In the previous article of the Getting started with VPS: Website series we briefly described a few options for installing the necessary web applications onto the virtual server.
The manual server installation and settings require more knowledge in the area of system administration and web applications, compared to using a control panel.
The control panel is a web interface that is accessed through a web browser and it allows the configuration of the virtual server settings and management.
Since that web panel represents a graphic user interface, instead of writing commands in the terminal (SSH), to access each functionality or option you may click on the respective graphic icon.
The control panels have differences in terms of their license – there are paid and free ones. The more important characteristics that set them apart from one another are the richness of their functionalities, the ease of use, design and the necessary user efforts to learn the panel.
Some of the tasks and operations you can perform through the control panel and the virtual server:
- working with directories and files;
- access and management of the databases;
- creating and management of FTP users;
- logs and resources consumption check up;
- management of addon domains, parked domains and subdomains;
- creating and management of email accounts;
- server apps installation and settings.
Choosing your control panel
Upon choosing your control panel, pay attention to the following:
- is there active feedback from the developers;
- are there new updates often released;
- are the inquiries in the support forums left unsolved, or do they receive a response;
- is there a panel demo;
- is it supported for the operating system of your virtual server;
- is there abundant help information;
- is the panel interface user-friendly;
- what are the options and possibilities for settings.
We will provide you with two reliable control panels, which you can choose in additions to the VPS services.
cPanel (WHM)
The control panel, cPanel, has a paid license and is among the most widely used ones for hosting services. That control panel comes free of charge, as an addition to all Managed VPS plans.
The cPanel user interface is well organized, simplified and convenient – all options are grouped by type and function.
The interface offers many options – both the basic options for email accounts, file manager, FTP users and databases, and the specialized ones such as an extended DNS editor, Cron jobs, SSL/TLS manager and many others.
cPanel works with Apache, MySQL, PHP server applications, and others.
⭐️Distinctive characteristics of cPanel
One of the greatest advantages of this panel is its user-friendly operation and the intuitive orientation in the options and settings. The reseller option is also convenient WHM (Web HostManager), allowing the creation and management of multiple users with separate hosting accounts. WHM offers two access levels: admin – for system administration of the server, and reseller – for accessing the resellers.
Webuzo
The Webuzo control panel is developed by Softaculous and its appearance is very similar to that of the Softaculous app manager. Also, Webuzo comes with Softaculous included.
There are two license options for this panel – paid and free of charge. The paid version offers the full kit of installation systems, as well as several additional options. The number of ready-made systems that can be installed in the free version is limited.
Webuzo is a very useful control panel with multiple options, but you need to bear in mind it does not support many users. Upon installing the panel onto the virtual server, there will be one main user for the hosting environment. That means one main domain, with an option for each following domain to be added as an addon or a parked domain.
Webuzo uses the LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) software collection. After the panel is installed, you may install additional server apps onto the virtual server.
⭐️Distinctive characteristics of Webuzo
Apart from the standard apps, through Webuzo you are able to install various additional server apps:
- software collections: LEMP, LAMP, LLMP and MEAN;
- web server: Nginx, Apache 2, Node.js and Lighttpd;
- databases: MySQL, MariaDB, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, Percona, Hypertable, Cassendra, Redis, Apache Hadoop, Apache Hive, Stratosphere and others;
- version control: Git, Subversion, CVS, Mercurial, Darcs, Bazaar, Fosil;
- Java instruments and containers: Apache ZooKeeper, Groovy, elasticsearch, Apache Maven, Tomcat, GlassFish, Jetty, Virgo and many others;
- others: phpMyAdmin, RockMongo, Exim, Dovecit, BIND, Varnish, Memcached, GeoIP, Django, Sphinx and others.
