Deploy Moodle, WordPress, Shibboleth and more with one command
GL Server packages the open-source applications that colleges and public bodies rely on into ready-made Units. Deploy one from the registry, publish it through the built-in load balancer with a certificate already sorted, and let the platform handle backups, updates and monitoring. On your hardware or in our UK data centres, and no DevOps team required.
An application platform built for education, not for a DevOps team
Colleges and public bodies run a growing stack of web applications: a learning platform, single sign-on, a website, marketing, signage, a portfolio tool. Each one normally means its own server, its own upgrade cycle and someone who knows how it works.
GL Server packages each application as a Unit: a self-contained container with its data kept separately on disk. Units come from our registry ready to deploy, so a new Moodle or Shibboleth instance is a single command away. The platform then publishes it, keeps it patched, backs it up and watches it, on one server or across a cluster.
You manage everything through a web interface or the gl command line, and our engineers manage it with you. Our public documentation lives in the InfoHub knowledge base.
$ gl --cache glitch-moodle glitch-shibboleth glitch-wordpress glitch-mahara glitch-mautic glitch-xibo glitch-n8n glitch-mariadb glitch-postgresql … $ gl --deploy glitch-moodle Pulling unit definition from registry … done Unit glitch-moodle claimed by gl-host-01 $ gl --publish https glitch-moodle Certificate: Let's Encrypt, issued Published via glitch-lb → https://learn.yourcollege.ac.uk ✔ $ gl --backup all 3 units backed up to backup_volume, expiry 30 days ✔
Applications ready to deploy
Every Unit is packaged, tested and kept up to date by us. Deploy the ones you need, clone them for test environments, and move them between hosts when you need to.
Everything you would otherwise have to bolt on
The parts of running web applications that usually take a specialist are part of the platform.
Web UI and command line
Deploy, start, stop, clone and inspect Units from a browser or with one gl command. Everything the UI does, the CLI can script.
Load balancing and publishing
Publish a Unit over HTTP or HTTPS through the included load balancer, or integrate with an existing Kemp LoadMaster.
Certificates handled
Let's Encrypt certificates issued and renewed automatically, or upload your own. Self-signed certificates are generated so nothing starts unprotected.
Backups, export and import
Scheduled backups of every Unit with an expiry you set. Export a whole Unit, container and data, and import it on another host.
Cloning and test copies
Clone a live Unit to a test copy in one step, with pre- and post-clone scripts to rewrite settings, so upgrades are rehearsed before they are real.
Updates without downtime drama
Update a Unit's application code from the registry while its data stays untouched, and upgrade the platform itself with one command.
On your hardware, in our data centres, or both
GL Server runs anywhere Linux does. Most customers start hosted and some bring it in-house later. Either way, we manage it with you.
Your servers, your network
- Installed on your existing Linux hosts or virtual machines
- Data never leaves your site
- Cluster across hosts as you grow
- Works behind your own firewall and load balancer
Our UK data centres
- ISO-certified UK facilities on renewable electricity
- High-availability hosts with off-site backups
- Ready in days, not procurement cycles
- Pairs with our green web hosting
Fully managed by EssingtonITS
- We install, configure, monitor and maintain
- Automatic security and feature updates
- Regularly penetration tested to government defence standards
- UK support from the engineers who built it
See GL Server running your applications
We will set up a demonstration host with the Units you are interested in and walk through it with your team.
See what our GL Server customers say
"Always welcomed a working partnership with EssingtonITS on our IT systems, services and projects. A more personal and professional service than other competitors."
