
Ok next, you will be given a brief explanation why you should use Postfix and Dovecot, instead of the EHCP force default email system, so it is VERY IMPORTANT that you answer YES to this question, so type y and press enter.
Finally, you will now be asked about your servers time zone.
The chances are, you will need to change the time zone, so answer no to this (press n then press enter).
The system will now tell you what your time zone shoud be based on your IP address.
So, assuming this is correct answer yes (press y then press enter).
The installation will now continue, it will take a long time for it to finish.
You will notice lots of error messages during the install process, just ignore them, most of them are just due the standard version of EHCP force working on more than one Linux distribution, and therefore not significant to us. Remember however this version is specifically for Ubuntu server 26.04.
When the installer, completes you will be shown all the user names and password again.
Open notepad on you PC, next with the mouse highlight the user credentials within PuTTY (this will copy them, no need to select copy or press any keys)
Within Notepad, click on the Edit Menu, and then Paste.
Then using the file menu in Notepad save then user credential somewhere safe on you PC.
If you need to retrieve these details at any point in the future you can do so by logging into your server on your PC using PuTTY and typing the following command.
sudo cat /root/ehcp_info (press enter)
You may as always need to re-enter your password. This will display them on screen.
Ok, EHCP force has been installed on your server, so for now at least you can log out of PuTTY by typing exit and then pressing enter.
To test EHCP force open your web browser, and type your server local IP address into the address bar (press enter).
If all went ok you will see the EHCP force default page.
If you don’t see then default screen, you could try a server re-boot, to do this simply log back into your server using PuTTY and issue this command.
sudo shutdown -r now (press enter)
As always you may need to enter your password again.
Once the server starts the shutdown process, PuTTY will give you an error message to tell you that it has lost the connection.
You should click ok, and then close PuTTY using the cross in the top left corner (Windows close icon).
Give your server at least 5 minutes in order to fully complete the re-boot, then open your web browser and try again.
If it still does not work and you are 100% sure you typed the correct IP address into your browser, you should consider that your server’s hardware may have a fault or is not compatible. Also, it could be that you did something wrong, so it is worth checking through all the steps again.
If all else fails, then try again using a different old PC or Laptop as your server.
Important:
When updating EHCP force, you MUST use the update script from this site, if you use the update script from the EHCP force website your installation will be CORRUPTED. If this happens you will need to re-install your full server.
That it, we are all done here.