web hosting

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Ensim

Control panel software is a main fixture in today’s web hosting packages.  These programs are very important as they give you the ability to manage the essential features of your account from adding domains and creating emails accounts to setting up FTP accounts and performing web-based backups.  While cPanel is efficient and rightfully the leading the control panel software, this program is platform specific and can only be used in certain environments.

Ensim is one control panel available for Windows and Linux platforms.  This powerful software is able to cover a wide range of hosting needs from reseller and dedicated server accounts to providing solutions for small businesses and large enterprises.  Although Ensim does offer benefits over popular applications such as cPanel and Plesk, it does have a few drawbacks as well.

Advantages

The Ensim control panel gives you a well designed professional interface.  There are separate sections dedicated to various components for managing your hosting account.  Although most of  the essential features are made accessible on the screen, they are integrated nicely and serve as more than eye candy.

Unlike many control panels, Ensim supports a wide range of operating systems including Web and Standard versions of Windows along with Linux-based systems such as Fedora and RedHat.

Additionally, Ensim offers the same interface for all levels of control.  This enables familiarity for anyone that needs to use a control panel with a combination of root, reseller, end-user and mail user capabilities.

The Ensim control panel is powered by in-house software and doesn’t rely on third-party solutions.  One inclusion is Ensim Power Tools, a program that is comparative to the Fantastico script installer found on cPanel accounts.  Another Ensim tool is the built-in spam filter that performs well with the pre-installed webmail utility.  New versions also include comprehensive reporting tools for viewing critical resources and web stats.

Disadvantages

Despite its professional appearance, one of the biggest knocks on Ensim is that the interface is incredibly difficult to skin.  You can however, incorporate logos for your brand with relative ease.  In this regard, cPanel offers more extensive branding as Ensim has very few skins available.

Another disadvantage of Ensim is that it isn’t as widely installed as cPanel, a factor that presents challenges to the reseller.  This could be a turn off to potential clients who are not aware of the software and its capabilities.  Additionally, end-users may find the interface more difficult to navigate than the simple, yet user-friendly environment of cPanel.  Despite its professional structure, the newer versions of Ensim appear to be more geared for the experienced webmaster.  Fortunately, the software does offer tons of documentation to help you get more familiar with navigation and all the essentials.

Conclusion

As you can see, Ensim does have minimal drawbacks along with a plethora of features that make it a solid choice for web hosting.  The advantages greatly outweigh the disadvantages as this control panel has the ability to do what others can’t.  Whether you are looking to dabble with shared hosting or something more flexible such as a VPS, the Ensim software can provide the tools needed to effectively manage your business.

Control Panels: cPanel vs. Ensim

What often sets web hosting companies apart is the software they offer to their clients.  Control panels are one of the most sought after software components and there are a wide variety available.  In this article we will focus on two of the leading control panel brands: cPanel and Ensim.

Advantages of cPanel

cPanel is perhaps the most widely used control panel and some even regard it as the best.  The clean user interface makes for easy navigation with icons that put everything a user needs right in front of them.  cPanel supports an array of network operating systems including Free BSD, CentOS, Debian, Fedora, Redhat and Trustix.  This compatibility enables it to be used by almost any web host.  cPanel’s developers are currently looking to extend this portability by making the program compatible with Mac OS X and Windows operating systems.

The cPanel software makes it easy for the end-user to incorporate third-party programs into their web hosting account.  One of its most popular components is an add-on called Fantastico, a unique program developed by Netenberg.  Fantastico works as an automatic script installer, allowing the user to install a huge library of scripts with the simple click of a button.  Some of these scripts include highly functioning programs such as blogs, message forums, content management systems and much more.

The Downside of cPanel

It’s difficult for any software to be absolutely flawless and the same holds true for cPanel.  The biggest disadvantage relates to WHM (Web Host Manager), the version of cPanel designed for reseller accounts.  The layout used by both versions is completely different.  While the WHM interface is pretty straightforward, it can be confusing to resellers familiar with the conventional cPanel layout.  This makes cPanel somewhat unattractive when compared to other control panels that utilize the same interface for resellers and end-users.

Advantages of Ensim

The Ensim control panel offers a very professional and well designed client-side interface.  The main layout is divided into sections associated with numerous components of the hosting account.  Some of these areas include database management, email management and sub-domain management.  Several users have admitted that Ensim’s interface is far more organized and professional than that of cPanel.  This control panel supports an array of operating systems including Windows and Linux-based systems like Fedora and Redhat.

Ensim is feature-rich with an exceptional spam filter and its very own script installer that rivals Fantastico.  It also offers a number of helpful utilities such as the bandwidth reporting tool that provides detailed information in the form of charts and graphs.  Best of all, Ensim provides the same user interface for its reseller and end-user clients.

The Downside of Ensim

The Ensim control panel has a few minor drawbacks as well.  For one, the interface is incredibly difficult to skin, leaving users with fewer branding options.  While there is an option that enables seamless branding, the number of available skins are limited.  Moreover, Ensim is less known than cPanel.  This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean that Ensim has a ways to go before it achieves cPanel’s popularity.

Conclusion

As you can see, both control panels are extremely functional with minimal drawbacks.  However, they do have varying features that distinguish them significantly.  If you’re looking for a winner, we’re not in the position to declare one.  The best solution is one that provides features best suited for your site.  Therefore, we recommend both.