cPanel – Overview Tutorial part-01 For Sopon Ahmed
Welcome back to my cPanel English version article
( What is cPanel )
cPanel is an online Linux-based web hosting control panel that provides a graphical interface and automation tools designed to simplify the process of hosting a web site. cPanel utilizes a 3 tier structure that provides capabilities for administrators, resellers, and end-user website owners to control the various aspects of website and server administration through a standard web browser. In addition to the GUI, cPanel also has command line and API-based access that allows third party software vendors, web hostingorganizations, and developers to automate standard system administration processes.cPanel is designed to function either as a dedicated server or virtual private server.The latest cPanel version supports installation on CentOS, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), andCloudLinux OS. cPanel 11.30 is the last major version to support FreeBSD. Application-based support includes , PHP, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Perl, and BIND (DNS). Email based support includes POP3, IMAP, and SMTP services. cPanel is accessed via https on port 2083. Once installed, cPanel cannot be easily removed. cPanel's FAQ states that the best way to uninstall cPanel is by reformatting the server. However, uninstall guides are available online for expert server administrators who do not wish to reformat their server. Similarly, it should only be installed on a freshly installed operating system with minimal prior configuration.
History
cPanel, Inc. is a privately owned corporation headquartered in Houston, Texas. The software was originally designed as the control panel for Speed Hosting, a now-defunct web hosting company. The original author of cPanel, John Nick Koston, had a stake in Speed Hosting. Webking quickly began using cPanel after their merger with Speed Hosting. The new company moved their servers to Virtual Development Inc. (VDI), a now-defunct hosting facility. Following an agreement between Koston and VDI, cPanel was only available to customers hosted directly at VDI. At the time there was little competition in the control panel market, with the main choices being VDI and Alabanza. Eventually, due to Koston leaving for college, William Jensen and John Koston, signed a Split Agreement. cPanel split into a separate program called WebPanel; this version was run by VDI. Without the lead programmer, VDI was not able to continue any work on cPanel and eventually stopped supporting it completely. Koston kept working on cPanel while also working at BurstNET. Eventually, Nick left BurstNET on good terms to focus fully on cPanel. cPanel has since been updated and improved over the years. cPanel 3 was released in 1999: main additions over cPanel 2 were an automatic upgrade and the Web Host Manager (WHM). The interface was also improved when Carlos Rego of WizardsHosting made what became the default theme of cPanel.Add-ons
To the client, cPanel provides front-ends for a number of common operations, including the management of PGP keys, crontab tasks, mail and FTP accounts, and mailing lists. Several add-ons exist,[11] some for an additional fee, the most notable being Auto Installers like Installatron, Fantastico, Softaculous, and WHMSonic (SHOUTcast/radio Control Panel Add-on). Auto Installers are a bundle of scripts which automate the installation (and update of) web applications such as WordPress, SMF, phpBB, Drupal, Joomla!, Tiki Wiki CMSGroupware, Geeklog, Moodle,MagicSpam WHMCS, and ZamFoo. Fantastico is a popular Auto Installer but is losing market fast because of lack of updates (see) and fewer number of scripts. cPanel manages some software packages separately from the underlying operating system, applying upgrades to Apache, PHP, MySQL, Exim, FTP, and related software packages automatically. This ensures that these packages are kept up-to-date and compatible with cPanel, but makes it more difficult to install newer versions of these packages. It also makes it difficult to verify that the packages have not been tampered with since the operating system's package management verification system cannot be used to do so.
WHM (WebHost Manager)
WebHost Manager is a web-based tool used by serveradministrators and resellers to manage hosting accounts on a web server. WHM listens on ports 2086 and 2087. As well as being accessible by the root administrator, WHM is also accessible to users with reseller privileges. Reseller users of cPanel have a smaller set of features than the root user, generally limited by the server administrator, to features which they determine will affect their customers' accounts rather than the server as a whole. From WHM, the server administrator can perform maintenance operations such as upgrade and recompile Apache & PHP, install Perl Modules, and upgrade RPMs installed on the system.
Enkompass
A version of cPanel forMicrosoft Windows exists, titled Enkompass. As of October 15, 2011, Enkompass was offered free, as development for the product had been slowed.As of February 2014, Enkompass was declared end-of-life, with version 3 remaining available for download, but without further development or support.Why cPanel
cPanel is packed with many features that is not provided by other web hosting management panels. It is graphical, hence, non–technical users can also use it perfectly. cPanel is responsive to the screen size, hence can be used in mobile and tablets. It will automatically adapt the screen size of the device. cPanel is very easy to use and configure. It automatically adjusts all the advanced setting for web hosting. A user hardly needs to go to the command line to configure any settings, as it already has all the features inbuilt.Advantages
cPanel offers the following advantages −- It is very easy to host a website using cPanel.
- It is multiannual and available in many languages.
- It is responsive and adapts to any screen size, it can be used efficiently in mobile and Tablet too.
- cPanel has in–built File Manager, which helps in managing your files without the hassles of an FTP.
- cPanel has integrated webmail software, which helps in sending and receiving emails through online webmail client.
- You can easily create a backup of your website in a few steps. This will help you to restore your backup, if your website encounters any error.
- You can easily manage your website databases, as cPanel has integrated phpMyAdmin, which helps to directly manage databases.
Disadvantages
cPanel does not have any significant drawbacks, however here are a couple of its notable disadvantages −- cPanel is a commercial software and you need to pay to get this.
- cPanel is meant for small and medium websites only. Creating a large website using cPanel is not recommended.