No, this isn't for one of those "get rich" quick schemes, nor is this mucking around. I'm serious :)

I'm thinking about purchasing a dedicated server or colocating and reselling my own bandwidth/resources.

I'm also going to setup mail servers and DNS servers as well. The whole shebang. Also a registration service with full control panels for users.

I'm going to be writing a full article on all of this, my learning experiences etc of what it's involved to give people and understanding of the business side, but also the development side of the internet.

Next step is server administration with Windows 2003 (since most of it is paid for). Then a few Linux tutorials.

Now, I've got an automated system for the registration of domains however; need help with reselling the hosting.

What software will offer me the chance to completely manage the server through an interface, manage all accounts, domains etc giving me the chance to either manually or automatically process them (this includes automated payment through credit card or PayPal).

I know there is software like Plesk, CPanel etc, but unfortunately I'm not going to fork out money (quite a considerable amount) for something that doesn't do what I want.

If it doesn't work out, it'll just be for my small clientele who need hosting which will cover the costs.

So, even if this doesn't work out I'll have a server which I'm going to use myself anyway. Before I get anything running I'll develope on a local server I have already in Australia. Either way I'm going dedicated and might as well resell bandwidth I'm not going to use, hence why I want it automated. Less fuss.

What software will offer me the chance to completely manage the server through an interface, manage all accounts, domains etc giving me the chance to either manually or automatically process them (this includes automated payment through credit card or PayPal).


WHM is an administration-side app that looks, feels, and integrates with cPanel and does what you are asking of here. It also allows smooth integration with most of the current billing apps out there.

If you go with WHM/CPanel, you can also get a billing application like Modernbill or WHMAutoPilot that will integrate with WHM/CPanel. With those two systems, you can have accounts created automatically, and your customers credit cards (or PayPal accounts) billed, also automatically.

Of course you'll need a merchant account and/or paypal account for this as well.

Woops..... I just noticed in your post that you'll be using a Windows server..... if that's the case, CPanel won't work, as it's designed for Linux systems. An alternative that is designed for Windows, and has it's own billing application included, is Helm from WebHost Automation (www.webhostautomation.com). That may be just what you're looking for.

Rob.

Does it provide statistics as well? Such as profits, costs etc?

Helm? Yes I believe it does. They also have quitre a community over their if you have Helm specific questions.... or perhaps someone here can share their experiences (I've only played around with it.... never really used it actively).

How about Windows Hosting Manager? That seems pretty good.

Another others? I'm considering:
http://www.webhostautomation.com/webhost-346 (Helm)
http://www.psoft.net/
http://www.plesk.com/
http://hostingcontroller.com

Hosting Controller might seem the go. Are there any differences?

H-Sphere is another one you may want to look at.... available for windows. I don't have any experience with it though.

I am also evaluating few windows control panel at the moment for shared/reseller hosting. Here is a suggestion, before choosing any CP... check how many system resources it consumes/holds.... ITS VERY IMPORTANT.

I have narrow down my selection to 3 CPs.

a. Plesk
b. Hosting Controller
c. Helm

Hosting Controller is offering almost everything which a new host wants, like free support but Helm has a wonderful community which would guide you. Anyways I am still evaluating them and my final decision will base on features, level of technical support, functionality and overall look n feel of the application but not price.

You should also look at this:
www.redfoxaddons.com and www.helmextensions.com

For a little bit of extra cost you can have a fully automated system.

H-Sphere is another one you may want to look at.... available for windows. I don't have any experience with it though.
H-Sphere is awesome. I honestly don't see any good reason why you wouldn't want to use use H-Sphere as the control panel for your hosting company. cPanel isn't that bad, I don't have too many issues with it, but when you can have a control panel that supports such immense scalability (a fully clustered environment - load balancing comes with H-Sphere 2.5), why not?

Does it provide statistics as well? Such as profits, costs etc?
If you use any billing system in conjuction with cPanel, etc. then yes you should be able to get nice graphs that show the monthly revenue, profit, etc. However, as I said in my former post, H-Sphere is truly the way to go - there is no other control panel that comes close to the scalability and financial value your business can gain from H-Sphere.