Why I shouldn't be using Cpanel, is there any alternative or can I run PHP applications without Command line interference?
Why would you get an unmanaged VPS if you don't know or don't want to learn CLI?
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.
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.
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.
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
Thanks.
You are right, I am learning these things and will try to learn CLI in detail.
Thanks again.
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.
