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Which server control panel should I use?

Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 11:27 am
by RobertGonzalez
Okay, so I am a few moments away from getting my (hopefully) last dedicated server for a while. Since I am absolutely in love with MySQL5 I need to have that on the server, and I found two hosts that offer dedicated servers with PHP5 and MySQL5 (one is a CentOS system, the other is Fedora Core 5) that are less than $100 per month. I am very familiar with FC5, but I am still not that versed in CLI to be able to add users, websites and FTP accounts so my clients can actually upload their sites and have their sites resolve correctly.

My Dilemma
Seeing as I need MySQL5, and the two most common control panels (cPanel and Plesk) do NOT support MySQL5, I need a control panel that I can use that will not choke on a MySQL 5 installation. So far I have looked at Webmin (which I have used a little bit) and ISPConfig (which I have never used). My question to you all is...

What are your experiences with less-than-mainstream server control panels? Does anyone use one that works with MySQL5 other than the ones I have listed? Does anyone have any feedback on the two control panels that I have listed above?

As always, any help is much appreciated.

Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 11:37 am
by Kieran Huggins
In the open source corner we have:
ispconfig: http://www.ispconfig.org/
vhcs: http://www.vhcs.net/new/
Zpanel: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zpanel (their website is down?) (demo: http://zpanel.meisam.net)

Commercially, there's:

http://www.cubepanel.com/ (free version available for < 30 users)

I have no experience installing or using any of the above :-(

I hate Plesk - cPanel/whm is OK, haven't used webmin since the 90's.

Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 12:46 pm
by RobertGonzalez
Thanks Kieran. I am looking at cubepanel at the moment as it appears to be the only one that specifically mentions support for Fedora Core 5.

Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 1:26 pm
by evilmonkey
AFAIK, cpanel works with MySQL 5. My WHM has an option to install it.

Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 2:58 pm
by RobertGonzalez
I read up on updating MySQL to 5 within WHM. I have not heard very many successful stories about it.

I am starting with a fresh install, so I can pretty much get away with whatever I want at the moment. The one caveat to this is that I need to be able to get the server servable within the next few days so I can convert all my existing accounts on my other servers on to this new one.

Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 3:41 pm
by Kieran Huggins
if your other accounts are cPanel accounts you can make life easier by installing cpanel on the new server and doing a "cPanel Transfer"

Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 5:17 pm
by RobertGonzalez
Nope. None of them are cPanel accounts. They have all been GoDaddy accounts that use their proprietary Simple Control Panel.

Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 1:17 am
by dude81
My First company. You can talk to the persons over
chat

Virtualmin supports MySQL 5

Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 1:24 am
by SwellJoe
Hey guys,

Virtualmin, in both the Open Source version found at: http://www.webmin.com/index8.html and the commercial version found here: http://www.virtualmin.com, support MySQL 5.

Webmin's MySQL management module also works great with MySQL 5, and if you haven't used it since the 90's, you're missing some great functionality (and the next year is going to see the biggest improvements in its history, due to heavy commercial involvement from a couple of companies).

To avoid any hint of impropriety, I'll point out that I'm the co-founder of Virtualmin, Inc. So, I have a vested interest in Virtualmin Professional. But I don't make any money on Virtualmin GPL, and I believe you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you don't at least consider it. It is, by far, the most advanced Open Source control panel available (though, admittedly, the documentation is sparse...that's changing very soon, however).

Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 1:34 am
by RobertGonzalez
Thanks for the input. I just have already installed CP+ from PSoft (the makers of HSphere). I am very impressed with the ease of use of that app. But thanks for the input.

Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 12:25 pm
by alex.barylski
Hey Everah, nice timing. I'm looking for a dedicated server...you mind sharing what companies you managed to find?

After some searching, I've really liked what I've heard from serverbeach.com but I'm always open to alternatives :P

Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 12:36 pm
by RobertGonzalez
I had narrowed it down to AMHosting and Cari.net. I ended up going with Cari.net because their support was a lot more accessible over the phone and their prices are very reasonable. Plus they react very quickly, having my server set up for me in a matter of minutes.

Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2007 1:11 pm
by alex.barylski
Cari.net eh?

I stumbled onto them too actually, really like what I seen...thanks man :)

Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 7:13 pm
by seodevhead
In my mind, without a doubt your best option would be a cPanel/WHM on a CentOS distro. I have one of my dedicated servers running this setup and love it. I hardly ever use WHM other than to set up my hosts. Plesk is some crap IMO. Can't speak about webmin... although it is my impression that it is inferior, no?

Posted: Mon Mar 05, 2007 10:34 am
by RobertGonzalez
The more I use the panel I picked (CP+ from the folks and PSoft, the makers of HShere), the more I realize that their product is a re-skinned version of Webmin. Having used Webmin a bit at work, and now having used it considerably for dedicated server, I would say Webmin would easily go head to head with Plesk or CPanel. It can literally do anything those other guys do, and without the risk of compatibility issues with current server software (like Plesk has with MySQL 5 - still).