Web Hosting Talk







View Full Version : control panels - best for resellers and why


nestor
08-07-2002, 04:52 PM
Hello Guys,

I've seen alot on WHM & Cpanel, but how does H-sphere measure up? Is there an equivalent of phpmanager that can help?

Thanks in advance.

Everyday
08-07-2002, 05:08 PM
H Sphere rocks. It has many more features for the reseller than cpanel as well as complete billing solution included. Add to that that every account comes with a complete support desk and you have it all.

The best feature is that the billing and support desk is integrated into the resellers admin panel and the end user panel. So now the customer can see their billing history and support ticket history without having to log in anywhere else.

I believe it to be the most complete control panel system on the market today.

apollo
08-09-2002, 12:01 PM
Dunno about h-sphere. My vote goes to WHM/Cpanel

babarami
08-10-2002, 03:54 PM
my votes also for WHM/Cpanel and u can add perlbill for support and invoice system :D

tracphil
08-10-2002, 11:17 PM
I agree with EveryDay.

Refer to my post in this thread:

http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=62643

For webhosting their is simply no better all in one solution.

needer123
08-11-2002, 09:56 AM
Most use WHM for the reseller and give clients Cpanel. H-Sphere usually is harder for hosts to install as there help isnt all that good, or so I here. However, with H-Sphere you dont have to use 2 different cpanels.
I wouldnt go for Plesk, I dont know many people who like this because its navigation is poor.
Ensim is....ok and does most things of others - but i dont think its as good as cpanel.

pickaweb
08-12-2002, 06:10 AM
My vote also goes to cpanel.
It has many features and customers love it.

Arsalan
08-12-2002, 06:12 AM
H-sphere is fine as long as you are not planning to use any other control panel. But if you are already using one, lets say cpanel, the new resourse system will be a b***h to deal with.

tracphil
08-13-2002, 10:18 PM
Originally posted by Arsalan
H-sphere is fine as long as you are not planning to use any other control panel. But if you are already using one, lets say cpanel, the new resourse system will be a b***h to deal with.

H-Sphere is not that difficult to understand at all. The hardest part to understand it the concept of it being based on Users as in the UNIX sense and not users as in a control panel sense (like all other control panels that I know of)

For instance under Plesk you have user for each domain that makes it a pain in the rear as you have to remember lots of logins/passwords for FTP etc as they each have their own directories on the ftp server.

Under H-Sphere, you are considered a user first then your domains are under your username so when you login with FTP you will see all of your domains in front of you. This includes subdomains as well as they are treated as a completely different site as they should be.

Also if you coud run the possibility of having to use more than one login for the control panel if you site sits on different servers as CPanel and Plesk are both server based instead of Cluster based like H-Sphere.

Like Everyday said there is simply no better automated solution out on the market today. Period. There are some hacks out there that attempt it but they are just that, hacks. I want a system that is maintained by one vendor.

As far as support is concerned I would have to disagree about it being bad. I do not even pay for premium support and I get my questions answered within at least a day (max). I am very pleased. I tried to submit a ticket to Plesk earlier today and their support desk seems to be broken. I use Plesk as well, so I am very familiar with it.

Support for CPanel is from whom? Do people tend to point the finger when a support question arises or do they say the buck stops here, I am responsible. Just curious about this as I am contemplating getting a CPanel license (not because it is that good, because it is just another revenue stream to me)

Webdude
08-13-2002, 11:29 PM
What you will consistently find is that more hosts use Cpanel. This is because it is cheaper to start out with. Several things I have noted::

1) I have not seen a host use Hsphere in a live environment, and then switch to Cpanel.
2) I HAVE seen numorous hosts who once used Cpanel switching over to Hsphere.
3) Only the hosts who have never actually used Hsphere in a live environments are the ones saying Cpanel is better. However, mosts hosts saying Hsphere is better are the ones who have used both in live settings.

Kinda speaks for itself dontcha think? It's kind of like someone saying a Whopper is better than a SuperSonic, when they have never eaten a SuperSonic. As someone who has eaten both, I can tell you there is no comparison and that the Whopper can never be as good as the SuperSonic, regardless what they put on it.

Someone brought up another point...what the panels are made of. Cpanel is made up of a bunch of third party scripts, and that's the majority of it. Hsphere, except for a few scripts such as phpMyAdmin, build their own. Therefore, you goto them for the support of them....and they actually know the answers....unlike others.

GlideTech
08-13-2002, 11:44 PM
I would have to vote for Hsphere :)

Like mentioned above, you cannot get a more "all in one" solution. As for price, you pay one time for a license, unlike cpanel where you have to pay monthly.

In my opinion, you couldn't get any better than hsphere.

Arsalan
08-14-2002, 04:52 AM
Webdude, we have used h-sphere for a year now, but our customers like cpanel better, and what the customer likes is always the best way to go...

cpanel costs us about $800 per year for about 250 clients, H-sphere costs $1000, not alot of diffrence there...

h-sphere is good, no doubt about that, its just that its a bit "hard" on the user and administrater to get a hang of.. and cpanel is a bit easy on the system resources then h-sphere, it eats up our freebsd system every 2 weeks...

tracphil
08-14-2002, 09:31 AM
Originally posted by Arsalan


cpanel costs us about $800 per year for about 250 clients, H-sphere costs $1000, not alot of diffrence there...

and cpanel is a bit easy on the system resources then h-sphere, it eats up our freebsd system every 2 weeks...

What about the second year. Lets do a price comparison over 2-3 years for those same 250 users. Also how about 5 servers with 250 clients spread out over 5 years. Cpanel is way more expensive than H-Sphere.

You must have H-Sphere installed on one box instead of a cluster like it should be. I have 3 H-Sphere boxes and they are running without a hiccup. I know several other H-Shere hosts that use clusters as well and they have no problems what so ever on FreeBSD.

The clients that I have are extremly impressed with both the functionality and useablitly of H-Sphere's client control panel.

I have used CPanel before and it is no easier to use/understand than H-Sphere.

I hope you have a great day today!

FHDave
08-14-2002, 10:06 AM
If you want to have a good product with a lot of surprises, go with CPanel, definitely. You will be surprised one day to see that after the nighly update, your DNS stops working. Or you will be surprised to see ownership of some files got changed out of the blue, and a lof of other surprises. If you like surprises, then CPanel is the answer.

If you want good and stable product, HSphere is your answer.

xharine
08-14-2002, 10:14 AM
Actually it depends. As a customer who wants more multi domain control, I would definitely go with Hsphere. However if I want to be a reseller, I would go with cpanel/whm because it's more consumer oriented, more user friendly and attractive. Most beginners/basic users will definitely prefer cpanel.

However, advanced users like programmers or designers who want more control over their domains, I think they would grow to enjoy and appreciate Hsphere.

Also if you're a reseller wanting to offer multi-domain hosting which is very much requested today, Hsphere is the way to go, since it gives you the ultimate control over separate domains. Cpanel only offers domain pointing. Unless u intend to get WHM for every customer. =)

intelliweb
08-14-2002, 11:32 AM
Originally posted by Arsalan
cpanel is a bit easy on the system resources then h-sphere, it eats up our freebsd system every 2 weeks...

What do you mean eats up your freebsd system every 2 weeks?
Also does anyone know if Hsphere will work with Imail?

Ben Wilcox
ben@esyr.net
Intelliweb, Inc

rhytha
08-14-2002, 01:45 PM
i have not used cpanel, but h-sphere definetly gives a lot resources for you, the only problem is grappling with them and configuring but once configured i think it should be a smooth ride.
so i vote for h-sphere

tracphil
08-14-2002, 02:11 PM
Originally posted by rhytha
i have not used cpanel, but h-sphere definetly gives a lot resources for you, the only problem is grappling with them and configuring but once configured i think it should be a smooth ride.
so i vote for h-sphere

I am sure that any helpful and responsive H-Sphere administrator would be more than happy to setup a client and help them configure their plans.

Dave|STaN
08-14-2002, 05:27 PM
Originally posted by intelliweb


What do you mean eats up your freebsd system every 2 weeks?
Also does anyone know if Hsphere will work with Imail?

Ben Wilcox
ben@esyr.net
Intelliweb, Inc

I'd sure like to know the answer to that

HostInspect
08-15-2002, 12:55 AM
Complete reseller solution?

How about:

1) Intergrated billing.
2) Automated account setup.
3) Shared Users/Reseller have full root access
4) Can stop/star apache, reboot their own shared server.
5) Install APPS in a click.

Need I say more?

Soon to come.... eryxma.com