Convoy

Sell KVM VPS from your Convoy panel through Blesta - servers built, placed on the best node, and handed to the client with one-click panel access.

What it does

Selling VPS plans from a Convoy panel usually means a staff member manually creating the panel account, picking a node, and building the server by hand for every single order. The Convoy module removes that step entirely: when a client orders, Blesta creates the panel user and the server itself, with the package's CPU, memory, disk, bandwidth, snapshot, backup and IP allowances already applied, and places it on whichever of your allowed nodes currently has the most free memory. Your client is handed a running server and a one-click login to manage it, and your staff never has to open the Convoy panel to fulfil an order.

Key features

• Fully Automated Server Builds: Ordering creates the panel user and the server itself with the package's CPU, memory, disk, bandwidth, snapshot, backup and IP allowances applied, so a paid order turns into a running VPS with no staff involvement.
• Smart Node Placement: Choose which of your nodes a package may use and the module places each new server on the node with the most free memory, honouring each node's overallocation setting so an unlimited node is never skipped.
• Flexible Template Matching: Enter part of an OS template name on the package, such as "Ubuntu 22.04", and the closest matching template on the chosen node is used regardless of how each node spells or capitalises it.
• One-Click Control Panel Login: The Manage tab carries an Open Control Panel button that signs the client straight into Convoy, so they never need to be sent a separate panel link or remember another password.
• Live Server Overview: Clients see their server's status, CPU, memory and disk limits, bandwidth used against its allowance, and all assigned IP addresses on one page in your client area.
• Client Server Renaming: Clients rename their own server from the Manage tab and the new name is pushed to the panel immediately, saving your team a ticket.
• Staff Suspend, Unsuspend and Resource Reapply: Your staff can suspend or unsuspend a server at the panel level and reapply the package's resources to it after a plan change, all from the same admin service page.
• Automatic Root Passwords: Turn on auto-generated passwords per package and a client who leaves the password box blank at checkout still gets a strong root password, so an order can never fail on the password requirement.

Installing Convoy

Before you start

• If you are on the leased (subscription) licence, the Blesta Club Subscription Manager must be installed and your subscription active. The owned and owned-source licences have no such requirement.
• You will need a Convoy panel and an API secret to provision real servers. If you just want to try the module out first, you don't need either: a built-in Mock API mode runs the whole module from bundled sample data.

1. Upload the files

Upload the extension folder into your Blesta installation so it lands under your Blesta directory at:

components/modules/convoy/

For example, on a typical install: /var/www/html/blesta/components/modules/convoy/

2. Install it in Blesta

1. Log in to your Blesta admin area with a staff account that has the Modules permission under the Settings group in Manage Staff Groups.
2. Go to Settings > Company > Modules and click the Available tab.
3. Find Convoy in the list and click Install.

3. Configure it

1. Under the Installed tab, click Manage next to Convoy.
2. Click Add Server and fill in:
   • Name - a label for this panel, shown in the server list.
   • External Secret - the Convoy application API token, generated from your Convoy account's API section.
   • URL - the base URL of your Convoy panel, for example https://panel.example.com.
   • Enable Mock API - leave this unticked for a production panel. Tick it to run the module from built-in sample data instead, so you can trial every screen with any (even fake) credentials.
3. Save the server. Unless Mock API is ticked, Blesta contacts the panel as you save and refuses the server if the URL and secret do not work.
4. Create a package on this module (or edit an existing one) and open its Module tab: pick which of your nodes the package may use, enter the OS Template to build from, and set the CPU, Memory, Disk, Bandwidth, Snapshots, Backups, IPv4 and IPv6 limits for the plan. Turn on Auto-generate Password if you want a strong root password created automatically whenever a client leaves the password field blank at checkout.

You're ready to go - see the usage guide for a walkthrough of day-to-day use.

Updating Convoy

Upgrading works just like installing: upload the new files over the old ones, then run the upgrade from the same page you installed it on.

1. Back up your current extension files first - good practice before any upgrade.
2. Upload the new version over the existing folder, replacing the old files.
3. Log in to your Blesta admin area and go to Settings > Company > Modules.
4. Find Convoy and click Update to run the upgrade.

Version-specific notes

• v2.0.0: The new Manage service tab for staff and clients appears automatically - no setup needed. Package upgrades/downgrades and admin service edits now actually re-apply CPU, memory, disk, bandwidth, snapshot, backup and IP settings to the live server, so after upgrading, open each package's Convoy tab and confirm it has at least one node selected - a package with none can no longer be saved.
• v1.1.0: Added an optional Mock API mode per server. Existing servers are unaffected - no action needed unless you want to demo the module without a live panel.

Using Convoy

For your staff

Adding a server

Under Settings > Company > Modules > Convoy > Manage, click Add Server to connect a Convoy panel. Give it a Name, paste in the External Secret (the panel's application API token) and its URL, and save. Tick Enable Mock API instead of entering real credentials if you just want to try the module out - it then serves built-in sample data for every screen and action. The External Secret is never shown back to you: it appears blank when you reopen the server to edit it, and leaving it blank on save keeps the secret you already stored.

Configuring a package

On a package's Module tab, choose which nodes the package is allowed to build on, enter the OS Template name to match (partial names work, for example "Ubuntu 22.04" matches "Ubuntu 22.04 LTS"), and set the CPU, Memory, Disk, Bandwidth, Snapshots, Backups, IPv4 and IPv6 limits for the plan. Turn on Auto-generate Password if a client leaving the password field blank at checkout should still get a strong root password instead of the order failing.

Managing a server

Open a service and its Manage tab to see the server's status, CPU/memory/disk limits, bandwidth used against its allowance, and its assigned IP addresses, plus the panel login email, panel password and server password. An Open Control Panel button signs you straight into Convoy for anything not covered here (power controls, the console, backups, reinstalling and reverse DNS are all handled from the panel itself). You can rename the server from the same tab, and as staff you also get Suspend Server, Unsuspend Server and Reapply Package Resources - the last one re-applies the package's current CPU, memory, disk, bandwidth, snapshot and backup limits and IP addresses to the live server, useful after changing a client's package.

For your clients

Managing your server

From your service's Manage tab, you can see your server's live status, resource limits, bandwidth usage and IP addresses, plus your Convoy panel login details. Click Open Control Panel to sign straight into Convoy without re-entering a password - that's where you manage power, the console, backups, reinstalling and reverse DNS. You can also rename your server directly from this tab.

Good to know

• Configurable options: create a Blesta configurable option whose name matches a package field you want clients to vary at checkout - nodes, template, cpu, memory, disk, bandwidth, snapshots, backups, ipv4 or ipv6. Any other option name is ignored.
• Panel accounts are reused: each client gets a single Convoy panel account that every one of their servers shares, so their whole fleet appears together under one login instead of one per order.
• Email tags: the module exposes {module.name}, {module.url}, package fields like {package.template}/{package.cpu}, and service fields including {service.primary_ip}/{service.primary_ipv6} for welcome emails. The panel's External Secret is deliberately never an email tag, since it grants full administrative access to your entire panel.
• Mock/demo mode: with a server's Enable Mock API ticked, the whole module including ordering, suspend/unsuspend/cancel and the Manage tab runs from bundled sample data, so you can demo it fully without a live Convoy panel.