Informed Webmaster

Recently I received an email advising me that one of the hosting accounts I use was shutting its doors.

I am kinda tired of things like this so I went VPS shopping once again but this time only from well established hosts.

This article is a very good read, well worth the time and I will share my comments below the quote

No matter how you slice it, there is basically nothing as sensational as a tool that does it work. And when such a tool is offered without a price tag, it goes from sensational to heavenly.

Let’s take a look at the web hosting control panels (or admin panels) which you can use to manage your VPS or dedicated server. And yes, they are completely free to set up and use.

These days, control panels are popular because they help webmasters interactively manage the environment of their web project. Couple that with how easy they make experts useless.

In fact, a complete novice can efficiently administer his server and manage more than one site…powered by a few clicks. Source: https://www.accuwebhosting.com/blog/top ... d-servers/

Usually during the winter months I don't have a lot to do so I've played with a VPS a few times. This time I wanted to get it right.

ISPConfig
I really wanted to test this one as it seems quite popular but alas after 3 failed attempts to install I gave up.

Ajenti
For some reason I excluded this one from testing.

Webmin & Virtualmin
Are in the same family Virtualmin is just an upgraded, multiple hosts version of Webmin. Having previously tested both of them and found them lacking in email management I did not test them this time.
Webmin is a great little low memory user for a single domain on a VPS account.
Virtualmin works but might challenge you with some of the details.

CentOS Web Panel
Having previously used this for an extended period of time this was my fallback option and the one I ultimately installed.While it looks nothing like the commercial products it does exactly the same functions and even if you want some additional features it only costs $12 per year. The non-pro version works and works well and it is 100% free.

So, what are your experiences with very low or no cost control panels? Which one do you use or recommend?