web hosting

Move Over cPanel: Make Room for Kloxo

Formerly known as Lxadmin, Kloxo is a control panel that usually accompanies CentOS Linux-based VPS hosting packages.  Offering a comprehensive web-based interface, the software enables various administrative tasks including database administration, domain and sub-domain management, email and file management, resource distribution and more.  While more robust VPS control panels like HyperVM are mainly used for general management tasks such as maintaining server resources and power control, Klox is designed for everyday administration, making it a tool you will certainly want to become familiar with.  However, because the two applications are so tightly integrated, all of Kloxo’s functions be accessed directly from the HyperVM control panel.

Kloxo Benefits

Kloxo built a reputation as a control panel that consumes very few system resources.  Lxlabs, its developers, claim that it is the lightest application on the global control panel market as the software only requires 15 MB of memory to run.  Since the program only requires minimal resources, hosting customers can get unrivaled speed and performance out of their VPS solution.  Aside from being extremely lightweight and highly functional, Kloxo also offers a 5-tier security model and many advanced, yet user-friendly features.

Kloxo Key Features

The main features of the Kloxo control panel can be broken down into five categories: General Account Management, Server Tools, Email Management, Security and System Services.

General Account Management

Domain and Sub-domain Control

DNS Template Management

Web-based File Manager

SSL Certificate Installation and Management

Resource Plan Management

Data Backup and Restoration

SSH (Secure Shell Host) Access

Device Driver Configuration

Resource Monitoring

Reboot and Power-off Control

Server Tools

MySQL and Postgre SQL database administration

Ability to Add and Delete Dedicated IP Addresses

FTP Session Management

PHP, modPHP and suPHP Configuration

phpMyAdmin Access

Web Server and DNS Applications

Email Management

Ability to Create and Delete Email Accounts

Web-based Mail Interface

Email Queue Access

Multiple Spam Filtering Applications

Security

SSH Configuration

Ability to block and delete local hosts

Watchdog application to FTP, mail and web servers

Brute Force Attack Monitoring Provided by LxGuard

System Services

Server Process Status Menu

Server Service Status Menu

Server Components Status Menu

HTTP, Mail and MySQL Logs

Cron job and Task Scheduler

InstallApp

One of the most popular features of Kloxo is a built-in model known as InstallApp.  This utility is quite similar to the Fantastico application that comes bundled with cPanel.  The major difference is that InstallApp offer more than 130 add-on programs.  Some of the software on the menu include blogs, forums, ports, customer relations applications and much more.  InstallApp allows these programs to be created with ease as it automatically creates a database and configuration for the chosen application.

Hosting with Kluxo

You can enjoy Kloxo and all it has to offer with virtually any VPS hosting provider utilizing the HyperVM control panel.  Virtualization has its complexities but Kloxo should be easy to use for anyone that is familiar with cPanel.  Most VPS administrators appreciate the panel’s many Linux friendly features while end-users find comfort in its user-friendly design.

Control Panel Customization with RVSkin

The highly customizable nature of cPanel gives it many advantages over other control panels.  Boasting ease of use and a rich set of features, cPanel offers benefits that can be extended to hosting providers, resellers and end-users alike.  One of its most underrated features is RVSkin, a unique third-party program that adds new meaning to customization.

What is RVSkin?

RVSkin is a popular add-on made to function with the cPanel and WHM software.  This multi-theme, multi-language tool comes packed with some amazing features and a user-friendliness that coincides perfectly with  the leading web hosting control panel.  RVSkin currently supports over 20 languages including English, Dutch, French, Chinese, Japanese, Russian and Italian to name a few.  What many like about the software is that it allows you to easily brand your cPanel skin in a matter of minutes.  As a reseller, you can incorporate logos, links to your company website and more.

RVSkin Key Features

RVSkin is integrated with numerous features.  Some of the most noteworthy  include:

Themes: RVSkin gives you a selection of 14 themes for customizing your control panel. Furthermore, these themes can be modified by the reseller and end-user within their version of the control panel.

Reseller Tool: The reseller features in RVSkin gives server administrators the ability to decide what features are available in their clients’ control panels.  If you don’t want your resellers providing features such as shopping carts and databases, they can be easily disabled and made invisible to the user.  You can also control what level of RVSkin access resellers enjoy.

Skin Editor: Branding your skin is made easy with the Skin Editor.  Server administrators and resellers can control the look of client control panels with customization that drives the brand name home.  Aside from inserting links to your site, you can also customize the skin with links to your support department or any other areas who want customers to have direct access to.

Page Editor: The Page Editor feature allows you to easily create pages in many different languages within RVSkin.  It offers full support for HTML programming as well PHP and Python.  Once your pages have been created, they can then be added to the skin using the Add Body Links function, which lets you exclude pages from the certain packages or allocate them to different language settings.

Marketing Tools: RVSkin is integrated with a number of tools that can help hosting providers and resellers increase their revenue.  In a few easy clicks, you can make configurations that provide your customers with the content they need to view certain information or place orders all from their control panel.

Third-Party Integration – One of the best things about RVSkin is that works seamlessly with various add-ons.  The software can be fully integrated with popular third-party applications such as Modernbill, CPSkins Auto Installer and Fantastico.

RVSkin Availability

Not every company provides RVSkin to their customers.  However, every host and reseller that utilizes cPanel has the ability to do so.   This powerful customization tool is admired for its ease of use and often preferred over similar applications such as X Skins and others that come standard with cPanel.

Viewing Your Web Stats Through cPanel

As you probably know, having a website is the best way to establish your presence online.  However, though you might hit a few bumps along the way, actually building the site is the easiest part.  Generating traffic is an entirely different story.  If you are in the midst of promoting, it is crucial to know how many people are visiting your site and where those visitors are coming from.  Because traffic is so critical to your longevity, analyzing website statistics should be a practice you incorporate into your regular routine.  This will help you better determine the popularity of your site, figure out what search engine visitors they are coming from and much more.

cPanel’s Website Analyzation Tools

There are a number of programs that will allow you to view and analyze your website statistics.  Believe it or not, some of the best tools are included free in many of today’s web hosting packages.  You are sure to find a nice blend of applications in any hosting plan that offers cPanel, the most popular control panel on the market.  cPanel generally offers these three web stat programs: Analog, AwStats and Webalizer.  While they all help you analyze web traffic, each has its own unique features and capabilities.  Best of all, each application is incredibly easy to use and provide in-depth insight on your statistics.

Webalizer

The Webalizer program delivers your site stats in comprehensive graphical form.  It shows you information on the people that visited your site on a month by month format.  Though very useful, these are basic statistics and just a quick way to analyze web traffic.  If you want more detailed information on your visitors, utilizing the other statistical programs is highly recommended.

Analog

Both Analog and Awstats offer different presentations than Webalizer.  Many view Analog as the more complex of all three, mainly because it is a text-based solution that requires you to visually process a considerable amount of data.  Analog provides a lot of information about your site so on first glance, it can be a little intimidating.  On the other hand, this application provides essential details about your visitors.  More than likely, the stats that could help you the most can be found with Analog.

Awstats

Awstats is perhaps the most popular and user-friendly of the web stat applications in cPanel.  This program gives you tons of information about your visitors, such as where they originated from in host terms and country, the amount of time they spend on your site, what browser they used and other important details.  You can also learn how many hits your pages received, how many times your files were accessed and much more.  Although it may take a couple of minutes to get familiar with the interface, finding the information is made easier by the colorful graphics and simplistic layout.

cPanel has many great qualities and this suite of web stat programs is just one of many.  By utilizing the applications mentioned in this article, you can gather valuable insight about your promotion tactics, and find out what is and what is not working.  When it comes to gauging site traffic, cPanel is an extremely valuable tool.

Free Control Panel Software for Your Server

If you need a control panel program for your server, it is important to know that the options span much further than commercial versions such as cPanel and Plesk.  In fact, there are some free control panels on the market that make excellent choices for a dedicated server.  The options discussed in this article will be GNUPanel, SysCP and Webmin.

GNUPanel

A relatively new option, the GNUPanel is an application scripted in the PHP5 programming language and designed to run on the Debian distribution of Linux.  The standout features of this software include domain and FTP management, mail management and database administration.  This control panel lets you control popular applications such as the Apache web server as well packages like PHP and MySQL among others.  The software also enables the automatic installation of various third-party programs including Joomla, phpBB, osCommerce and Wordpress among others.  Hence the name, GNUPanel has an open-source license under the GPL.  Although this control panel is currently restricted to the Debian platform, its developers say the application is currently being designed to support other operating systems.

SysCP

The SysCP control panel allows you to manage your web space, mail, CGI scripts, DNS settings, create custom error pages, view statistics and more.  The features integrated into the software provide you with the ability to control a wide variety of applications including Apache, BIND, Courier and ProFTPD.  While there are numerous modules built-in into the control panel, there are even more extensions available for download that enable you to administer other aspects of the server.  Some of the third-party modules for SysCP include tools that allow you to manage applications such as Fetchmail and SpamAssassin, perform backups of your critical data and more.  This control panel supports five major Unix-like distributions with the most notable being Debian, Gentoo, FreeBSD, OpenSuSe and Ubuntu.  Under the GNU GPL, SysCP can be freely distributed and modified.  Before installing SysCP, be sure to check for compatibility as it supports certain versions of the afore mentioned operating systems.

Webmin

The Webmin control panel is becoming an increasingly popular option for dedicated server customers.  This software is incredibly easy to use and loaded with a number of features, which are primarily modules that provide the ability to administer the server.  It comes standard with modules for Apache and BIND, a BSD firewall, bandwidth monitoring, a cron job manager and much more.  Aside from the built-in modules, Webmin  supports a variety of third-party extensions that can be downloaded from the web.  It also gives you the option to develop your modules.  Webmin currently supports more than 80 different operating systems including Unix, FreeBDS and several variations of Linux.   Because it is under the GNU GPL as open-source software, many developers from all over the world have contributed to the code and improved the software.  The most recent versions of Webmin have been released under a license similar to that of BSD, basically meaning that it can be freely distributed and modified for both commercial and non-commercial use.

Plesk: The Multipurpose Control Panel

Although cPanel is highly praised, Parallel’s Plesk is regarded as one of the most widely used and efficient control panels on the web hosting market.  The major advantage it has over cPanel is the power to operate on both Windows and Linux platforms.  In addition, Plesk is one of few control panels that makes an ideal solution for shared, dedicated and virtual private server environments.  It is said to be the most secure and stable platform available for web hosting companies and their customers.  The software is being increasingly used by hosting providers who want to enhance performance and boost per-server profitability.  Plesk makes a great choice in almost any hosting arrangement and this article will discuss some of the specific benefits.

Dedicated Hosting

The RPM installation and modular design of Plesk allows dedicated hosting providers to cater to the needs of the technically inclined.  The software can be set up in an instant and deployed in no time.  Many companies have taken a liking to Plesk because it offers such an excellent value by delivering a high level of performance at a reasonable price.  System administrators have access to several unique features including the XML-API, a built-in interface that automates the provisioning process.  It also facilitates the implementation of the numerous third-party applications built into the control panel.  With fully integrated software development kits and a number of back-end utilities, Plesk gives hosting providers and end-users the ability to dramatically enhance their operations.

Shared Hosting

Tiered self administration and a unified multi-platform design makes Plesk a perfect administrative tool in the shared hosting environment as well.  This control panel makes it easier for providers to mange multiple domains on a highly scalable architecture optimized for demanding tasks.  An administrator with little to no technical background can easily create and manage user accounts on the server.  In addition, customers can manage their own domains without direct support of the server administrator.  The power of Plesk covers the needs of the simple and complex side of the traditional web hosting service, enabling full customization that benefits both the host and the end-user.

VPS Hosting

The Plesk control panel is also becoming more common in the virtual private server environment, mainly because it delivers exceptional management power and has a small footprint that ensures great performance.  When used in conjunction with the Virtuozzo software, Plesk allows system administrators to quickly deploy templates of multiple control panel systems.  This is made possible a VPS’s ability to create several isolated server environments on a single machine.  On a virtualized platform, Plesk and Virtuzzo are unparalleled in their ability to increase ROI and revenues for professional web hosting providers while meeting the demanding needs of customers.

Conclusion

Plesk has so many beneficial uses that going wrong with this control panel is almost impossible. The software offers power that allows you to administrator a single machine, a cluster of servers or a simple shared hosting account.  If you’re still looking for a control panel, Plesk could be the solution.