Which type of Cpanel Lisense should I buy for Droplet?
Hi, I am thinking to transfer my sites to Digital Ocean but which type of Cpanel Lisense will I need, VPS or Dedicated Server?
Thanks
7 Answers
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Why I shouldn't be using Cpanel, is there any alternative or can I run PHP applications without Command line interference?
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One of the most common steps to take when setting up a new server is to install a LAMP stack. LAMP stands for Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP. These individual components, when used together, allow us to host dynamic web content like websites and web apps on our server. We will demonstrate how to install these pieces and configure a basic setup for Ubuntu 14.04 in this guide.-
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Why would you get an unmanaged VPS if you don't know or don't want to learn CLI?
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You can definitely use cPanel -- you'd choose the VPS license. You do, however, need to be aware of the requirements for cPanel.
cPanel installs and runs Apache, PHP, MySQL, Exim, and multiple other services, so I would start with a 2GB Droplet (that's my recommendation). That should give you enough room to host a few sites and get a feel for how well they'll perform.
One thing to keep in mind is that installing a control panel is not an all-in-one solution that you install and call it a day with. You'll still need to know how to manage a server, how to secure a server, and how to update & upgrade your server.
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Adding to my previous comment, it would benefit you more in the long run to become familiar with the tutorials and guides that DigitalOcean has in their database. While you may not need to compile software from source when using cPanel, it's knowledge you can use to better your overall server administration skills and should something arise, you'll be better prepared to handle it.
When it comes to security, even with cPanel installed (which by default, isn't all that secure), you want to focus on multiple areas including general web server security (firewall, securing SSH, rootkit and malware scanning + prevention, etc) as well as be aware of security requirements to secure the applications you plan to run on each account (i.e. WordPress, Drupal, etc).
Looking beyond the basics, you also need to learn how to secure and optimize MySQL, PHP, and Apache so that it's secure and performs well.
Outside of cPanel, you can visit:
https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials
The above will allow you to search over specific tutorials. For cPanel specifically, there's a wide number of guides online (via Google) that you can use to help there. Just watch the dates and aim for newer guides.
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Thanks a lot for your information, I am not advance in those things but I can do simple commands and install Cpanel and other scripts easily.
Currently, I have dedicated server where if a load is increased on a single site it turns down the whole server, so to protect other sites I am thinking to divide them into many droplets.
Is there any good alternative to Cpanel or something similar?, as I want to avoid paying for multiple Cpanel licenses.
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VestaCP is about the only free control panel that'd I'd recommend right now, though the same warnings apply -- to effectively run a web server, you need to know more than just how to install the control panel and how to use the GUI it provides.
If you're not comfortable working from the CLI, I would recommend working to expand your knowledge. Create a test droplet that you can just destroy and tinker -- that way you're not at risk of harming anything that would effect your websites. Test out tutorials and guides, see what works and what doesn't -- then find out how to fix what doesn't.
I've worked with cPanel for about 10 years and with Linux about 16 -- there's always something you can learn. I find it to be nearly impossible to know everything, and I make it a point to look for something new to learn every chance I get.
VestaCP: https://vestacp.com
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Thanks.
You are right, I am learning these things and will try to learn CLI in detail.
Thanks again.
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No problem at all, always happy to help or share whatever I know!
If you want a starter challenge, visit nginx.org, download the latest mainline version to a new Ubuntu 16.04 Droplet, extract it, and then learn to compile from source.
Once it's extracted, run
./configure --help. If you can compile NGINX without a guide or tutorial, you shouldn't have any trouble grasping the basics of server administration.Why? Without a guide, you're stuck reading every single possible option that NGINX can be compiled with using that one command I mentioned above.
As a starter hint, you won't be able to compile NGINX on a fresh Droplet. You'll have to download a number of packages before NGINX will compile and then actually run. Beyond that small hint, give it a ago. At most you'll spend $5-$10 learning something new (over the course of a month). That's far cheaper than paying someone to teach you how.
As always, if you do take on the challenge and need help, feel free to post and tag me @jtittle. I'll help.
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Great question @hamzok7860. People will attack you for asking good questions – anyways, I always find myself in between cPanel and managing the server myself.
I prefer the second option of managing myself, but I also host my work for my clients (it makes it a lot easier to answer technical questions and to assist if there is a need). Sometimes it gets really bad and you'll wish some of the users had the ability to make changes themselves. If you have been using cPanel for some time and your clients are familiar with that option, then stick with it.
In terms of a license, the cPanel & WHM VPS license is the right one to go with.
Good luck!
@hamzok7860 I've put together a really in-depth guide on how to setup cPanel/WHM on your Digital Ocean droplet. It's actually not that difficult. A standard $20/month droplet is a good starting point btw. Here's the post: https://costarank.com/blog/setup-cpanel-whm-digital-ocean
What should be added here, is that if your domains will need to send email, you'll find that the SMTP is blocked for the first 60 days of usage of every droplet, until they (D.O.) can be sure you are not doing spam. Specially if you need to bring in a lot of customers' websites.
Good luck!
I'm a little appalled by the negative tone in some of the answers, above. I know quite a bit about Linux sysadmin, but even so, there are things that I don't know and don't want to spend hours with Google trying to figure out. I have better things to do with my time than manual Apache configuration, timely (and often manual) updates and backups, and other things that cPanel will do for you. The (new "solo") $15/month license fee easily pays for itself in time saved not having to mess around with that stuff, and I see nothing at all wrong with going that route. It makes things easy, and is a reasonable time saver. You want a "solo" license unless you plan to start a mini ISP and give other people access to their own control panels.
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I should add that if you don't know a lot about Linux admin, it might make sense to use Plesk instead of cPanel. The Plesk UI is much simpler, and more than adequate if all you want to do is get a web site or two up and running. They're both trivial to install on a droplet, and they cost about the same per month.
Have another answer? Share your knowledge.
I understand that is the best option to manage the server through the CLI interface. But that's the best option when you are the unique person that manage the server. Or maybe when your team are a TI trained person. But in many ways is very useful have a cpanel or something like that when you need to give access to a team member like a designer that need to create a ftp account or email easily, or when you provide hosting to a client.
I have two years managing the server without panel but now i need something to delegate responsibilities.