NOTE : This project is intended for home users with knowledge of Linux administration

Prerequisites and Setup Instructions

You will need the following to run the tool, and that you will need to modify four files in total.

1. Server Environment Requirements

The scripts require a standard PHP web server setup. Users must have:

  • Web Server: An Apache, Nginx, or similar web server.
  • PHP: PHP must be installed and configured to work with the web server.
  • Required PHP Extensions:
    • cURL: Required by get_server_info.php for the speed/latency checks against external sites like Google.
    • JSON: Required by all scripts to read (servers.json) and write data.
    • posix: Recommended, as your save_servers.php attempts to use the posix_getpwnam and chown/chgrp functions for file permission fixes. This function is typically only available on Linux/Unix systems.

2. File Permissions (Crucial)

This is one of the most common stumbling blocks for new users:

  • File Write Access: The web server user (e.g., www-data or apache) must have write permissions to the following file:
    • servers.json
  • Reason: The save_servers.php script writes new server configurations (after scanning or editing) back to servers.json. If permissions are wrong, the web page's edit/save functionality will fail.

3. Dependency on External Commands

Your PHP scripts rely on calling external operating system programs, which requires PHP's exec() and shell_exec() functions to be enabled (they are sometimes disabled for security):

  • get_server_info.php: Requires the system's ping command for status checks.
  • network_scan.php: Requires the system's ping and arp commands for network discovery and MAC address lookup.

📝 Required User Edits

You will need to edit at least two core configuration files.

1. servers.json (Server List)

  • Action: You must edit the server entries to match the devices and network names on to your local network.
  • Instruction: Emphasize that the hostname field can be a hostname (e.g., router.local) or a static IP address (e.g., 192.168.1.10).
  • I have provided a sample of two servers to start you off in the servers.json file but this can be edited manually or in the network scaning section and just add your server to the list.

2. network_scan.php (Network Subnet)

This is  mandatory:

  • Action: You must modify the $subnet variable.
  • Instruction: They must change:PHP 
    $subnet = '192.168.8'; // <-- EDIT THIS to match the first three octets of network (e.g., '192.168.1', '10.0.0').

3. get_server_info.php (Optional - WAN Check)

  • Action: You may optionally change the external ping host. but you don't have to
  • Instruction: While not required, they can change the WAN_CHECK_HOST if they prefer not to use Google's DNS (or if it's blocked on their network) to check internet connectivity:PHP 
    const WAN_CHECK_HOST = '8.8.8.8'; // Can be changed to another public DNS/IP

4. server_status.html (Optional - Chart Libraries)

  • Action: If a user runs this without an internet connection, they should copy the external libraries to a local directory.
  • Instruction: Note that the HTML file loads CSS and JavaScript libraries from external CDNs (like cdnjs.cloudflare.com and cdn.jsdelivr.net). If the server is offline (or for security), they should download these files and link to them locally.