cPanel Server

cPanel is one of the most popular Linux web hosting control panels available and is offered by most web hosting providers as an extra option with their Linux VPS server hosting services as well as their Linux dedicated servers. cPanel is also widely used by web hosting providers to offer cheap web hosting solutions as a Linux and cPanel server combination provides web hosting providers with a very low cost shared web hosting platform. Although cPanel may be a low cost web hosting control panel, it certainly doesn’t lack in features and can provide both server administrators and web hosting clients with a host of features that aren’t available with any other Linux web hosting control panel; further to this cPanel also supports third-party plugins meaning that it is fairly easy to extend the capabilities of the control panel. Although cPanel is designed to be a web hosting control panel, with the WHM management panel you can use cPanel simply for the management of your Linux VPS server or dedicated server – although you can also use it for the hosting of multiple websites; server management can be an issue in some situations to being able to manage your Linux server using a GUI may be beneficial to some. cPanel server hosting services are available from a number of different web hosting providers meaning that there is quite a bit of competition there allowing for lower prices; it is important for you to shop around when looking for a cPanel server as there will always be a better deal to be found.

cPanel is the best solution if you wish to be able to make the most of a reliable server hosting service; cPanel isn’t that resource intensive meaning that it will run effectively on most basic VPS server and dedicated server hosting services, although in some situations you may be limited as to the number of websites you are able to host on your server. cPanel is available from most Linux VPS server and Linux dedicated server hosting providers for a small added cost, although some web hosting providers do offer it for free with their Linux server hosting services; however, cPanel allows for the hosting of an unlimited number of websites meaning that the small monthly fee that you pay helps to ensure that cPanel is good value for money. cPanel server hosting services can also offer you a secure web hosting environment in which you can host any data safe in the knowledge that your Linux server is unlikely to become compromised; however, you will still need to ensure that your server is secured properly and to a high standard.

Advantages of Using a cPanel Server

A cPanel server can provide you with many benefits whether you are looking to host one website or multiple websites on your Linux VPS server or Linux dedicated server as it is able to make many tasks so much easier. The main advantage of using a cPanel server has to be the reduced web hosting costs on your half since cPanel is one of the cheapest Linux web hosting control panels available and Linux is an open source operating system meaning that you won’t have to pay a penny in order to use Linux on your VPS server or dedicated server; for most the cost of cPanel is as low as £5/month is almost nothing and in some cases your web hosting provider may even offer cPanel for free with their Linux VPS server and Linux dedicated server hosting services. A cPanel server will also be much easier to manage than a Linux server that doesn’t have the cPanel/WHM suite installed as you will be provided with a web GUI (the WHM control panel) from which you will be able to manage many different aspects of your cPanel server hosting service; however, there is still no excuse for not managing your cPanel server using SSH as SSH is still the only way in which you can achieve certain tasks. cPanel server hosting will also be able to provide you with a more reliable Linux server hosting service as cPanel and WHM consume very little system resources meaning that in the event that your server does suffer a load spike there are going to be spare resources available to cope with the load; reliable web hosting is something that most web hosting providers are trying to offer these days and by choosing a Linux/cPanel server combination you are going to have access to a highly reliable web hosting service. In summary, the main advantages of using a cPanel server include:

  • Low cost control panel – a cPanel server will be able to provide you with a low cost but easy to manage server hosting solution as cPanel is available from most web hosting providers for a small monthly sum – Linux is an open source operating system meaning that you won’t have to pay a penny to use which will help you to save on your costs, meaning that the only real expenditure with cPanel server hosting is for the server that you are going to be using and your cPanel/WHM software license – in some cases your web hosting provider may be able to provide you with a cPanel license for free if you purchase one of their Linux VPS server or Linux dedicated server hosting packages – however, it is important to note that the higher the specification of the cPanel server you choose to use, the more it is going to cost you
  • Server management – although it is still important for you to be able to manage your cPanel server via SSH, the cPanel/WHM suite can make server management easier to an extent as you can use the WHM control panel to perform a variety of different server management tasks – when managing a Linux VPS server or Linux dedicated server via SSH you need to be well versed in the various commands that you can use to perform different tasks, but when using the cPanel/WHM suite you are provided with access to a web GUI that can then provide you with a graphical display when performing various tasks – if you are going to be offering your own web hosting services then you can provide your clients with access to the cPanel control panel from which they will be able to manage every aspect of their shared web hosting account with ease
  • Reliable server hosting – a cPanel server can provide you with a reliable web hosting service as you are using one of the least resource intensive web hosting control panels available in conjunction with one of the most stable operating systems there is – when using a Linux VPS server or Linux dedicated server you will be able to assure yourself that you will achieve a high level of uptime since you will have your own dedicated resources that no other users will be able to use – cPanel uses little server resources meaning that your server will be able to cope with high load spikes, but it is important to consider that the higher the number of websites that you are hosting on a single server, the higher the average load on your cPanel server is likely to be – you should consider a high specification server if you wish to receive a highly reliable web hosting service.

The advantages of using a cPanel server show that Linux server hosting is a worthy investment if you wish to be able to make the most of server hosting since you will be provided with a very reliable web hosting service.

Disadvantages of Using a cPanel Server

There can also be disadvantages to using cPanel servers that you should be aware of prior to purchasing a Linux VPS server or Linux dedicated server that comes with cPanel as you want to be sure that you are choosing the right form of web hosting for your requirements. The main disadvantage to using cPanel server hosting is the level of support that is available for the Linux operating system itself, whilst cPanel comes with official support as it is a commercial product you will only be able to refer to the documentation for your chosen Linux distribution if you need to sort out a problem; however, if you choose to go for managed Linux server hosting then your web hosting provider may be able to offer you a certain degree of support. A cPanel server may also be a target for hackers which could cause problems if your Linux VPS server or Linux dedicated server isn’t secured to a high level, but when using the cPanel control panel you should find it easy to secure your web hosting environment to a high level as cPanel has several different security options built into it; if you are going to be hosting multiple websites on your cPanel server then it may be hard to review how secure each individual website is, but it is important to remind your hosting clients to ensure that any dynamic websites that they are using have been developed using strong code. Linux servers can also lack support for specific technologies with larger businesses in particular like to take advantage of – as Linux is an open source operating system, specific technologies that have been developed by Microsoft aren’t able to run on the Linux platform meaning that if you have certain requirements then you may wish to consider a Windows server hosting service; examples of such technologies include ASP.NET and Microsoft SQL Server. In summary, the main disadvantages of cPanel server hosting include:

  • Support for Linux – when using any server hosting service you want to be sure that you will be able to manage it properly, but with Linux this could be a challenge in some cases as there is no official support available meaning that you have to go along with the information that is provided by the documentation released for your chosen Linux distribution as well as what various web forums are able to offer you – however, if you choose to go for a managed cPanel server then your web hosting provider’s support team will be able to offer you a significant amount of support which will aid you when it comes to the management of your cPanel server as it will allow you to pass all of the dirty work onto them, thus meaning that all you need to do is manage your server using the cPanel/WHM suite
  • Target for hackers – cPanel server hosting services can also be targets for hackers which could cause you some issues if your server isn’t secured properly, but if cPanel is setup correctly then there is no reason why your cPanel server be unsecure – however, the cPanel/WHM suite is a very secure set of applications meaning that with cPanel installed on your Linux VPS server or Linux dedicated server you are guaranteed a decent level of security – it is still up to you to take any security measures further than those that are offered by cPanel if you wish to be able to make the most of the high levels of security that Linux has to offer – it is a good idea to take into consideration that any Linux web hosting server can effectively be made hacker proof
  • Support for certain technologies - Linux cPanel server hosting services aren’t suitable for all users since in some cases, particularly where large businesses are involved, the technologies used by certain users may prevent them from being able to use Linux web hosting services to their full effect – Microsoft SQL Server and ASP.NET are two popular technologies that have been developed by Microsoft, but because of this they will only function correctly on Windows web hosting services meaning that if you are using ASP.NET as the basis for your website or Microsoft SQL Server as your database backend then you will need to consider a Windows hosting service for your requirements over a Linux cPanel web hosting server.

The disadvantages of cPanel server hosting show that a Linux cPanel server may not be able to meet the requirements of everyone. However, if you are looking for a basic server hosting service that will allow you to host several resource intensive websites then a cPanel server may be the way forward for you.

In conclusion, cPanel server hosting is a popular form of Linux web hosting as you are combining a highly effective and very reliable web hosting control panel with an open source but powerful operating system. If you wish to offer your own web hosting packages to your own customers then a cPanel server will be able to provide you with the perfect starting point.