# web hosting provider software

## ckdake

hey everyone. I am working at a small webhosting company trying to get them to switch to more open source solutions. We are looking at Gentoo, mySQL, apache, oscommerce, and postfix but I was looking for recomendations for control panel type applications like CPanel (http://www.cpanel.net/) and for a simple way to let users edit sites (im thinking bbcode based something or other?).  Any suggestions?

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## scout

 *ckdake wrote:*   

> Any suggestions?

 

There's phpmyadmin that gives a very good way to tamper with your mysql databases. For the mails, my antispam system: tmda has an extension called tmda-cgi, that allows you to do all the stuff with a browser. there's also squirrelmail for web-mail. There's also webmin that has a lot of plugins ...

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## Biker

 *ckdake wrote:*   

> hey everyone. I am working at a small webhosting company trying to get them to switch to more open source solutions. We are looking at Gentoo, mySQL, apache, oscommerce, and postfix but I was looking for recomendations for control panel type applications like CPanel (http://www.cpanel.net/) and for a simple way to let users edit sites (im thinking bbcode based something or other?).  Any suggestions?

 

A completely different approach would be for the web host to run User Mode Linux, and let the clients become root in their own virtual machines.

The client has his own sshd, iptables, apache and what more do you want.

This is already a proven concept.

Biker

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## ckdake

here is the thing though. Most of the clients are pretty small and not too computer savy.  Ideally, an easy to use web interface for them to change their email address and usernames, and manage files on their site, and that sort of thing.  Webmin is a bit overkill, and phpmy* are a bit scary looking for a lot of people.  Running user-mode linux would be a bit much as well.  

I stumbled across http://sourceforge.net/projects/hostinghelper/  Which seems to fit the requirements pretty well, but it looks like it is just getting started which could be a good thing or a bad thing.  Has anyone used this by any chance?

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## zul

Have you looked at webmin?

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## ckdake

 *Quote:*   

> Webmin is a bit overkill

 

I have and it is for administrators to use managing the system, not end-users.

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## davidblewett

The Typo3 CMS (www.typo3.org) has alot of the features you are looking for. I think they even have a module that makes it extremely easy to get starter sites for customers up and running. Have a look around their documentation and mailing list. It's pretty good.

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## Dr_Stein

Users want a pretty pretty pointy clicky clicky "control panel"

I've seen a few projects that have gone this direction.. usermin being one of them.

None of them really..*work* - Ensim & C-panel and Plesk seem to be the common choices. =/

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## vonhelmet

I don't think there is an easy way to do this to be honest.

There's only so far you can dumb it down and still give people sufficient control.

For example, phpMyAdmin may be intimidating, but it's the closest anyone's got to making a non-scary frontend to MySQL. Myself, I'm perfectly happy with a command line (and it drives me nuts that my webhost insists I use phpMyAdmin to talk to my databases on their server) and most advanced users would be too, but for the layman phpMyAdmin is the only real option.

You can probably find a fairly easy to use FTP type thing to allow users to upload stuff, but that's about the only bit that will be simple.

The trouble with this kind of thing, is that hosting websites is inherently complex, and you can't make it all that easy short of doing it the AOL way and giving people no real freedom over what they can do.

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## ckdake

I'm trying to find a way to do it alllmost the AOL way.   Right now however, there is no way for users to add email aliases, set website forwards, and change passwords.  The users are for the most part afraid of command lines but with over 200 customers, its a hassle to have someone to answer the phone to change peoples passwords for them (not to mention a tad insecure  :Razz:  )

All of the CMSs seem to have pretty neat features and lots of flexibilty, but I would say 4/5 of the customers are people with domain hosting and email and a small static site and just want to change email addresses. 

I've been in touch with the author of hosting helper and may try to recruit some people to help out with that and getting it to the level of capabilities that we need, Apparently it is based on a commercial product and has 5 years or so of development behind it.

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## bus_drivr

Hi 

 I am actually gonna do one of the hosting helper installs. I will try with hardened-2005.0 first and see how it goes.

I may submit an ebuild for it if it goes well. Any help would be appreciated.  (I have installed all of this stuff except for the mail server before) . I will try to post here any problems I have to overcome. Used RH once years ago and apparently the latest version (1.37 currently) uses rpms and source-rpms. The latter would probably be the way to go.

 May want to do an intranet and an internet version.

bus_drivr aka user99

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## sarge

 *bus_drivr wrote:*   

> Hi 
> 
>  I am actually gonna do one of the hosting helper installs. I will try with hardened-2005.0 first and see how it goes.
> 
> I may submit an ebuild for it if it goes well. Any help would be appreciated.  (I have installed all of this stuff except for the mail server before) . I will try to post here any problems I have to overcome. Used RH once years ago and apparently the latest version (1.37 currently) uses rpms and source-rpms. The latter would probably be the way to go.
> ...

 

Which one please ?

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## bus_drivr

>Which one please ?

 Well I d'loaded and installed a stage3-test1 from a Gentoo hardened-2005.0-test9 cd...? Oh well that was what it was.

So it will boot but gives no login. So docache with a 2005.0-installcd. and unzip stages so far.. then.. the power went out and I have to chroot back in later. (This is like as time permits....)

 The gnu hosting helper version is 1.37 and can be found on sourceforge. Or that is what I will attempt this with.

 (/me wonders if 'epm' exists.)

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## rouben

Someone suggested WebMin, how about UserMin?  :Wink: 

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## Djohan

Try http://vhcs.net/

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## bus_drivr

I have installed and configured apache, mod_ssl, mysql and the admin console. 

This seems to be working fine. This is just testing. So far everything seems to be

running ok. I would be a lot further along if I had seen the post-install  instructions

for mysql and mod_ssl. That and having problems getting apache 2 to serve files. I 

finally gave up on apache2 and went to latest 1.3x stable. Also was unable to build 

gentoo with stack protection. So more time lost. 

  It is difficult to test or even configure many servers without being able to resolve

back to a valid host. Most of this stuff require a fqdn to configure.I am working on 

validity if just for long enough to get all services up and tested.

  All of this is going on one box as well. I don't have the luxury of spreading

 the hosts.

user99 in #gentoo

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## bus_drivr

Actually what happened with the hardened c-flags when i did emerge -e world.. at some point after say glibc 

installed .. the system would not find stuff. Like PATH wasn't set. And if you gave the full path it still wouldn't work.

user99

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## carpman

be intersted to know if you got hosting helper working on gentoo?

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## carpman

Hello, ok i have been looking around for solution and tobe honest there is not much out there and those that are seem to require a lot messing about which is not what i want on hosting server.

I was about to give up and go debian/vhcs when i found this thread

https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-357718-highlight-web+control+panel.html

It seems they have a Gentoo install script and support gentoo, however it does not seem to be have been noticed by gentoo users and so not a lot of feed back on how well it works with getnoo.

I am going to try it on new server surrently building but thought i would give heads up here as it has a few posts.

Of course if  you have tried feed back would be welcome  :Smile: 

cheers

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## bswenson

We've got an ebuild that is almost working for vhcs-2.4.6.2. If you care to try it out check the reply on this post that is from Nov2005:

https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-321868-highlight-vhcs.html

If you try it please let us know how it goes, success or failure.

Thanks,

Bram.

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## dresdn

What about something like this?

http://www.hostingsoftware.net/

I personally haven't used it yet, but it's been on my TODO list once I get some freetime.  Looks pretty good.

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## signature16

www.vhcs.com

i really like the layout of that one.  Im working with it on my home  machine right now.

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