About this Guide Web Hosting...6 Concepts... 6

Transcription

1 A Guide

2 Contents About this Guide Web Hosting...6 Concepts... 6 Server...6 Web Server...6 Account...6 IP Address...6 Domain or Host Name...6 Registrar...6 Nameserver...7 File Transfer Protocol (FTP)...7 Web Server Software...7 Apache...7 HTTP...7 HTTPS...7 Database...8 Firewall...8 Ports...8 FrontPage Extensions...8 Web Hosting Options... 8 VPS in Comparison with the Other Options Signing Up for a VPS Account VPS Management Using Virtuozzo...13 About Virtuozzo Using Virtuozzo The Virtuozzo Interface...14 Logging On...14 Changing Password...15 Starting or Stopping a VPS...15 Monitoring VPS Resources...16 Resource Limits...16 Page 2 of 56

3 Checking Resource Consumption...17 Viewing Logs Using WHM/cPanel...19 About WHM/cPanel Accessing WHM/cPanel The WHM Interface Configuring a VPS Using WHM Changing Root Password...21 Changing the Server Time...21 Configuring Statistics Software...22 Updates...23 Configuring WHM/cPanel Updates...23 Updating WHM/cPanel Manually...24 Updating Apache...25 Updating Other Software and Scripts...25 Setting Up Nameservers...25 Registering Domain Names and Nameservers...25 Setting Up Nameservers in WHM...27 Setting Up Server Contacts...27 Creating an Account...28 Creating a Package...31 Creating a Feature List...32 Managing Reseller Accounts...33 WHM Documentation Managing an Account through cpanel...36 Accessing cpanel The cpanel Interface Changing Password Setting Up Contact Information Configuring Accounts Configuring FTP Accounts Using File Manager Configuring Subdomains cpanel Documentation Shell Access...44 Definition Page 3 of 56

4 Accessing a VPS Using SSH SSH Text Editors Pico and Nano...45 Vi...46 Shell Access versus Web Host Manager Configuring the VPS for Improved Performance...48 Configuring Apache Configuring MySQL Configuring FTP for Connecting Through a Firewall Active and Passive FTP...52 Configuring the Port Range of the Firewall...52 Configuring the FTP Software...53 Disabling Services for Better Performance Disabling Services for a Single Account...54 Disabling Services for the Server...55 Appendix...56 List of Figures Page 4 of 56

5 About this Guide This guide explains the concepts and technologies related to Virtual Private Servers and the most common ways of working with them. The guide is intended for users who have some computing knowledge and, preferably, knowledge of Web hosting. Basic Web hosting concepts have been described at the beginning of the document. Page 5 of 56

6 1. Web Hosting Concepts This section is a glossary of Web hosting terminology. It is intended for users who are unfamiliar with Web hosting concepts. It is also intended for any reader who would like to look up the meaning of a term used elsewhere in this document. Server Content that is required to be shared by many users reside on a single computer from where everyone can access it. This computer is called a server. A server is distinguishable from a normal desktop computer by its higher attributes such as hard-disk space, RAM, processor speed, security features, and so on. Such high configuration is required because its stability will determine how easily and unfailingly it can be accessed by users who are part of its network. Web Server Web sites are hosted not on any server but on the servers of Web hosting companies, which are referred to as Web servers. Web hosting companies sell space on their servers to people who want to make a site accessible over the Internet. Account Each Web site on a server is referred to as an account. IP Address This is the number that is used to identify a Web site; for example, Domain or Host Name This is the name used for accessing the Web site; for example, It is linked to the IP address of the Web site. Since IP addresses are not easy to remember, the host names make it easier to access Web sites. Registrar Any company that can register domain names is called a registrar. Page 6 of 56

7 Nameserver Nameservers are computers that store all the domain names, such as and their corresponding IP addresses. You need to set up nameservers for your VPS to store the domain names and IP addresses of the accounts created on it. These nameservers send the information to a central registry from which all other nameservers can access it. This makes it possible for the Web sites hosted on your VPS to be accessed over the Internet. Your nameservers also receive information sent by other nameservers to the central registry. File Transfer Protocol (FTP) The content is transferred to the Web server from the customers servers using File Transfer Protocol (FTP) software. The FTP software provides an interface that displays the content files of the customer s Web site. The customer can then upload other files to it and remove files that are no longer required. Web Server Software This is the software installed on a Web server that receives requests over the Internet for the content of the Web sites hosted on the server and sends the appropriate content back to the user. There are various Web server software packages available, some of which are specific to an operating system. Some of these packages are Apache, Microsoft Internet Information Server (IIS), Sun Java System Web Server, and Zeus. Web servers also store content in databases. Apache This is the most popular Web server software, and it is free. It can be installed on both Linux-based and Microsoft Windows operating systems. It is an open-source application, which means that its code is available to any developer who wants to modify it to serve specific purposes. HTTP This is the standard format in which requests for content are sent to Web servers through browsers. HTTPS This is the secure form of the HTTP protocol, which allows only those users to access to a Web site who have a user ID and password valid for that site. Page 7 of 56

8 Database This is a collection of records on a server. Each record contains information that is divided into various identifiable parts. The information contained in these records can be obtained using a database management system (DBMS). Firewall A firewall is an application that protects a computer from being accessed in an unauthorized manner. It prevents other computers from connecting to the computer that it is installed on. However, it allows the computer to connect to other computers. If you want other computers to connect to your computer through a firewall, then you must specify the open ports in the firewall configuration. Only those computers that know which ports are open can then access your computer. Refer to the next point. Ports Ports are connection points through which other computers can access a computer. FrontPage Extensions This is the functionality through which components can be added directly to a Web site using Microsoft FrontPage, without your needing to know anything about creating the component. Changes made through FrontPage extensions can be published directly through the program. The components that can be added include search, hit counter, table of contents, and so on. Warning: It is recommended that you do not install FrontPage extensions unless you intend to update the Web site through Microsoft FrontPage. Installing them can also make changes to the security of directories protected with WebProtect, requiring you to protect them again. Web Hosting Options There are primarily three Web hosting options on offer. They are: Page 8 of 56

9 Shared Web Hosting: A Web site shares space with other Web sites on a single server. This option is suitable for small Web sites such as personal Web pages or other Web sites whose content does not change frequently. Dedicated Web Hosting: A whole server is given to a single client, who can then host a single or more Web sites on it. This is generally required by companies that are looking to host multiple Web sites or a single Web site with cumulative and dynamic content. Apart from requirements of space, the most important reason for choosing this option is security of content. Even though a shared server has security features, it protects all accounts as one. If any one account is compromised, there is potential for all other accounts to be similarly compromised. Virtual Private Servers: A single server is divided into multiple mutually-exclusive portions. Each portion is called a Virtual Private Server (VPS). In effect, it works like a dedicated server because no VPS shares its resources with another despite residing on the same physical server. The process of dividing a single physical server into multiple virtual servers is called virtualization. This is a viable alternative for those who are looking for a dedicated server but are discouraged by the cost. VPS in Comparison with the Other Options The following are some of the aspects in which the VPS has proved to be advantageous. Security: A shared server has many potential problems for those Web sites that change frequently, have a great degree of interactivity for their users, or provide features such as e-shopping and which require a high level of security. Shared servers mostly provide a firewall as a security measure and this is quite inadequate for covering up the security flaws of the operating system. Level of Access: When you host a site on a shared server, you can access only that part of the server that has your site s content. The overall configuration and administration of the server will be done by the Web hosting company. But when you buy a dedicated server, you can access all parts of the server. This type of access is called the rootlevel access, and the administrator of the server is called the root user. This level of access is replicated on a VPS by having multiple and independent instances of the operating system. Therefore, a VPS provides the same level of access as a dedicated server, despite using a single actual server. Page 9 of 56

10 Sandboxes: This feature refers to the possibility of partitioning a VPS and hosting a copy of the Web site on one of the partitions. This can be useful as a back-up of the Web site. It is also useful for testing the Web site thoroughly on the Internet without filling the databases with invalid content or in any way destabilizing the Web site that is available to the real users. Independent Rebooting: Even though many VPSs reside on the same physical server, each of them can be restarted separately without shutting down any other VPS. This is a great advantage when it comes to improving the availability of your Web sites, because the server on which they are hosted will not be restarted for reasons other than the maintenance of your own sites. Page 10 of 56

11 2. Signing Up for a VPS Account Signing up for a VPS account means buying a VPS and selecting the configuration for it. You can sign up for a VPS online from the Web site of a Web hosting company. The following is a set of general instructions for signing up for a VPS Account: 1. Log on to the Web hosting company s Web site; for example, 2. From the various server and hosting packages offered on the Web site, identify the list of VPS packages. Sometimes, the VPS packages are listed under shared Web hosting, as on In such a case, look for virtual private hosting packages under the list of shared hosting packages. 3. Go through the details of the packages, such as the storage space, processor type, speed, RAM, number of IP addresses, and so on. VPSs come with root-level access. 4. Check the VPS management software that is a part of the package. Usually, Virtuozzo and WHM/cPanel are included. There are other software packages such as Plesk (for Windows), DirectAdmin and Webmin that can be used to manage a VPS. However, WHM/cPanel is the most widely used. This guide explains some of the features of Virtuozzo and WHM/cPanel. Any software that is part of the VPS package is usually installed and configured by the Web hosting company, and the fee for this is included in the cost of the package. 5. Once you decide to buy a VPS package, enter your details such as name, company name and address. 6. If you want to have a domain name associated with your VPS, you can ask the Web hosting company to register it for you. You need to pay the registration fee due to the registrar, but the Web hosting company usually does not charge you for its services in registering the domain name. 7. If you want the nameservers to be configured for the VPS, then you can submit their names. These names are usually in the ns1.<yourdomainname> and ns2.<yourdomainname> formats; for example, ns1.liquidweb.com and ns2.liquidweb.com. 8. Make the payment by either submitting your credit card details or by sending a check or money-order. Page 11 of 56

12 Once you submit the details and the payment is made, the Web hosting company will install and configure the VPS for you. Page 12 of 56

13 3. VPS Management Using Virtuozzo About Virtuozzo Virtuozzo is the technology developed by SWsoft for the virtualization of servers. It is based on the openvz technology, which is used for virtualization of servers at the level of the operating system. What this means is that multiple instances of a single operating system can be installed on a single server to create mutually-exclusive, though virtual, servers. This is the most popular method of virtualization in the Web hosting domain because it delivers performance closest to a dedicated server s. The one limitation of this method of virtualization is that it can run only a single type of operating system: either Linux or Windows. However, this limitation actually enables it to give a much improved performance when compared to other techniques of virtualization. Virtuozzo can be used for the allocation of mutually-exclusive resources among different VPSs. The resources of one VPS cannot be accessed by another. These allocations can be changed in real time and without rebooting the server. Some of the approximately 20 resources that can be partitioned are: Hard-disk space File systems RAM Networks Users and user groups Processes IP addresses Applications System Libraries The exhaustive list of resources that can be distributed means that no VPS can interfere with the functioning or the allocated resources of another VPS. Virtuozzo is provided along with most dedicated server packages and the virtualization is done by the Web hosting provider. Page 13 of 56

14 Using Virtuozzo This section describes some of the features of Virtuozzo for performing basic tasks. It is not intended to describe the virtualization process. This information is intended to help you monitor your VPS. The Virtuozzo Interface This guide uses the Virtuozzo Power Panel (VZPP) as the interface for explaining some of the basic functions that can be performed using Virtuozzo. Virtuozzo also has a command-line functionality and the Virtuozzo Management Console (VZMC), which is another GUI-based tool. The VZPP is a Web-based interface that you can use to manage your VPSs. It has a menu in the left pane and a status bar on top. The right pane displays the pages relevant to the feature selected in the left pane. The features on the menu are divided into four groups. They can also be accessed by clicking on a group name. This will display its dashboard in the right pane, which explains the features and provides access to them. The following is an image of the VZPP home page. Logging On Figure 1: The VZPP home page You can log on through VZPP using one of the following two URL formats: Page 14 of 56

15 IP address or hostname/tcp port of the Virtuozzo Service VPS: This URL format can be used if you have a multiple VPSs under a single Service VPS. If you log on using this method, you can manage any VPS under the Service VPS. The user name and password used here will be those of the Service VPS. IP address or hostname/tcp port of the VPS: This URL format is used to log on to a single VPS. If you have multiple VPSs under a single Service VPS, then this method allows you to access only a single VPS. To log on to any other VPS, you will have to use its TCP port along with the IP address or hostname. Use root as the user name and the password given by your Web hosting provider. If the VPS is part of a Service VPS, then you can use the user name and password of the Service VPS. Changing Password It is recommended that you change the password given by your Web hosting provider. You can do this by clicking the Change Password link in the left pane after you have logged on to VZPP. You can change the password only if you log on to the VPS using the root user name, and not if you log on with the Service VPS user name and password. You cannot change the user name and password for the service VPS. The following is an image of the Change root password page. Figure 2: The Change root password page in Virtuozzo Starting or Stopping a VPS Starting, stopping or rebooting a VPS is the same as in the case of any computer. Before performing any of these actions, click the Active Tasks icon on the title bar, and check if any crucial tasks are being performed. If a task is being performed, it is recommended that you wait till it is completed. The following is an image of the Start/Stop VPS page. Page 15 of 56

16 Figure 3: The Start/Stop VPS page To start, stop or restart a VPS, click Start/Stop VPS on the menu, and then click the relevant button on the Start/Stop VPS page. If the status of the VPS is Under Repair, and you need to perform any action on it, click Repair Mode on the menu. On the Repair Mode page, click Finish Repair. Warning: When shutting down a VPS, two minutes are allotted for the closing of VPS scripts. If the scripts do not close in two minutes, the VPS will continue to shut down. This might cause damage to the VPS. Monitoring VPS Resources Resource Limits Since a VPS is allotted a fixed quota of resources, it is important to check the consumption of resources periodically to find out if you are likely to exceed the limits. A VPS uses different limits in order to limit the use of resources and at the same time allow for unforeseen extensions for a limited period. The following are the limits used for some parameters: Barrier: This is the actual limit for a resource. Limit: This is the limit to which a resource s use can be extended beyond the barrier under specific circumstances. This limit cannot be exceeded. Soft Limit: This is the limit used for disk-related resources such as space and ionodes. This is similar to a barrier. Page 16 of 56

17 Hard Limit: This is the limit to which the disk-related resources can be extended beyond the soft limit within a grace period. The soft limit cannot be exceeded after the grace period. Checking Resource Consumption To check the VPS resource consumption, click Resources under the VPS Management menu. The following is an image of the Resources page. Figure 4: The Resources page The Resources page displays the quotas allocated for each resource and the current consumption. The following resource limits and statuses are displayed here: CPU: A VPS is allocated a guaranteed percentage of CPU time from the actual server and this percentage is displayed here. System: This represents the average of the memory-related parameters used by the VPS. To view the details of each parameter, click Show Details. The details of each parameter give the limits and the current consumption. Bandwidth: This indicates the bandwidth allowed and the amount used. Page 17 of 56

18 Disk Space: The amount of disk space allowed and the disk space used. This uses soft and hard limits. Disk Ionodes: This represents the limit to the number of files, directories and symbolic links on the VPS. This uses soft and hard limits. The consumption of each resource is indicated by a percentage bar. The color of the percentage bar indicates the level of consumption. If the bar is green, then the VPS is consuming less than 90% of the allowed resource quota. If the bar is yellow, then the VPS is consuming more than 90% of the allowed resource quota. If it is red, then the VPS has been consuming 100% of the allowed resource quota over a long duration. If the percentage bar is red, you must take immediate remedial action. For example, if the CPU time percentage bar is red, then you must look at the list of system processes to identify the process that is consuming too much CPU time. Note: The Disk Ionode percentage bar is marked black if the VPS is denied access to some disk ionodes. This happens when the soft limit has exceeded the grace period. This could result in loss of data contained under the ionodes to which access has been denied. Viewing Logs Virtuozzo provides three logs that are helpful in tracking changes to the VPS in case of a problem. The three logs are: Status Changes: This log displays the list of changes to the status of the VPS, with the timings of the changes. To access this log, click Status Changes on the menu. Quality of Service: This log is very important for knowing if the VPS is using or exceeding its quotas. It is not possible to identify all points at which resource consumption reaches its limits by checking the percentage bars. This log maintains a list of all such points. To access this log, click QoS Alerts on the menu. Actions: This log tracks all the operations performed on the VPS. To access this log, click Actions Log on the menu. All logs can be viewed for the duration of your choice by specifying it in the given fields on the respective pages. Page 18 of 56

19 4. Using WHM/cPanel About WHM/cPanel WHM/cPanel is a graphical-user-interface (GUI) tool that is used for managing a VPS and all the accounts hosted on it. It is one of the many GUIbased tools that are available for Web hosting management. It is the most popular tool because of its ease of use and comprehensive functionality. WHM/cPanel, as the name indicates, is made up of two components. The first is the Web Host Manager (WHM), which is the interface for managing the VPS and all the accounts under it. The second component is the cpanel, which is the interface for managing any single account on a server. Given the comprehensive functionality of this tool, it can be used by Web hosting companies, which can in turn provide limited access to their customers who can manage their Web sites themselves. Usually, customers who want to manage their own Web sites are provided cpanel access. Reseller customers, who are authorized to divide their share of space and sell them to their customers, can be provided limited access to WHM for them to create and manage accounts. This section is intended to help you perform some basic operations in order to set up and use a VPS. Accessing WHM/cPanel To access WHM or cpanel, you need the URL, user name and password for each of them. The following table provides the various formats of the URL that can be used for accessing these components. Component WHM cpanel URL Format address>:2086 (for example, or name>:2086 (for example, address>:2082 (for example, or name>:2082 (for example, Page 19 of 56

20 Notes In all URLs, :2086 can be replaced by either /whm or /cpanel, depending on which of the components you want to access. If you are accessing WHM or cpanel for the VPS, the domain name will be the name of the account created for the VPS. This must be a registered domain name. If you accessing WHM or cpanel for a single account on the VPS, the domain name will be the name of that account. This must be a registered domain name. The WHM Interface WHM contains two panes: the left and the right. The left pane contains the menu and the right pane displays the feature that is being accessed. When you log on, the right pane displays menu groups, under which the features are available. Figure 5: The WHM interface Configuring a VPS Using WHM This section describes the tasks that you may need to perform once WHM/cPanel access has been provided to you by the Web hosting company. Page 20 of 56

21 Changing Root Password Once you are given access to WHM, the first thing to do is to change the root password given by the Web hosting company. To change the root password: 1. Log on to WHM. 2. On the menu, under Server Configuration, click Change Root Password. The Change Root Password page is displayed. Figure 6: The Change Root Password page in WHM 3. Type your new password in both the text boxes given on the page. 4. Click Change Password. Changing the Server Time You may need to change the time zone of the VPS if it is not set to your time zone. To change the time zone: 1. On the menu, under Server Configuration, click Server Time. The Time Config page is displayed. Page 21 of 56

22 Figure 7: The Time Config page 2. On the Time Config page, select a time zone from the drop-down list under Configure. 3. Click Change Time Zone to change the time zone to the one selected by you. 4. To synchronize the VPS s time with the time displayed on this page, click Sync Time with Time Server. Configuring Statistics Software Statistics are required to monitor the number of visitors to a Web site. This information is useful in determining the load on the server resulting from the traffic to a Web site. This information is also used to determine a Web site s popularity with the users. The WHM package includes statistics generation software, and it allows you to configure it for all the users of a VPS. To configure statistics software: 1. On the menu, under Server Configuration, click Statistics Software Configuration. The Statistics Software Configuration page is displayed. Page 22 of 56

23 Figure 8: The Statistics Software Configuration page This page displays the status of the statistics generation software, whether each statistics software package is allowed to be used by the users, and if it is enabled by default. A green circle in the Allowed column indicates that the software is allowed to be used, and a red circle indicates that it is not. A green circle in the Enabled by Default column indicates that the software is enabled by default, and a red circle indicates that the user will have to enable it. 2. To change the interval at which the statistics are generated, type the number of hours in the Generate statistics every hours box, and click Change. 3. To have a more complex schedule for generating statistics, click Configure Statistic Process time Schedule. 4. To allow users to change the statistics generation software, select the check box under Statistics configuration, and click Save. Updates Configuring WHM/cPanel Updates You can update the versions of the WHM/cPanel that you are using and the versions of the security packages that are offered along with it. You can configure WHM to update these packages automatically or manually. You can also choose never to update these packages. To select your update preferences for WHM/cPanel: 1. On the menu, under Server Config, click Update Config. Page 23 of 56

24 The Update Config page is displayed. Figure 9: The Update Config page 2. Select your update preferences, using the following guidelines: To identify if a newer version is available for a package, and to download and install it automatically, select Automatic under that package s name. To check for newer versions of a package manually, select Manually under that package s name. For WHM/cPanel updates, the Automatic and Manual options are available for various build types. The legends on this page describe each build type. Read these descriptions carefully before selecting any option. To block all updates for a package, click Never Update. 3. Click Save. Updating WHM/cPanel Manually If you have configured WHM/cPanel to be updated manually, and if you want to upgrade it to the latest version: Page 24 of 56

25 1. On the menu, under cpanel, click Upgrade to Latest Version. The cpanel/whm Upgrade page is displayed. Figure 10: The cpanel/whm Upgrade page 2. Read the confirmation message, and then click Click to Upgrade. Updating Apache To update Apache to the latest version: 1. On the menu, under Software, click Update Apache. The Update Apache page will display the various update options. 2. Select the update option. 3. Click Start Build. Updating Other Software and Scripts You can update any system and server software and backend scripts that are available on the VPS through WHM. To update the server and system software and backend scripts, on the menu, under Software, click the relevant link. WHM updates any software or script for which a newer version is available. After the process is completed, a report is displayed with the details of any update that has been performed. Setting Up Nameservers Registering Domain Names and Nameservers Before nameservers can be set up on the VPS, you need to register them. To register nameservers: Page 25 of 56

26 1. Select a domain name for your VPS to register it online. There are many services online that register domain names; for example, They are called registrars. Select a domain name that you are certain of, because changing it later can be very complicated 2. After you register your VPS s domain name, log on to the control panel of your domain using the registrar s Web site. 3. Look for a link on the Web site to create nameservers, and click it. 4. Look for a link to register a DNS, and click it. 5. Type the names of the nameservers in the following formats: ns1.<your VPS domain name> ns2.<your VPS domain name> For example, ns1.liquidweb.com and ns2.liquidweb.com can be used for the domain name You can use any subdomain instead of ns1 and ns2, but it is recommended that you use the above format since it is the most widely used. Figure 11: The nameserver configuration page of godaddy.com 6. Type any two IP addresses that have been allotted to your VPS by the Web hosting company. 7. Register the nameservers. It takes approximately 48 hours for these nameservers to be propagated to all the other nameservers on the Internet via the central registry. Page 26 of 56

27 Setting Up Nameservers in WHM Note: Nameserver information is usually submitted at the time of buying a VPS, and the Web hosting company configures them for you. You can submit the nameservers that you have registered to the Web hosting company. If this has been done, then please make sure that there is a real need for changing the nameserver information through WHM. To add the nameserver information through WHM: 1. On the menu, under Server Configuration, click Basic cpanel/whm Setup. The Edit Setup page is displayed. Warnings Do not change any values other than those described in this process. Changing the settings here without completely understanding their consequences can lead to the VPS functioning incorrectly. Do not specify any value in the Master Nameserver box. 2. Ensure that the host name is correct. This host name should not be used for any other account on the VPS. 3. Enter the name of the first nameserver in the Primary Nameserver box, and the name of the second nameserver in the Secondary Nameserver box. You can also use a third nameserver if you have registered it. 4. Click Save. Setting Up Server Contacts A VPS is configured to send messages whenever something occurs that must be informed to the administrator. These messages are sent to the Page 27 of 56

28 account of the root user. You can specify another ID to which these messages can be forwarded. To change the ID to which server messages should be sent: 1. On the menu, under Server Contacts, click Change System Mail Preferences. The Mail Manager page is displayed. There are three types of messages that can be received. They are: root s mail: These are messages that contain information about the activity on the VPS. nobody s mail: These are messages that are received when any message bounces. cpanel s mail: These are messages that contain information about the cpanel s functioning. The account to which each mail type is forwarded is indicated here. 2. Perform one of the following actions, depending on the change you want to make: To receive a mail type at a different ID, type the ID in the text box corresponding to that mail type, and click Change. To stop receiving a mail type, clear the ID given in the text box corresponding to that mail type, and click Change. Creating an Account Each account on a server is a Web site. Therefore, when creating an account, you are allotting space on the server for a Web site. Account creation through WHM involves the defining various attributes for the Web site and its management. Refer to the Web hosting concepts if you need to know about any attribute of an account. To create an account: 1. On the menu, under Account Functions, click Create a New Account. The New Account Settings page is displayed. Page 28 of 56

29 Figure 12: The New Account Settings page 2. Enter the domain name of the Web site. This must be a registered domain name that either you or your customer has the rights for. 3. Type a user name and password that will be used to access this account. 4. For entering the values described from steps 5 to 9 automatically, select a package from the Package drop-down list. You can change these values later. 5. If you want this account to be accessed only by using an IP address, select the Ip check box. If you want to assign a specific IP address, then you can select it from the IP Address drop-down list. Auto Assign is selected by default. 6. Specify the space to be allotted to this account, in the Quota (MB) box. 7. To allow this account access to the CGI functionality, select the Cgi Access check box. Page 29 of 56

30 8. To allow this account the use of FrontPage extensions, select the Frontpage Extentions check box. Warning: It is recommended that you do not install FrontPage extensions unless you intend to update the Web site through Microsoft FrontPage. Installing them can also make changes to the security of directories protected with WebProtect, requiring you to protect them again. 9. Specify the following values: Max Ftp Accounts: The number of FTP user IDs that can be used to upload content to this account. Max Accounts: The number of IDs that can be created with this account s domain name. Max Lists: The number of lists that this account can have. An list is a group of IDs. Max SQL Databases: The number of SQL databases that this account can have. Max Sub Domains: The number of subdomains that this domain can have. The format of a subdomain is For example, Max Park Domains: The number of parked domains that can be directed to this domain. A parked domain is a registered domain that does not have any content. Therefore, anyone who tries to log on to it will be directed to another page. Max Addon Domains: The number of addon domains that can be directed to a subdirectory of this domain. An addon domain is a registered domain that does not have any content of its own, but users who try to access it are directed to a subdirectory of another domain. Bandwidth Limit (MB): This is the amount of data in megabytes that this account can transfer per second. The amount of data that is transferred depends on the size of the content and the number of users accessing it. Contact The ID to which mails containing information about this account should be sent. 10. If you are creating this account for a reseller, select the Reseller check box. Page 30 of 56

31 A reseller company can sell parts of the resources of this account to its customers. 11. If this is a reseller account and if you want this customer to be able create accounts under it and to manage them, select the Owner check box. 12. Click Create. Creating a Package A package is a set of values that can be selected at the time of creating an account to set its limits automatically. When creating an account, limits such as the number of IDs and FTP accounts allowed, bandwidth etc. need to specified. If you intend to use similar values for a large number of accounts, then you can use a package at the time of account creation to fill the data. To create a package: 1. On the menu, under Package, click Add Package. The Add Package page is displayed. Figure 13: The Add Package page 2. Specify the various limits applicable to this package. Page 31 of 56

32 These limits are explained in the Creating an Account procedure. 3. Select a feature list. 4. Click Add. Creating a Feature List A feature list is a set of permissions for each feature of cpanel. Attaching a feature list to an account directly, or by attaching it to a package attached to accounts, you can limit the level of access that your customers have to the VPS. For example, it is recommended that you do not provide shell access to any user except the root user. You can deny this access through a feature list. A feature list called default contains a set of permissions that is applicable to all accounts to which no other feature list has been attached. Any other feature list is attached to an account only if it is attached to the package which is attached to the account. To create or edit a feature list: 1. On the menu, under Package, click Feature Manager. 2. On the Feature Manager, click Add. Page 32 of 56

33 Figure 14: The Feature Manager page 3. Do one of the following on the next page: To create a list, select the check boxes of the features to which you want to provide access, and clear the check boxes of those to which you want to deny access. To edit a list, select it from Edit a Feature List, and click Edit. 4. Click Save. Managing Reseller Accounts The Reseller Center feature allows you to make changes to reseller accounts, to change an existing account to a reseller account, to remove reseller privileges from an account, to modify the privileges of a reseller account and to send to multiple reseller accounts at once. To make changes to a reseller account: 1. On the menu, under Resellers, click Reseller Center. The Reseller Center page is displayed. Figure 15: The Reseller Center page 2. To convert an account to a reseller account: Page 33 of 56

34 i. Select the account name from the Add Reseller Privileges dropdown list. ii. To allow the owner of the account to manage it, select the Make the new reseller own their own account check box. If the owner privileges are not given to a reseller account, then you will have to manage it according to the requirements of the client. iii. Click OK. 3. To convert a reseller account to a normal account, select the account name from the Remove Reseller Privileges drop-down list, and click OK. 4. To change the owner privileges of a reseller account: i. In the Reseller Modifications section of the page, select the account name. ii. Click Edit Privileges/Nameservers. iii. On the next page, make the required changes. You can make changes to the various limits of the account and determine the owner s level of access. iv. Click Save. 5. To change the ownership of a single account: i. Under Change Account Ownership/ Resellers, click Change Ownership of an account. ii. From the Select a reseller drop-down list, select the reseller account that owns the account whose ownership you want to change. iii. Click on Change. iv. Select a new owner of the account. v. Click OK. You can also change the ownership of multiple accounts at once by clicking Change Ownership of Multiple Accounts, in the Reseller Modifications section of the page. 6. To restrict the use of IP addresses by a reseller account: i. In the Reseller Modifications section of the page, click Manage IP Delegation. ii. Select the account for which you want to restrict IP addresses, and click Manage IP Delegation. iii. Select the Restrict ips option. iv. Select the IPs that you want this reseller account to use. v. Click Save. Page 34 of 56

35 WHM Documentation To know how to use the other features of WHM, you can refer to its official documentation available at Page 35 of 56

36 5. Managing an Account through cpanel cpanel is the Web interface through which you can manage any single account. Accessing cpanel If you are the root user, then you can access cpanel for an account through WHM by clicking List Accounts under Account Functions, and then clicking the cpanel icon of the account you wish to access. If you the owner of a reseller account, you can access it similarly for the accounts you own. If you are not the root user or the owner of a reseller account, then you must use the URL provided to you. Refer to Accessing WHM/cPanel. The cpanel Interface The cpanel interface provides information about your account and the server on which it is hosted. It also provides access to features that can be used to manage the account. The following is an image of the cpanel home page. Page 36 of 56

37 Figure 16: The cpanel home page The left part of cpanel gives you information about the account and the server on which it is hosted. The right part contains links to the various cpanel features. The features available will depend on the level of access provided to this account. You can change the appearance of cpanel by selecting a theme from the Switch Themes drop-down list available at the top-left of the page. If you log on as the root user, then you can access any other account on the VPS by selecting it from the Manage another account drop-down list. If you log on as a reseller who also has the owner privileges, then you can access any account under your account by selecting it from the Manage another account drop-down list. Changing Password If you are not the root user of the VPS, then it is recommended that you change the password of your account once you receive it. Click Change Password, type your old and new passwords and submit them. Page 37 of 56

38 Figure 17: The Change Password page in cpanel Setting Up Contact Information You need to check if the ID to which mails containing account information will be sent is correct. If it is not, or if it is not specified, then you can change it by clicking Please update your contact information here at the top of the cpanel page. Figure 18: The Contact Address page Page 38 of 56

39 Configuring Accounts You can configure IDs that use your account s domain name. The number of IDs that you can create might be limited. Check the account details on the cpanel home page. To access the Mail Manager menu, click Mail on the cpanel home page. The Mail Manager page is displayed. You can access the following features: Figure 19: The Mail Manager page Web mail: By clicking this, you can access the mailbox of an account. Domain Forwarding: Using this feature, you can access all mails sent to the accounts of one domain to the corresponding accounts on another domain. For example, all mails sent to yourname@yourdomain.com can be forwarded automatically to yourname@anotherdomain.com. Add/Remove/Manage Accounts: You can add, remove and edit e- mail accounts of this domain. Page 39 of 56

40 Default Address: You can specify an ID to which all mail sent to IDs that do not exist on your domain will be forwarded. For example, if any is sent to when the employee26 ID does not exist on your domain, then this mail is forwarded to the ID specified here. Filtering: You can specify the rules based on which received will be arranged or even discarded. Forwarders: You can send all received by one account to another account. SpamAssassin: This feature uses various algorithms to identify unsolicited mail (SPAM) and to block it. You can enable this feature and also the SPAM box to receive all unsolicited mail in the SPAM folder. If you do not enable the SPAM box, then the blocked mail cannot be accessed. SpamAssassin is known to use a lot of CPU resources. If you can implement another solution for blocking SPAM, then you can disable this feature. BoxTrapper Spam Trap: You can specify a list of IDS from which mail can be received. For mail received from any other ID, a conformation will be sought from the sender to ensure that it is not SPAM. Trace an Address: You can trace the route from which an e- mail ID sends messages. Modify Mail Exchange Server: You can change the server at which mail is received. It is recommended that you do not change this, or at most change it to mail.yourdomain.com. Configuring FTP Accounts FTP accounts are needed to upload content to the Web site. The number of accounts that you can create might be limited. Check your domain information on the cpanel home page to find out how many FTP accounts you can create. Click FTP Manager on the cpanel home page to access it. Page 40 of 56

41 You can use the following features: Figure 20: The FTP Manager page FTP Accounts: You can create FTP accounts to give access to different parts of the domain to different users for uploading content. You can also provide access to the whole domain. Here you can also limit the quota of content that a user can upload. Setup Anonymous FTP Access: You can allow anonymous users to have FTP access to some part of the Web site. Anonymous FTP Message: You can create a message that will be displayed to the anonymous FTP users of your domain. FTP Session Control: You can view a list of users who have logged on to your account using FTP and disconnect them if required. Using File Manager The file manager allows you view and make changes to the content of your domain. It can be used to upload and remove content from the domain. Therefore, it works like FTP software. Click File Manager on the cpanel home page to access it. Page 41 of 56

42 Figure 21: The File Manager page You can perform the following actions from here: To view the contents of a folder, click the folder icon. To view a list of actions that you can perform on a folder or file, click its name, and the list is displayed in the top-right pane. To view a file, click the file, and then click Show File in the top-right pane. To create a file, click Create New File in the folder that you want to create it in. To upload files, click Upload Files in the folder that you want to upload it to. Configuring Subdomains You can create subdomains using cpanel for your domain. To access this feature, click Subdomain on the cpanel home page. You can add and remove sub domains and also specify a URL if you want to redirect the subdomain to it. Page 42 of 56

43 Figure 22: The Sub Domain Maintenance page cpanel Documentation To know how to use the other features of cpanel, you can refer to its official documentation available at Page 43 of 56

44 6. Shell Access Definition Shell is the command-line application for a Linux-based operating system. It is known as SSH. It is similar to the command prompt feature of the Microsoft Windows operating system. A command-line application allows users to perform tasks using commands that are standard for the operating system. For example, the locate command can be used with certain criteria in the shell to find files. Graphical-user-interface (GUI) based applications use these commands invisibly so that users who do not know them can still use the computer easily. Accessing a VPS Using SSH If you know the shell commands, you can access a VPS using them. The shell commands are usually provided to you by the Web hosting company through . However, it is recommended that only the root user has the permissions to use this method of accessing the VPS, because any mistake with the use of commands can result in unexpected changes. You can use the SSH feature of any Linux-based operating system for accessing the VPS. If you are using the Windows operating system, you need to use another application that can recognize SSH commands and transmit them to the VPS. One such application is PuTTY. It is a free and open-source application that can be downloaded from You can download the executable file, putty.exe, directly and do not need to install it. To connect to a server, you need to open it, type the server s host name and port, click Load, and then provide your user name and password. Page 44 of 56

45 Figure 23: The PuTTY Configuration window SSH Text Editors In order to edit files using SSH, you need to use a text editor. A text editor for SSH does not have a graphical user interface, but it responds to a set of commands. Each text editor has its own set of commands for performing the same functions. For the purposes of managing a VPS, you may need to use the text editors to edit certain configuration files. This section will discuss three command editors: pico, nano and vi. Pico and Nano The guidelines for the pico and nano editors are given together because they use very similar commands. These are also considered to be the easiest text editors. The following are some guidelines for using pico or nano to edit files: To open either pico or nano, type the name in SSH and press Enter. To open a file or directory, type the editor name, followed by the path. For example, to open myfile.txt, which is located at etc, type nano Page 45 of 56

46 Vi /etc/myfile.txt. If you are using pico, then substitute nano with pico. Once a file is opened, you can edit it directly. Use the arrow keys to move between and within lines. To search for a string, press CTRL+W, type the string and press Enter. To save a file, press CTRL+O. To close a file, press CTRL+X. A list of important commands is usually available at the bottom of the panel. Vi is a more complex text editor because it has many more features than either pico or nano. It also has many more steps for editing files than pico and nano, which makes it less prone to accidental changes. The following are some guidelines for using vi to edit files; To open the editor, type vi in SSH and press Enter. To open a file or directory, type the editor name, followed by the path. For example, to open myfile.txt, which is located at etc, type vi /etc/myfile.txt. To edit a file, enter the insert mode by pressing i. To search for a string, press /, type the string, and press Enter. To exit the insert mode, press Esc. To save a file, type :w and press Enter. To quit, type :q and press Enter. To save the changes and to quit, type :wq and press Enter. To quit without saving the changes, type :q! and press Enter. Shell Access versus Web Host Manager SSH is the preferred mode of performing tasks for experts. It provides a wider range of functions than GUI-based applications do, but to know and remember the commands to exploit this range is difficult. With shell access, there is also a greater chance of unexpected results if there is a mistake in Page 46 of 56