That is the question.

I've got a dedicated server that had ensim, but I stripped it out of redhat on my first day :) Not the easiest task let me tell you, but it's gone and I've had loads of fun enjoying the freedom of a plain box.

But I've noticed something... sometimes freedom makes things overly difficult. For developing websites it's great to have the run of the box... but for released websites, it's a pain in the *** to back them up, and if you need to allow a client to have access you have to manually set everything up.

So I'm thinking about leasing another server, but this time get one with a panel. Then I can use my plain box for development, and the panel box for hosting released sites, as well as doing some small hosting for people on the side.

But I have no experience with panels. So I need to know, is it really that much easier? Can I easily schedule backups of every site on the box? Or if not schedule, can I at least login, click a single button and download everything on the shells, mysql databases, etc? On my plain box I manaullay go everywhere downloading everything so it takes some work. Does my plan sound good or do you have a better idea? Do you see any drawbacks? Is it still possible to do custom things with websites that the panel doesn't directly support?

Thanks

I personally would recommend plesk. Where are you familiar with the shell there backup is a breeze.

You could also look at adding 4PSA's total backup to it. And clients do like it. :)

I use Total Backup as well, and have schedualed backups. It's wonderful.

Cool. Back before I got my first server I tried all the CP demos and Plesk seemed the most intelligently designed. I just tried this new Plesk version and it looks like they made the interface prettier and easier for people to use. This looks good, I'll spend some time playing with it and learn how the backup procedures work and probably go with it. Thanks