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24/7 Solutions - Hosting control panels . The review of popular decisions.


Control panels for systems of a virtual hosting provide the convenient web-interface for management of all parameters a hosting account. This management of registration records of a ftp-server, creation change and removal of mail boxes, management of sites adjustments (record DNS, aliases, logs) and creation, change, removal of databases is usual. The majority of control panels as allow to cooperate with system of the provider's billing and domains register.

Control panels can be developed by hosting providers independently or are developed by specialized software companies under the order concrete hosting provider. But usually providers buy ready decisions which are developed to be supported and extend specialized software companies.

Let's list the most popular commercial control panels:

1. ñPanel ® (the Developer - DarkORB Communications Inc, at present, extends and supported by company ñPanel Inc.)

The panel works under following operational systems:

  • RedHat Linux 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 8.0, 9.0
  • Mandrake Linux 7.2, 8.0, 8.1, 8.2, 9.0, 9.1, 9.2
  • FreeBSD 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 4.10, 5.0, 5.1, 5.2
  • FreeBSD amd64 5.2.1
  • SuSE 8.2, 9.0
  • Fedora 1, 2
  • Whitebox Enterprise 3
  • RedHat Enterprise Linux (x86_64) 3
  • RedHat Enterprise Linux 2.1, 3
  • CentOS 3, 3.1

Advantages:

  • The panel is very convenient for beginning users. To blind a site with shop, the form of a feedback, the guest book and a forum it is possible not leaving from it for 5 minutes. And all will work!
  • The panel stably enough works.
  • Work with mail is very conveniently organized.
  • Management of databases PostgreSQL Is organized.
  • ñPanel ® became de facto the branch standard and meets very often. You will not have problems at carry of a site from one provider to another too giving this panel.
  • Works in the majority of browsers (IE, Opera, Firefox and so forth).

Lacks of the panel is the result from advantages:

  • The panel is inconvenient for the advanced users. In it, for example, there is no management DNS of records, management of a level of access to databases and still it is a lot of that that can be necessary for thin adjustment.
  • The Old cursor of the panel pulls behind itself many problems. For example, at hardly a non-standard configuration of a server any updating can deduce it out of operation hours on 6-10. From here and opinion on problems with vulnerability and defects in each new version.
  • Development ñPanel ® recently was braked. It is clear, very much all in it busy, and something to change in it very difficultly.
  • The panel works through non-standard ports 2082 or 2083 (protected) and if at you on work the strict manager, from work you in the panel of a site will not come. At least, yet do not ask it to open one of these ports.
  • WWW mail too is accessible through non-standard ports (2095/2096) Instead of in all the Internet-clubs they are opened. The person without laptop has left to travel - to not esteem to it mail.

cPanel® is a trademark of cPanel, Inc.

2. DirectAdmin ® (the Developer - JBMC Software Canada, St Albert sity)

The panel works under following Unix systems:

  • RedHat Linux 7.2, 7.3, 8.0, 9.0.
  • RedHat Fedora 1.0, 2.0
  • RedHat Enterprise 2.1, 3.0
  • FreeBSD 4.7, 4.8, 4.9, 4.10, 5.0, 5.1, 5.2, 5.2.1.

Advantages

  • Convenience and speed of work of the panel impress.
  • Ideally approaches for the advanced users.
  • There Is very convenient site of support.
  • Works in old and defective browsers, for example in pocket ie.

Lacks

  • There Is no set standard scripts, for example a forum, the guest book, the form for sending the letter from a site. If you wish to establish something similar - you should make it independently.
  • The Antispam the filter very weak, practically any.
  • It is impossible download logs in the packed kind.
  • Work is conducted through non-standard port 2222 and if at you on work the strict manager, from work you in the panel of a site will not come. At least, yet do not ask it to open port 2222.
  • In a file the manager there is no support of archives.
3. Hosting Controller (It is developed by company Advanced Communications - USA. Departments of development, sales and supports are in Pakistan)

It is compatible to following systems:

Web a server

  • IIS 6 (Windows 2003)
  • IIS 5 (Windows 2000)

FTP a server

  • MS FTP Server
  • Serv-U FTP Server

DNS a server

  • Microsoft DNS
  • Bind DNS (4 and 8) (for Windows and Linux)
  • Simple DNS Plus

Post server

  • XMail Mail Server (free-of-charge)
  • Mail Enable Server (free-of-charge)
  • IMail Server
  • Merak Mail
  • MDaemon Mail Server
  • VOPMail Server
  • MailMax Server
  • Post. Office
  • SendMail (Linux)

Server of statistics

  • DeepMetrix Stats
  • WebTrends Reporting Server
  • WebTrends Enterprise Suite
  • WebAlizer Stats Server (free-of-charge)
  • AWStats Stats Server (free-of-charge)

Databases

  • MySQL Server
  • MS-SQL Server 2000
  • MS-SQL Server 7.0
  • MS Access and MS Excel

Payment systems

  • Authorize.Net
  • LinkPoint International
  • WorldPay.com
  • PayPal.com
  • 2CheckOut.com

Advantages of the panel

1. The Simple, convenient and reliable control panel.
2. Despite of simplicity, has quite enough properties to be suitable both for managers, and for users. Has practically all necessary for the successful control of hosting Windows, and also many useful additional functions.
3. It is convenient both for beginners, and for the advanced users.
4. The Multilingual interface.
5. Costs approximately twice more cheaply, than, for example, cPanel.
6. It is equipped by the magnificent documentation, including every possible textbooks, a demo in Flash.
7. Has unlimited and free-of-charge technical technical support.

Lacks of the panel

1. Works through non-standard port 8077 (as, however, the majority of panels of a hosting), that is at use Firewall there can be problems.

4. H-Sphere (the Developer - Positive Software Corporation, the USA, New York)

Works with operational systems:

  • RedHat Enterprise Linux.3.0 (ES/WS/AS)
  • CentOS 3.1
  • FreeBSD 4.8, 4.9 and 4.10 *
  • Windows 2000 or Windows 2003 *

Advantages

1. The Multilingual interface it is incorporated and it is supported by developers;
2. There Is everything, that is required for work with the site;
3. Good security from breakings;
4. Excellent protection against a spam (SpamAssasin) with its full-function adjustment;
5. The Excellent file-manager, allows to forget about a shell.

Lacks

1. Few ready scripts for installation;
2. Non-standard ports (8080,8443) Are used.

5. ISPmanager 4 (Developer ISPsystem LLC Waterloo, Belgium)

The control panel works on following operational systems:

  • FreeBSD 4.x, FreeBSD 5.x
  • RedHat
  • Fedora
  • Gentoo
  • Debian
  • Mandrake
  • Suse
  • CentOS

Advantages

  • The Harmonous logical organization, for certain to like fans Unix
  • Use standard 443 ports both for the control panel, and for a web-mail and phpMyAdmin. Very actually for work in a corporate network.
  • The Multilevel system of the rights allows to differentiate access of users to various functions of the panel. By the current moment there are following levels: the manager of a server (root), the reseller of sites (only in ISPmanager 4 Pro), the manager of a site, the user with access to shell, the FTP-user, the e-mail-user. Also there is a module, allowing to limit access of the user to the concrete module.
  • The Detailed documentation in several languages, including in the Russian, consisting of helps and the panel of the help. Localization is made by developers that is positively reflected in its urgency.
  • Some themes of the interface, including a theme which supports old browsers, since Netscape 3.0, IE 4, Opera 5, Konqueror and others.
  • ISPmanager has in detail described in documentation opened API owing to which you can use all functions of the control panel from external appendices and scripts. It is very useful for integration with other systems.
  • The Control panel dynamically develops, every month there are two versions in which there are new functions.
  • Owing to automatic system of updating you will have the freshest version of the control panel, not applying any efforts.

Lacks

  • There is no antispam-filter.