# Recommendation for user web control panel



## jonfr (Sep 10, 2017)

What are the recommendation for user web control panel in FreeBSD. I am thinking about something that does the same thing or close to cpanel/whm in FreeBSD. I plan on moving my hosting home in next few years (I can do it better and cheaper I hope at home). What I do want to do is to make using the server easy for the users I currently have on my paid dedicated server. So email address can easily be set-up and data backed up and so on (ftp user set-ups and stuff like this).

I have webmin installed on my main home server now. I can use it for testing and learning new web control panels.

Thanks for the help.


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## herrbischoff (Sep 10, 2017)

First off, moving from a dedicated server to home-hosting for paid customers is a very, very, very bad idea. Even if you can somehow work around bandwidth restrictions and the possible need for dynamic IPs (try sending email from a dynamic IP address — good luck), you can not control electric power and the reliability of your internet connection. When you rent a dedicated server, you usually get a service level agreement, specifying the minimum uptime provided, e.g. 99.99%. Home providers are not bound by business-level reaction times and in many countries can leave you offline for weeks without any way for you to claim damages. Try explaining that to your customers. Because if it happens, it happens at the most inopportune time, creating the most pressure for you and leaving the most destruction in its wake. Plus, getting a business-level symmetric speed internet line connected with guaranteed uptime and failover is going to cost you a multiple of what you pay for a dedicated server in a data center. All this without even factoring in the additional power bill of running a server machine 24/7. So, my explicit suggestion would be NOT to go ahead with this.

With regards to the web hosting panel, the most pleasant one with BSD support I have found is: http://ajenti.org

Again: do not host from home when people pay you for the hosting service.


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## jonfr (Sep 10, 2017)

In Iceland there aren't any bandwidth (download/upload) restrictions at the most expensive package and the VDSL2 is at 100/100Mbps (this is depends on the phone line, but this is the maximum speed). I can also get static IP address (IPv4, no IPv6 yet). The chance of power problems are no more then in any other day* in dedicated hosting (I plan on having backup power installed). Icelandic internet connection have really good reliability with 95% uptime (unless someone ploughs trough a wire, it happens). I am not reselling any hosting service, but I am hosting for my self and few people I know. Based on the traffic I am getting on my own website, dedicated hosting is getting quite expensive and it is cheaper to host at home once I'm ready in few years. I plan on having decided VDSL2 line for this hosting, so home usage traffic is not interfering with it and that also allows me to have the website outside of my home network (as I require. I don't want to mix home LAN with website service). I don't know when I am going to be able to do this, it depends on factors that I have not yet resolved (owning a house).

Thanks for the web hosting panel suggestion.  

*Real bad storms in Iceland due result in power problems and power loss. But so do really bad storms in the U.S. My dedicated server is now in the path of hurricane Irma. I hope it stays up, but I am also prepared if it goes down or data loss happens.


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## herrbischoff (Sep 11, 2017)

jonfr said:


> I am not reselling any hosting service, but I am hosting for my self and few people I know.



That's the key factor. As long as you're just self-hosting for you and your buddies it's a reasonable approach. My point is don't ever do this for money or for critical infrastructure. In the end it's your decision of course.


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## jonfr (Sep 11, 2017)

I don't touch a business level without an educated IT guy(s) and a lawyer. It's that bad today in the world (due to factors out of my control). So I decided just to stay out of it for good. I'm going to let the current IT bubble just pass by while I do other and better things.

I am going to self host due to costs. I have a decent popular website but the advertisement income is never going to cover the short term cost. It seems that no amount of advertisement is going to cover the cost of buying dedicated hosting. It is cheaper for me just to do so on my own when I can (not for a good while at the moment, when I write this message).

If there are any other web host control panels I need to know about. I would like to hear about them. Thanks for the help.


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## Phishfry (Sep 11, 2017)

Besides webmin I don't think there are many web control panels on FreeBSD.
I had some trouble setting up ajenti but it looks worth it.
Thanks for the tip herrbischoff .
I need to setup nginx for it.


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## Phishfry (Sep 11, 2017)

Not totally useful but a start
http://support.ajenti.org/topics/1131-installing-on-freebsd-experimental/

`pkg install py27-pip py27-ldap py27-lxml py27-gevent libffi`
`pip install ajenti`

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ajenti/ajenti/1.x/packaging/files/config.json
##mkdir /usr/local/etc/ajenti
##place config.json in this directory

https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ajenti/ajenti/1.x/packaging/files/ajenti-bsd
##save as /etc/rc.d/ajenti
##chmod +x /etc/rc.d/ajenti

`service ajenti start`

Pull up webserver on port:8000


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## Phishfry (Sep 11, 2017)

Well my ride around the block with ajenti did not impress me. Seem like a fancy server admin control panel. Number of Twitter followers on the main webpage is distastful. I removed the widget but still. If ublock has to block things on my server control panel we have a trust problem. 

webmin uses similar functions but uses a seperate usermin web interface for limited user control.


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## herrbischoff (Oct 15, 2017)

Well, there's a reason for why most serious web hosting companies develop their own solutions from scratch. Sorry my suggestion did not turn out to be to your liking. FreeBSD panels are hard to come by. Unfortunately, the web hosting industry is dominated by Linux.


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