PixelForge Cloud has two control surfaces, and knowing which does what saves a lot of hunting. The portal (pixelforgecloud.com) manages the cloud around your server; the PixelForge Panel manages everything inside the server's operating system.
In the portal (the cloud plane)
- Provisioning: deploy, reboot, rebuild and delete servers.
- Cloud-level networking: firewalls and load balancers.
- Domains, DNS records and DNSSEC; SSL certificates; billing, invoices and renewals.
- CPU and network metrics (the cloud API exposes these).
In the PixelForge Panel (inside the OS)
- Files and folders, databases, and 1-click app installs (WordPress, and more).
- Cron jobs, service management, logs and a browser terminal.
- RAM and disk-usage graphs — these need the Panel agent; the cloud API can't see inside the server.
- Webmail and on-box user management.
Getting between them
- 1Every VPS/Cloud/Dedicated server (and all Web Hosting) includes the Panel.
- 2From the portal, use Open my Panel to jump in with single sign-on — no separate password.
- Rule of thumb: if it's about the box itself, it's the portal; if it's about what's running inside the box, it's the Panel.