Archive for control panel
Control Panel: Advantages & Disadvantages
Posted by: | CommentsTo control panel, or not to control panel? It’s a perennial question, and one all conscientious web masters have had to ask at some point during their career. It doesn’t matter what kind, style, or flavor of website you’re hoping to create: Odds are you’ll have to wage the costs and benefits of using a control panel (like cPanel) to manage your media, or going Bear Grylls and relying entirely on the command shell. However, just because the problem is a ubiquitous one does not mean it has to be a hard one. In fact, with a little foreknowledge and just a smidgen of guidance, you might find the decision between graphical front-ends and pure control is simpler than you think. With that in mind, we’ve compiled a short list of some of the pros and cons of using a control panel alongside your website. It’s by no means a complete listing, but if you’re on the fence, it will certainly help you along the right path.
Pros:
1. No Software Required: We may have just modified a Phil Collins song to meet our needs, but that doesn’t make the point any less valid: If you’re using a control panel, there’s absolutely no need to clutter up your home computer with FTP software of any kind. This, after all, is really the point of having a control panel in the first place. With something like cPanel in place, you can access your site from any location around the globe via browser. From there, you’re free to upload, mangle, and download your system’s files as needed. It’s quick, efficient, and saves you hard drive space in the long run.
2.Easy Stats: Another advantage to using a control panel over the traditional terminal are the various statistical tools available for your perusal. Using these tools, you can stay up to date on a minute-by-minute basis with who has been accessing your site, from where, and when down to the second. Want to know how many of your users have been coming from the Southeast? With a control panel in place, it’s no problem at all to find out. In fact, we might even say it’s easy as pie—especially considering pie charts are a definite possibility.
3. Ease of Installation: Another benefit to using a control panel is its ease of software installation. Essentially, with a package like cPanel creating a front-end for your site, you’re allowed to add, remove, or modify web applications as you please. Want to add a forum to your site? No problem, assuming you have a control panel! How about shopping carts, bags, help desks, image galleries, billing software, or even a content management software like WordPress? With all of the above, it’s a done deal, assuming you’ve got the control panel to match. Best of all, these installations can be removed just as easily as they’re added, allowing for an unprecedented level of control over your site’s performance.
4. Know Your Usage: Typically, when a web hosting provider comes stock with a control panel, the panel is capable of tracking your data usage, just like Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T allow users to track their minutes and allowances from the Web. In this way, it’s a cinch to keep a tab on just how much of your plan you’ve been using, allowing you to scale back next month if needed, or ramp up the features, should your site experience a sudden hike in popularity.
Cons:
1. Big Tasks Suck: However, a control panel isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. In fact, when it comes to certain filing procedures, they can be a right pain in the derriere. For example, let’s imagine you have a directory that’s currently housing something like 5,000 unique files. Now, what if you wanted to move all 5k of these items to a new folder? How about only the files that begin with a specific phrase? Using a graphical control panel, this could take hours of tedious clicking and sorting. However, with the command line, a single string can take care of the whole operation in only seconds. Now that’s power!
2. Getting Dirty Requires Less: Let’s create another example: Let’s say your server begins acting strangely, and all of your files suddenly change their permission states. With a control panel, sorting out the mess could, again, require hours of manipulation, and even then, privileges are notoriously hard to manage with a graphical front-end. When it comes to such root level functions as modifying folder permissions, visibility, or password protection, using the shell terminal is really the only way to go.
3. Security is Shell-Oriented: Another notch in the terminals favor is the fact that graphical interfaces are typically far less secure. These control panels rely on a software relationship between the hardware, the shell, and the pretty, eye-candy studded panel you deal with on a daily basis. All of this connectivity adds up to an impressive level of control, but also to a lot of compromised security. Not to mention the fact that cPanel’s popularity makes it a prime target for hackers looking to make a quick steal. The shell terminal, on the other hand, is direct, password encrypted, and one-way. With this in mind, it’s nearly impossible to hijack a shell tunnel, providing an infinitely more secure experience, and at no cost to your overall control.
So there you have it! On the whole, there’s really only one quick question you need to ask yourself when considering the application of a graphical control panel: And that is, “How much ease of use am I really after?” If quickly and simply managing your site is of the utmost importance to you, there’s no better way to do it than with a program like cPanel. Otherwise, for the dedicated and control-based webmaster, the shell truly is king.
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The Ins and Outs of DirectAdmin
Posted by: | CommentsBy just about every measure, cPanel is the #1 web hosting control panel. In the web hosting world, though, that typically means that there are a gaggle of alternatives that are 2nd best and trying harder. While not all of them have gained a strong footing among web hosts, one that is climbing the ranks is DirectAdmin.
The first complete version of DirectAdmin was released on Mar 1, 2003. Reviews of some of its earliest versions circa 2005-6 weren’t so hot. Lately, however, it’s been gaining traction, as evidenced by the active user support forum for it, and the increasing number of hosts offering it alongside of cPanel. In fact, vpsLink, HostPC and SiteValley includes this control panel among their standard hosting options.
So what is the main drawing point for DirectAdmin?
Simple: It’s simple.
DirectAdmin’s main draw is how light it is as a software package. “Light” means a lot of good things for the user.
First, it means that it is fast to operate, not having cPanel’s heavy overhead. This is especially critical on shared hosting services, since it might be several dozen users at once using these. That kind of processing can add up fast if not done right. Second, it means that it is easy to use and navigate through. Its interface is also very similar to cPanel, so users crossing over won’t spend a lot of time re-educating themselves.
Third, being a lightweight package means that it is far more reliable and doesn’t crash nearly as much. When it does crash, the recovery is comparatively pretty quick and clean. Finally, being a smaller package means that it’s also a cheaper package, resulting in lower price passed on to you, the end user. A number of free web hosts use DirectAdmin for this reason.
Simple isn’t all good … is it?
The downside of this easier approach means that DirectAdmin doesn’t quite have the full rainbow of options that cPanel has.
Or does it? In multiple reviews online comparing cPanel to DirectAdmin I found users talking about the advanced administrator tasks that you can only do in cPanel. However, when pressed to name what those tasks were, I did not see a single specific one listed.
This doesn’t mean that they don’t exist. With a package as established and worked over as cPanel, its probably a sure thing that there are some cPanel wizard tricks that you cannot do, or do easily with DirectAdmin. On top of that, even if there isn’t that much in direct functionality that’s different, cPanel has a larger set of tutorials, FAQs, and current users ready to share their knowledge of the product.
Less popular because it’s less popular?
One web site suggests that the preference towards cPanel in the hosting world might be little more than momentum. If that’s true, then considering the fact that DirectAdmin is also largely considered to be the more secure of the two control panels (again, for reasons of programming simplicity), this might not be the case forever.
Whatever the reason, DirectAdmin is clearly rising in the web hosting world as a respected control panel package. If your host offers this, you might consider looking into it.
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What To Remember When Moving To A New Control Panel
Posted by: | CommentsVery rarely will you have to move your website to a new control panel interface, especially if you’re using shared hosting. Most web hosting providers will not give you the choice of several different offerings, or even the option to migrate to a new base. However, if you’re using VPS or dedicated hosting, you may be looking at a totally different animal. The control panel at work is under your thumb, and should you get a wild hair to swap from cPanel to Plesk, it’s your prerogative.
With that in mind, there are several things that need to be kept in mind when deciding to migrate from one control panel to another. It’s not an easy task, and considering the benefits, you may want to reconsider. So, here’s our quick thoughts on what you need to know before swapping to a different control panel.
It’s In The Matrix, Neo:
First off the bat, we’d like to remind you that not all control panels are wired the same. Each interface achieves its goals in completely different ways. We aren’t just talking about a scripting language here, either. Who knows if the underlying code of your new system won’t be completely different from the one before it? Not to mention the fact that your new panel may not play well with the various packages and applications you’d like to use.
As an example, your control panel may be hard-wired to run with Apache HTTP. By swapping to a server panel that’s not, you run the risk of losing all of your existing scripts, your hard-won applications, and perhaps even some of your content. At the least, be aware of the fact that different panel’s may use very different coding structures. If at all possible, do some research, and get to know your new neighborhood.
Moving Out Is Hard To Do:
Because structures may be so completely different, you may yet have a bear of a time transferring all of your data to the new panel. Imagine all those scripts and applications you have laying about. Will they all work with a new panel? If they don’t, can you find a ported version of the same item to match your new system? Not to mention, are you capable of coding for the new platform you have in mind?
Moving one whole site to a new panel isn’t too big a pain in the derriere. But if you have many multiple servers and sites, imagine moving them all to a new structure.
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Enkompass: A Windows Control Panel For The Masses
Posted by: | CommentsSo, you finally bit the bullet: You gave in and used a Windows-based web host, contrary to the popular, Linux-oriented hosting. Before we say good for you, though, we just want to point out one sad fact—there aren’t many quality, Windows-ready control panels out there for managing your new content. At least, there aren’t many as easy to use or as user friendly as you might like. Thankfully, though, there are a few, and one of our favorites (Enkompass) is even the brainchild of the same developers that brought you cPanel/WHM.
Enkompass is easily one of the best control panels around for your Windows-based server. If you’re looking for a fresh face to add to your account, you could certainly do a lot worse. We aren’t here to sell you the software, but we will tell you what we like about it. Starting with the following:
- It Looks Like cPanel, Smells Like cPanel: Like we said, Enkompass comes straight from the guys that made cPanel, one of the easiest to use and most familiar control panels around for UNIX-based servers. With that in mind, if you’re use to cPaneling your servers, you’ll instantly be at home with Enkompass. It looks and behaves about the same, making it an easy transition from one to the other.
- Plays Well With Others: Reason number two is simple—Enkompass works well with other utilities. For instance, it plays like a good kid with Windows Server 2008 and Microsoft IIS7 Server. Not to mention full support for MySQL and Microsoft SQL Server 2005-2008. It also takes full advantage of Active Directory, providing enhanced scalability.
- Scripting? We Got Loads Of It! Another reason we like Enkompass is its compatibility with a wide variety of scripting platforms. This puppy can handle .NET, ASP, PHP, Perl, AJAX, Silverlight, XML, and others, making it an all-one resource for the coder in you.
- You Get The Literature: The last reason we think Enkompass is just wonderful has to do with its documentation. As a cPanel port for Windows (more or less, don’t shoot us Windows server geeks!) you still get access to the wealth of troubleshooting literature available for the Linux edition. Because both services behave more or less the same, the communities are entirely integrated, allowing you to take full advantage of already existent resources.
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Choosing Between cPanel and Plesk
Posted by: | CommentsIf you’ve been into web hosting long, you may know of all the different control panels. You know their nuances and differences, as well as the strengths of each:
But the sad truth is, we often forget these things, and wind up using the same control panel out of habit. If that’s you, then take this refresher on the two most popular panels around, cPanel and Plesk. We’ll dive into both, and get right down to the nitty gritty competitive nature of each.
What is cPanel And Plesk, Anyway?
For those more familiar with the business, you’ll already know that cPanel is the most popular platform for managing a server. What you may not know is that cPanel has been around since the mid-1990s and is more or less only compatible with Unix and Linux systems. This means it plays along nicely with Red Hat and CentOS.
Plesk, on the other hand, is a relative newcomer to the scene, arriving in the early 2000s. The difference with it is—you guessed it—it supports both Unix and Windows. So who’s got a real leg up on who? To answer, we’ll need to take a look at the strengths of each. We’ll start with the heavyweight, cPanel:
cPanel is The Windows Of Server Systems
What we mean by this is, because cPanel is so widely used, if you have a problem you can more than likely find a solution. There’s a very large group of people using the software, and because cPanel enjoys such a large support basis, its been studied to death. It also sports an easier to learn interface than Plesk, meaning it plays nicer with the masses, and makes it easier to get into web hosting. In essence, cPanel web hosting is as Ubuntu is to Linux—Please don’t shoot me Tux nerds: I’m just creating analogies!
Plesk Is Bi-server-ual
Plesk, on the other hand, handles multiple servers and operating systems like a champ. The interface is a bit more complicated, and has a slightly steeper learning curve, but in return it supports both Unix and Windows. It also handles multiple commands better than cPanel.
At the end of the day, as most quality hosting options give you a choice between both services, your real conundrum is this: Do you want ease of use with a Unix face, or do you want a multi-server Windows machine?
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Control Panels – What are Their Limits?
Posted by: | CommentsWhen something is too user-friendly there is an instinctual felling that there must be some nuances of use that you are sacrificing to obtain use an un-intimidating product or service. This is a good general rule, but one that doesn’t quite have the bite that it used to. Modern web hosting control panels, for example cPanel hosting do more than simply let you more files around and setup spam filters. They are full-service suites that at times seem to encompass just about anything that you might ever want to do with your web site.
Again, though, your presumption may be that this couldn’t possibly be all that is needed. In this case, you’d be right. Web hosting control panels are a fantastic way for the beginner-to-intermediate user to focus more on their web site and less on learning tech tricks. But the more experienced you get, the more you are going to wonder where their limitations lie and when you should be using other ways of accessing and manipulating your account.
Command line interfaces: not quite the dark side.
If you’ve never done so before, the notion of learning any kind of scripting might seem like jumping to the dark side and liking it. Those who have experience with this type of scripting may be chuckling at the thought. Knowledge of the basics of how to use a command-line interface can quickly provide you with access to a world of functionality that you may not have even considered.
DOS, Unix, and for that matter, just about any operating system comes with a command line interface with some syntactical basics that are quickly picked up, never forgotten, and which have a plethora of uses. Let us take the wildcard, for example. The asterisk (“*”) is a long-running “match anything” standard. Do you have a directory with 5000 files, and you only want to move files with a certain word in it to a new directory? In a control panel this could take hours. From a command line this can be done in 10 seconds.
Countless tools
While control panels are continually adding new features to them, they are catching up to operating systems that have been around for decades and have ridiculous amounts of add-ins and small scripts that are often forgotten about, yet still included. Some of them admittedly today now seem silly and quaint, but many of them, if you can make basic use of them, can provide fantastic time saving techniques. Let’s say, for example, that you are looking for a file, but all you know about is the rough 3-month period in which it was made, about how big it is, and one or two words that you are sure are found within the file. Again, with most graphical systems this is a nearly impossible task. With an “ancient” interface this can be done in a few lines and at most a minute of your time.
Remember when you complained about learning Latin?
Like Latin, it may seem like few people still use it. But when you start using command-line interfaces, you start to see that by learning them you are equipping yourself with tools that will have more uses than you can hypothesize about. So the answer to the question of what the limitations of control panels are is simple: it’s somewhere… and you are only going to know where when you see what else you are capable of by stepping outside their world a bit.