cPanel Server Hosting
cPanel Server Hosting
cPanel server hosting services are offered by many web hosting providers and normally come in the form of VPS servers or dedicated servers that come with cPanel installed on them to offer you a more manageable server hosting service. cPanel server hosting services are mainly used by resellers who are looking to upgrade from reseller web hosting so that they can offer their web hosting customers more in terms of features but still retain the independence that they can offer clients through the use of the cPanel control panel. cPanel web hosting servers generally tend to run CentOS Linux as their operating system as this is seen by many as the most stable operating system to use for web hosting services, and cPanel as well as many of the plugins available for the control panel function better on RHEL/CentOS based servers. cPanel server hosting services are a great way to get started with server hosting services as you don’t necessarily need to have that much prior experience with managing servers on any scale, the main reason for this being that you can use the WHM part of cPanel to manage your server from any computer which is connected to the internet and has an internet browser. The cost of cPanel server hosting services can differ, with the cost being higher if you choose to go with a high end VPS server or dedicated server over a low end dedicated server for your cPanel server hosting package; although some web hosting providers offer cPanel licenses with their server hosting services, most charge for them meaning that this is a cost which you will need to factor into your web hosting budget. cPanel server hosting services offer a good way of getting into server hosting services without needing too much prior experience; if you choose a reputable web hosting provider that is able to help you setup your server then you are unlikely to face any problems.
Why should I use cPanel when there are other web hosting control panels available?
cPanel is seen as the most popular control panel available for Linux web hosting services, and so this means that many web hosting providers prefer to offer it to their web hosting clients for their VPS servers or dedicated servers over other web hosting control panels that are available. cPanel server hosting services tend to be much more secure than other web hosting services as cPanel is a very secure control panel, but there are third-party plugins such as the CSF firewall available which you can use to ensure that your cPanel server is as secure as possible; such plugins aren’t available for other web hosting control panels and so this should be one of the factors that you take into consideration when looking at server hosting services. cPanel server hosting services can also be more reliable than when another web hosting control panel is used on a VPS server or dedicated server of a similar specification as two different versions of the control panel are available. Unlike other web hosting control panels, cPanel offers a separate control panel for the management of your server and for your reseller clients; this means that you can offer your shared web hosting clients a more comprehensive client side control panel which is aimed at them. In summary, you should choose cPanel over other web hosting control panels for the following reasons:
- Security – when using any server, security should always be a top priority as if your server is compromised then you could end up finding that you are suffering downtime when you don’t want it as well as compromised data, and in most cases servers will be storing some degree of confidential data meaning that a data breach through a hack would be disastrous for most web hosting companies and their customers – there are many third-party plugins available for cPanel including the CSF firewall as well as the mod_security management interface that you can make use of to ensure that your server is as secure as possible, and this should help to ward off any potential attackers
- Reliability – cPanel has create a special VPS edition of its control panel which has been designed to lower the control panels over all resource usage which in turn will free up more resources on the server helping it to be more reliable – those with dedicated servers have the choice of using their the VPS version or the ‘accelerated’ version of the control panel which is designed specificially for dedicated servers and has been optimized to make the most of your dedicated server’s resources – the main aim of both versions of cPanel is to increase the reliability of the server being used
- Client and reseller control panels – cPanel comes with two different control panels: WHM for resellers and server administrators which provides them with a more advanced interface with a larger number of features, and cPanel for your web hosting clients who may wish to manage their web hosting account from a web browser – having the two different control panels can be helpful in most situations as it allows for your web hosting clients to be offered a web hosting control panel which is dedicated to their needs in the same way that WHM has been tailored to the needs of reseller hosting clients and server administrators.
Security and reliability are the two main factors which you should be considering when looking into web hosting control panels, and you will find that no other web hosting control panel is as secure or as reliable as cPanel. cPanel server hosting services can offer you levels of reliability and security that aren’t possible with other server hosting services, and as long as you maintain your server correctly then there is no reason why it should be compromised by a malicious attacker. Other web hosting control panels also merge the server/reseller management side of things with the client side of things, and in some cases this can get rather confusing and could mean that the control panel concerned isn’t performing to the best of its ability.
Advantages of cPanel Server Hosting
cPanel server hosting services have many advantages to offer those who use them, most notably the ability to have your own dedicated environment in which you can install any applications of your choice as well as where you can configure the cPanel control panel to work in the way that you want it to. cPanel server hosting also allows you to create and manage your own web hosting accounts and packages, meaning that in theory you could make a financial return from your investment in cPanel server hosting services; in this situation you could also make use of the different sides of cPanel available by offering your clients access so that they can manage their own web hosting accounts whilst you can still manage your server and web hosting customers from the WHM control panel. Unlike other web hosting control panels, there is a specially optimized version of cPanel available or VPS server users and those with low end dedicated servers which allows you to run the control panel on your server but without using up too many server resources; however, for larger scale web hosting providers with more powerful dedicated servers there is an ‘accelerated’ version available to meet their needs. In summary, the main advantages of using cPanel server hosting services inlclude:
- Dedicated environment – having your own dedicated environment means that you can install any applications you wish to, and since there are many third-party plugins available for the cPanel control panel there is no shortage of applications that you will probably want to install on your cPanel hosting server, although you should always ensure that any applications which you are using don’t contravene your web hosting provider’s Acceptable Usage Policy – as well as having your own dedicated environment you will also have your own dedicated resources assigned to your server which are yours to make use of as you see fit
- Sell off web hosting – cPanel allows you to create and manage your own web hosting packages and web hosting accounts meaning that it provides you with a complete facility to help sell your own web hosting services to those who may be needing shared web hosting – although you can retain the WHM control panel for the management of your server and accounts, you can offer your clients access to the cPanel control panel so that they are able to manage their own web hosting accounts without having to contact you when they want something done
- Versions - the fact that there is the VPS version and the ‘accelerated’ versions of cPanel available shows just how popular a control panel this is as the developers have gone to the trouble of meeting the demands and expectations of customers even more by creating different versions – both versions have been optimized performance wise to increase their reliability, with the VPS server version being less resource intensive meaning that any cPanel hosting server using a VPS server should be more reliable whilst the ‘accelerated’ version has been designed to make the most of a dedicated server’s resources.
It is a good idea to start off with cPanel server hosting if you wish to offer your own web hosting services as most cPanel hosting packages are low cost and easy to maintain which will allow you to maximize the amount of money that you can make from your cPanel hosting server. cPanel server hosting services are readily available from most web hosting providers as cPanel can only be run on Linux servers, plus cPanel licenses are much easier to get than licenses for other web hosting control panels; this means that with a bit of searching you should be able to find a cPanel server hosting deal that not only meets your needs but is probably cheaper than what you were expecting to pay.
Disadvantages of cPanel Server Hosting
Although cPanel server hosting services are widely used, there are disadvantages to using them which may put some people off from purchasing cPanel server hosting services. cPanel server hosting services need to be maintained properly to ensure that they are secure and can’t be compromised by malicious hackers, and doing so requires a certain degree of technical knowledge and in such a situation previous server management experience would be a good idea; however, fully managed server hosting services are available which will remove the need for you to manage your own server, and in most cases this is very beneficial. The cost of server hosting services in general can also put many people off, since server hositng is one step above shared web hosting services, the costs involved are going to be greater; however, those who are considering cPanel server hosting are normally businesses or individuals with large web hosting budgets. The one disadvantage that most people are going to face with cPanel server hosting services is the control panels resource usage, since due to the number of daemons it requires and how heavy the control panel itself is you will find that it can be fairly resource intensive. In summary, the main disadvantage of cPanel server hosting include:
- Server management and security – it is important for you to ensure that your cPanel hosting server is managed correctly and is secure to such an extent that it can’t be hacked by malicious attackers who may try and gain entry to it, and in order to do this as well as manage your server properly in the long term you will find that you need to have a certain degree of technical knowledge to be able to do so – this can prove to be a disadvantage for some people as they lack the necessary skills to be able to manage their servers correctly, although in such cases they can always go for managed cPanel server hosting
- Cost - although cPanel server hosting service can appear to be cheap when compared to other web hosting services available, server hosting in general is fairly expensive when compared to some of the cheap shared web hosting packages that can be purchased these days, but it is important to note that those who are considering cPanel server hosting services normally have large web hosting budgets which allow them to stretch to cPanel server hosting services if needed to ensure that they receive the best service and reliability possible – cPanel as a control panel can help up the prices in some situations and this is why many web hosting providers make cPanel an optional add-on
- Resource usage – the cPanel website recommends that you install the control panel on a server which has at least 256MB RAM, and although this shouldn’t be a problem for most people it is the bare minimum which shows that even mid-range servers with around 512MB RAM may not be able to handle cPanel when it is under a high load – cPanel server hosting services require many different applications/daemons to be able to function correctly, and because of this the resource usage of the control panel can vary depending on the number of web hosting accounts and websites you are hosting on your cPanel hosting server.
If you choose a reputable web hosting provider that is able to offer you a mid to high end cPanel hosting server then you shouldn’t face any disadvantages with your cPanel hosting server, although it does require planning as you should have in mind a rough estimate of how many accounts and websites you are going to be hosting on your cPanel server. cPanel dedicated server hosting is only recommended for users with resource intensive websites, but if you are after the best level of uptime and reliability around then you may find it more beneficial to go with a cPanel dedicated server.
In conclusion, cPanel server hosting offers something for those who are upgrading from reseller web hosting services as well as for users who are just wanting to host one or two resource intensive websites that aren’t suitable for shared hosting services. The fact that cPanel can only be run on Linux means that most web hosting providers can offer cPanel server hosting services cheaply as there is no operating system license fee to pay; however, it is important to note that you may be required to pay for the cPanel license but you may find it included with your server for free in some cases.
