{"id":1920,"date":"2026-09-05T10:23:04","date_gmt":"2026-09-05T04:53:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cpanelfree.com\/blog\/how-to-setup-glances-realtime-server-monitoring-web-dashboard\/"},"modified":"2026-09-05T12:59:58","modified_gmt":"2026-09-05T07:29:58","slug":"how-to-setup-glances-realtime-server-monitoring-web-dashboard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cpanelfree.com\/blog\/how-to-setup-glances-realtime-server-monitoring-web-dashboard\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Set Up Glances Real-Time Server Monitoring Web Dashboard on Linux VPS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Why Glances Is the Ultimate All-in-One Server Monitoring Tool<\/h2>\n

While terminal utilities like htop<\/code> and full observability stacks like Prometheus\/Grafana serve distinct purposes, system administrators often desire a lightweight, instant visual web dashboard that requires zero database setup and displays complete real-time hardware telemetry\u2014CPU core loads, NVMe I\/O throughput, network interface bandwidth, Docker container states, and disk file usage\u2014directly inside any web browser.<\/p>\n

Glances<\/strong> is a modern, cross-platform system monitoring tool written in Python. Featuring both a terminal UI and a responsive HTML5 web interface with REST API export capabilities, Glances enables webmasters to monitor single or multi-server infrastructure from any desktop or mobile device.<\/p>\n

In this quick tutorial, we will configure Glances on Ubuntu 24.04\/22.04 LTS, daemonize the web server via systemd, secure the dashboard with password authentication, and configure an Nginx reverse proxy with SSL encryption.<\/p>\n

Step 1: Installing Glances via Python PIP<\/h2>\n

Install Glances and all optional hardware telemetry sensor libraries:<\/p>\n

# Update package list and install Python 3 prerequisites\nsudo apt update && sudo apt install -y python3-pip python3-venv nginx certbot python3-certbot-nginx\n\n# Create virtual environment for Glances\nsudo mkdir -p \/opt\/glances\ncd \/opt\/glances\nsudo python3 -m venv venv\nsudo \/opt\/glances\/venv\/bin\/pip install --upgrade pip\nsudo \/opt\/glances\/venv\/bin\/pip install \"glances[all]\"<\/code><\/pre>\n
Step 2: Configuring Systemd Service for Glances Web Server<\/h2>\n
Create a systemd unit at \/etc\/systemd\/system\/glances.service<\/code> to supervise the web daemon:<\/p>\n
[Unit]\nDescription=Glances Real-Time System Monitoring Web Server\nAfter=network.target\n\n[Service]\nUser=root\nExecStart=\/opt\/glances\/venv\/bin\/glances -w -B 127.0.0.1 -p 61208 --password --username admin -P \"UltraSecureGlancesPass2026!\"\nRestart=always\nRestartSec=3\n\n[Install]\nWantedBy=multi-user.target<\/code><\/pre>\n
Enable and start the Glances service:<\/p>\n
sudo systemctl daemon-reload\nsudo systemctl enable --now glances\nsudo systemctl status glances --no-pager<\/code><\/pre>\n
Step 3: Nginx Reverse Proxy with SSL Encryption<\/h2>\n
Create \/etc\/nginx\/sites-available\/glances.example.com<\/code>:<\/p>\n
server {\n    listen 80;\n    server_name glances.example.com;\n\n    location \/ {\n        proxy_pass http:\/\/127.0.0.1:61208;\n        proxy_http_version 1.1;\n        proxy_set_header Host $host;\n        proxy_set_header X-Real-IP $remote_addr;\n        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-For $proxy_add_x_forwarded_for;\n        proxy_set_header X-Forwarded-Proto $scheme;\n    }\n}<\/code><\/pre>\n
Enable the site and issue an SSL certificate:<\/p>\n
sudo ln -s \/etc\/nginx\/sites-available\/glances.example.com \/etc\/nginx\/sites-enabled\/\nsudo nginx -t && sudo systemctl reload nginx\nsudo certbot --nginx -d glances.example.com<\/code><\/pre>\n
Exporting Telemetry Metrics to InfluxDB & Prometheus<\/h2>\n
Glances can stream hardware metrics to external time-series databases or export Prometheus endpoints automatically:<\/p>\n
# Run Glances with Prometheus export on port 9091\n\/opt\/glances\/venv\/bin\/glances --export prometheus --export-prometheus-port 9091<\/code><\/pre>\n
Glances Process Management & Alert Triggers<\/h2>\n
Glances highlights system resource bottlenecks using automatic color-coded thresholds: Green (OK), Blue (Careful > 50%), Magenta (Warning > 70%), and Red (Critical > 90%). You can configure custom notification webhooks in \/etc\/glances\/glances.conf<\/code> to trigger Slack or Discord alerts whenever critical thresholds are breached.<\/p>\n
Glances Client-Server Centralized Multi-Node Architecture<\/h2>\n
If you manage multiple Linux VPS instances, you do not need to log into each server separately. You can run Glances in client-server mode, streaming telemetry from 10 remote nodes back to a single central monitoring workstation:<\/p>\n
# On Remote VPS Nodes: Start Glances in XML-RPC server mode\n\/opt\/glances\/venv\/bin\/glances -s -B 0.0.0.0 -p 61209 --password\n\n# On Central Workstation: Connect to remote node\n\/opt\/glances\/venv\/bin\/glances -c 192.0.2.45 -p 61209<\/code><\/pre>\n
Glances Process Management & Hotkeys Reference<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Hotkey<\/th>\nAction \/ View<\/th>\nOperational Purpose<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
m<\/code><\/td>\nSort processes by MEM%<\/td>\nQuickly identify memory leaks in PHP\/Node\/Python<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
c<\/code><\/td>\nSort processes by CPU%<\/td>\nPinpoint runaway compute spikes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
d<\/code><\/td>\nToggle Disk I\/O<\/td>\nInspect read\/write IOPS per disk partition<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
Automating Glances CSV & InfluxDB Data Export for Long-Term Trending<\/h2>\n
While Glances displays instantaneous real-time metrics, system administrators often require historical trend analysis over 30 to 90 days. Configure Glances to export system telemetry directly to CSV files or an InfluxDB time-series database:<\/p>\n
# Stream Glances metrics to local CSV archive every 5 seconds\n\/opt\/glances\/venv\/bin\/glances --export csv --export-csv-file \/var\/log\/glances_history.csv -t 5\n\n# Stream to InfluxDB time-series database\n\/opt\/glances\/venv\/bin\/glances --export influxdb<\/code><\/pre>\n
Glances Advanced CLI Filtering & Headless Monitoring Modes<\/h2>\n
Glances can run in lightweight headless daemon mode without graphical interfaces, consuming less than 15MB of RAM while serving REST API metrics:<\/p>\n
# Start headless REST API server on custom port\n\/opt\/glances\/venv\/bin\/glances -s -B 127.0.0.1 -p 61209\n\n# Query real-time CPU load via curl REST endpoint\ncurl http:\/\/127.0.0.1:61209\/api\/3\/cpu\n# Output: {\"total\": 12.4, \"user\": 8.2, \"system\": 3.1, \"idle\": 87.6}<\/code><\/pre>\n
Glances Monitoring Architecture Checklist<\/h2>\n