What happened to all of those new control panels that were supposed to be released months ago and still aren't out?

I can understand a deadline being missed by 2 days, or maybe even by 1 month; but to miss a deadline by over 2 months is just either lieing or poor management/planning. If those control panels that have missed deadlines by months ever do come out, how can people trust what they say in the future?

Software development is a very complex process, and it's very easy from a programmer's point of view to see these deadlines being missed.

Originally posted by chrisb
What happened to all of those new control panels that were supposed to be released months ago and still aren't out?

I can understand a deadline being missed by 2 days, or maybe even by 1 month; but to miss a deadline by over 2 months is just either lieing or poor management/planning. If those control panels that have missed deadlines by months ever do come out, how can people trust what they say in the future?


What CP do you use?

Originally posted by edb49
Software development is a very complex process, and it's very easy from a programmer's point of view to see these deadlines being missed.

I'm a programmer myself, and quite frankly that's a bit of bologna you're serving up. It is up to the one who promised it to make sure that they stay on top of it, and on top of the programmers. This could mean replacing the programmers or hiring more programmers if necessary. IMO, whatever is necessary should be done to meet a promised deadline, at least within a month of it, at most. To not do that is just irresponsible, IMHO.

Although it is most common for software to be delivered late, that still does not make it right, acceptable or necessary. I have been responsible for many major system development projects in large enterprises and through effective planning, testing, and development all those projects have completed on-time and bug-free. I guess we perform up to the standards we set for ourselves. And, frankly, any of those projects have dwarfed the development of a control panel in size and scope.

As to the control panels on the horizon.....all the hype and speculation has been foolish. I can't for the life of me understand people running to sign up for a product that doesn't even exist yet from a team that has never developed such a product before. People have even voted these vaporware programs best in certain polls. I am just sitting back and when one of them is complete and available I will then test it.

As to control panels, I am hoping to see at least one of the new ones turn into a good product. However, I am not sitting on pins and needles in anticipation. Frankly, the existing panels have done considerable development and improvement while the new ones have been under development. And, as a result, I think there are already four good alternatives...not perfect...but good.

Well, we're still hammering out simplecp, we have the demo up for anyone and anyonce can download the sourcecode and install it (dont run up2date, it will download the new bind and named wont work:( )

However, writing a CP is not an easy thing. There are tons of places for little bugs to come popping up. When your software is going to run someones businses, i think you'd perfer a delayed, tested product than one that will have your customers leaving you over... its just not as easy as it looks or seams. We are all human and 100's of things pop up between now and a release date taht are not expected... its life :( However, no one is holding you to these cps, neopanel (still around?), hostgui or simplecp - we arent holding your arm behind your back

I've been on a control panel developing team working since march and I can tell you these control panels can be quite tricky. As they become more heavily used small issues pop up out of no where that were unexpected. The best way to hammer these bugs out i've found is a small base of beta testers, who go nuts and try to break everything.

Our panel should be out this december. From what I have seen my developers are really struggling. It involves a lot of thought and a deep level of understanding of internet servers.

One major problem faced with my guys is software updates. What works for Frontpage 4.0 would not for 5.0 and so on. All 3rd part software itself can create a mess....

Have a great day :)

Regards
Amar

That's the typical inexperienced project manager response 'oh its going to be late, I'll hire more programmers.' This simply doesn't work, and the law of diminishing returns kicks in very quickly. A control panel is actually a very complicated piece of software to write; although I've never done it myself I can see that something like Ensim involves a hell of a lot of work and testing compared to some software products.

Just don't get me started on domain registries ;)

work is work things come up problems arise. i like the idea of hiring beta testers. im currently working with severla other developers on a control panel our selves. It should be released soon but we aren't going to set a date as i said because things come up. if your interested PM me. beta testers would get a free server license for 6 months. As long as they activly helped us track down bugs.:cool: or we could work something else out either way. below is the specs on my current control panel.

features
________________________________________
skinnable (we can design a skin for you at a $19 fee)
100% real time
disc management
dns control
file manager
mySQL manager (NOT using PHPmyAdmin)
user management
admin login
site admin login
user login
ssl
web statistics
web mail
optional billing system(automated)
server control panel (for admin'ing multiple servers)

Hi,

To be honest going out and just 'programming' a panel isn't going to get you very far. You end up with a complex piece of software that is hard to update and hard to administrate, and nearly impossible to debug.

A panel is highly complex piece of software, when looked at as a whole. When you break each bit down into its constituent parts it's not that bigger deal.

Yeah some of the data extraction processes required can be complex but once done in isolation and providing you have some form of frame work, then things can quickly fall into place. Rigid OO concepts help with this.

It all really resolves around the design. If you design your software correctly using modern software design principles then the amount of implimentation takes is reduced as you can basically look at the design and should know from that what a section of code does. You can also take advantage of code reuse. The amount of time spent on design for a decent panel should not be insignificant. Ditch the keyboard and get a big piece of paper!!!

Moving from one version of server software to another shouldn't be big deal. This should really be handled by the internal configuration processes that can easily be updated via download or in fact updated by the end user. Most software doesn't change that dramatically.

Also, the concept of just thinking one panel one server is far too limiting. These are meant as management systems. They should be capable of controlling multiple servers on multiple platforms in diverse locations. If it's designed correctly this is all possible, without much real extra work.



Gareth

P.S. Yes I have written 2 CPs. One was done in 14 days, was very limited. Yes it was rubbish. The second was done in about 2 months, but to be honest was very simple and had some major issues ;-). None were usable I may add, but it was a very interesting exercise all the same.

if you think OO is really that hard there's something wrong with you. once you get the concept its either no matter what language. ive messed with the control panel idea for probly over 6 months. I know what im getting into. gareth you have showed honestly ot me how ignorant you are. version upgrades have a huge afftect on stuff. it would be like designing something to run on 3.11 then going over to xp and tyring to run the same exact thing. it just doesn't work. jsut my two cents though ;)

I've been looking at the *CP* idea for well over a year.

Yes but does the fact you cant go from 3.1 to XP demonstrate p*ss poor design? I mean Microsoft are well know for rebust reliable software... Going off topic sorry!

Software does evolve, but this is usually a gradual process. There should be no reason for having to switch from package v1.1 to v2 in a short time frame. In normal cirucumstances there is more than enough time for support to enabled in the application if the changes are that major.

Just my 2p worth.

ok i have to agree with you some and the hting about microsoft and the pp theory is not what i meant i was just givin you a example

I'm not waiting on the new control panels or any software for that matter. I just hate it when people promise things that are so late or never happen. IMHO, if you're not sure, don't give a date. Seems alot easier that way.

exactly chris thats why i didn't set a date i know im doing it i jsut have no idea when it will be done. things happen it aint worth the time to worry about how long it will take.