@rockeby

Block Storage (Volumes)

While Block Storage (volumes) can be used, I wouldn’t recommend using them as the primary storage medium for customer data. Instead, I would use them to store backup archives using cPanel/WHM’s built-in backup utility which allows you to define a custom backup path (i.e. the volume mount point).

The reason for this recommendation is due to how cPanel/WHM works. While our volumes can be detached and attached on-demand, if you’re hosting customer data on a volume and the system and user metadata do not exist on the server you’re attaching it to, the data won’t be visible within WHM.

Using volumes as a means of storing backups, however, would allow you to set up a new Droplet with cPanel/WHM, attach the volume, and then use WHM to restore each backup archive (system config, user accounts, profiles, etc).

Floating IP’s

Floating IP’s fall into a similar bucket. While you can detach and attach an IP on-demand, Floating IP’s do have some limitations–specifically, PTR records cannot be set and they cannot be used for outbound email. Additional details on Floating IP’s can be found here.

DNS (name servers)

cPanel offers a DNSOnly version of cPanel/WHM which can be installed on 2-3 Droplets without an additional license (as of this reply). This would allow you to set up redundant name servers in different locations and use WHM’s built-in DNS Cluster option to synchronize the DNS zones across multiple servers.

Using DNSOnly, you can work around using a single IP for DNS. While it does add to the overall cost, you can get by with 1GB Droplets (DNS doesn’t require much CPU or RAM unless you’re handling high levels of traffic.)

PTR Record

By default, the name that you set for your Droplet is set as your PTR record. You’ll want to edit the name of your Droplet to set the PTR to match your hostname.

1. Visit https://cloud.digitalocean.com
2. Click on the name of the Droplet you wish to rename
3. On the Droplet overview page, click on the name of your Droplet to rename
4. Once you’ve set the name of your Droplet, click on the checkmark to save

For your hostname, it’s recommended that it be set to an FQHN (fully-qualified hostname). For example:

host.domain.ext

You’ll want to avoid using cpanel, webmail, ftp, webdav, or similar in the hostname (these are reserved by cPanel/WHM).

-

Setup Recommendations

• Spin up a Droplet
• Install cPanel/WHM
• Create and mount a volume
• Configure cPanel/WHM backups (using the volume mount point)
• Install ConfigServer Firewall (installation guide)

References

• cPanel DNSOnly Installatyion
• How to Set Up Nameservers in a cPanel Environment