Hello,

I'm looking for a good reliable reseller account in the $20-$30/mo range but that offers ssh access into the accounts. The ssh access is absolutely key and I'd sacrifice disk space or bandwidth to get ssh. I'm used to running my own servers with full root access and so being able to quickly login and change some bits for a customer is absolutely necessary for me.

The criteria that I see for reseller are:

1. SSH access allowed (for no additional cost, this seems to rule out hostgator).
2. Reliable service from a well-known (at least well-known on these forums) company.
3. 10000mb to 20000mb space, cpanel and whm would be nice. Don't care about bandwidth.
4. Responsive support. There's nothing worse than losing support tickets or going in circles with tech support.

My current provider allows #1 but falls down on criteria 2 and 4. If hostgator wouldn't charge $10/account for ssh access I think I'd sign up with them.

I've tried searching the forum but the search feature seems to not be working so I apologize for this common topic showing up again.

I think that will be better to have dedicated server for that. Of course that will be more pricelly but much better indeed

Have you tried looking into a VPS? I think that would be the best way to go if you are looking for SSH access.

Have you tried looking into a VPS? I think that would be the best way to go if you are looking for SSH access.

Wouldnt a Master Reseller account grant him this SSH access for next to nothing and well in budget?

A few things (that I'm sure you know):
- you do not need a VPS to get SSH access
- you do not need a Master Reseller account to get SSH access

SSH access can be had even on a shared account, it just depends on the company you are dealing with and what their policies are (but let's not start a discussion about those policies, that's another thread).

no reseller host will give you full root access - there are other hosts that will give you individual ssh access for free with proof of ID of course. And most likely you'll get Jailed SSH. If you need full root access, I'd recommend a VPS.

And TrustedUrl is right that you don't need a vps or master reseller for ssh access, just a misconception and the OP most likely knows that (from his post) - just the "root" access part that sticks out for me.

I don't see the OP asking for root access?

I don't see the OP asking for root access?

I highlighted it for you below. I'm just assuming that he wants full root access from that sentence.

That's why I also added the comment about "individual ssh access" in my last post.

I'm used to running my own servers with full root access and so being able to quickly login and change some bits for a customer is absolutely necessary for me.

I highlighted it for you below. I'm just assuming that he wants full root access from that sentence.

That's why I also added the comment about "individual ssh access" in my last post.

That doesn't exactly state that he wants root access; it states he was used to having root. As far as I can tell he just wants SSH access for his accounts.

Either way, the OP should clarify.

That's why it's an assumption :)

And I agree, OP should clarify.

No, definitely not expecting to get root access of any kind, not even expecting to get one account to manage all of the accounts. Rather, I'd happily login with a different username and password for each of the customers under my reseller account. A jailed shell is fine too. However, while my current reseller allows ssh in a jailed shell, they don't allow access to the /usr/local/cpanel/3rdparty path which limits what I can do to support my current clients.

And to the point of VPS/dedicated, I really don't want to use a VPS or ded server for this. I've run ded servers and VPS for years but I'd rather spend my time concentrating on more profitable areas of the business rather than worrying about securing and maintaining the server itself. That's why a reseller is the way to go.

It's about 25 domains hosted, by the way.

As long as you will not need root acces there are a lot of master resellers that offer SSH. If it is offered, hosting companies might charge a different quote, this is up to the company. Truly you will have to search more in depth.

Out of curiosity, what do you need in /usr/local/cpanel/3rdparty ?

And again, you don't need a Master Reseller account to get SSH. :rolleyes: Not sure why that keeps getting suggested.

I'd say, shop around and be upfront with your needs; getting SSH on a reseller server should not be a problem.

No, definitely not expecting to get root access of any kind, not even expecting to get one account to manage all of the accounts. Rather, I'd happily login with a different username and password for each of the customers under my reseller account. A jailed shell is fine too. However, while my current reseller allows ssh in a jailed shell, they don't allow access to the /usr/local/cpanel/3rdparty path which limits what I can do to support my current clients.

And to the point of VPS/dedicated, I really don't want to use a VPS or ded server for this. I've run ded servers and VPS for years but I'd rather spend my time concentrating on more profitable areas of the business rather than worrying about securing and maintaining the server itself. That's why a reseller is the way to go.

It's about 25 domains hosted, by the way.
No host is going to give you acess to /usr/local/cpanel/ lol. you should get a vps for that.

No host is going to give you acess to /usr/local/cpanel/ lol. you should get a vps for that.

Why not first see what he needs? /usr/local/cpanel/3rdparty contains (for example) some of the webmail scripts; for all you know he wants to copy them and edit them to fit his "corporate style".

A VPS is *not* a needed solution for everything. :rolleyes:

I specifically need to get the ability to run mailman's member_list or list_member or whatever the command is, in order to get a full dump of list membership for one of our customers. That's in /usr/local/cpanel/3rdparty/mailman, from what I can tell.

I specifically need to get the ability to run mailman's member_list or list_member or whatever the command is, in order to get a full dump of list membership for one of our customers. That's in /usr/local/cpanel/3rdparty/mailman, from what I can tell.

I still can't think of one host that will allow you access to that.

Just to clarify, I definitely will not get a VPS for this. Like I said, I've managed VPS and dedicated servers for years and I'm moving away from that. I've been sleeping better since we sold most of our clients and aren't really doing much hosting any more.

I don't have the need for a VPS. I want someone else to manage and worry about the server. :)

I still can't think of one host that will allow you access to that.

I'd even be happy if the host would schedule a cron job that would run that command against the customer's list and just dump the resulting text file into the customer's home directory. I don't need access to the cron job, don't care about it. The end result is that I want to provide the list of members to this customer for their list. Same goes for their mailing list archives, I guess. They want to have a backup and right now I can't provide that with a reseller account.

Why not first see what he needs? /usr/local/cpanel/3rdparty contains (for example) some of the webmail scripts; for all you know he wants to copy them and edit them to fit his "corporate style".

A VPS is *not* a needed solution for everything. :rolleyes:

Because giving access to /usr/local/cpanel/3rdparty does affect ALL users on the server; this is reason enough to guide the OP to a VPS or dedicated solution.

While a VPS is not a solution to everything; in this case it would give the OP all the access he does need to service his customers.

While a VPS is not a solution to everything; in this case it would give the OP all the access he does need to service his customers.

However, a VPS fails for my needs insofar as I then need to manage the server and its services, set up monitoring, worry about the overall security of the server, and everything that I don't want to spend time doing.

Because giving access to /usr/local/cpanel/3rdparty does affect ALL users on the server; this is reason enough to guide the OP to a VPS or dedicated solution.

Hold on a minute here; how does it affect the other users? If you're on cPanel and you have (non jailed) shell access then you can run whatever is in there anyways. The specifically requested mailman stuff still needs the mailing lists password.

Please let me know what security issue I am missing here. The OP isn't asking for write permission, just to be able to execute two scripts. What's the difference between that and giving access to vi?

I'd even be happy if the host would schedule a cron job that would run that command against the customer's list and just dump the resulting text file into the customer's home directory. I don't need access to the cron job, don't care about it. The end result is that I want to provide the list of members to this customer for their list. Same goes for their mailing list archives, I guess. They want to have a backup and right now I can't provide that with a reseller account.

Don't think many hosts would deny you this . Although it would cost some more management time and updating support on how your personal solution works.

What i do not understand is that you seem not to want a VPS or Dedicated server; but there are also fully manages solutions which do not require your actions at all and work like any other shared-hosting server. I know there are plenty of re-active managed services out there; which are obviously not where you are after; but a good pro-active management would give you all the possibilities of a dedicated (also resources) while enjoying the simplicity of a shared account.

What i do not understand is that you seem not to want a VPS or Dedicated server; but there are also fully manages solutions which do not require your actions at all and work like any other shared-hosting server. I know there are plenty of re-active managed services out there; which are obviously not where you are after; but a good pro-active management would give you all the possibilities of a dedicated (also resources) while enjoying the simplicity of a shared account.

That may have changed since I last looked at it. But would I be able to find that for the same budget, $20 to $30/mo? And the last time I looked or had experience with proactive monitoring/administration it wasn't all that proactive.

For example, when we managed our own servers we would have Nagios monitoring load average, number of processes, disk space, response time for SMTP, HTTP, etc, among other things. And then someone would get paged if one of those things went out of bounds for anywhere from 8 to 15 minutes and then take the appropriate action.

I don't know of any providers that will really and truly proactively monitor a VPS account paying them $20 to $30/mo. Again, if that's changed then let me know.

Hold on a minute here; how does it affect the other users? If you're on cPanel and you have (non jailed) shell access then you can run whatever is in there anyways. The specifically requested mailman stuff still needs the mailing lists password.

Please let me know what security issue I am missing here. The OP isn't asking for write permission, just to be able to execute two scripts. What's the difference between that and giving access to vi?

I overread this requirement ; as the op said; he would even let a cron do this work and send this to the user directories so he does not to access the location himself.

but is there any chance you tried to make a jailed shell and go to this path ?

That may have changed since I last looked at it. But would I be able to find that for the same budget, $20 to $30/mo? And the last time I looked or had experience with proactive monitoring/administration it wasn't all that proactive.

For example, when we managed our own servers we would have Nagios monitoring load average, number of processes, disk space, response time for SMTP, HTTP, etc, among other things. And then someone would get paged if one of those things went out of bounds for anywhere from 8 to 15 minutes and then take the appropriate action.

I don't know of any providers that will really and truly proactively monitor a VPS account paying them $20 to $30/mo. Again, if that's changed then let me know.

No you are right, you wont; but that is not a whole different from shared servers with the same price tags :) exceptions there of course.

Honestly, this whole mess could be solved if mailman had a way to dump the entire sub list and archives through its web interface. But that's a fight for a different forum or list. :)

Honestly, this whole mess could be solved if mailman had a way to dump the entire sub list and archives through its web interface. But that's a fight for a different forum or list. :)

A smaller host might be helpful in helping you gain the information needed from these files; i.e. as you suggested with some cronjob, some may give you shell access (jail wont work as you dont have access to the directory in the cpanel jail setup). but if you get normal shell access you should be wondering why and if they do this with everyone (a lot of exploits nowadays do expect some kind of access to gain root level access). I personally would be careful with those, assuming that you do care about overall security on a server.

In other words; contact some hosts and see how they can cater your specific needs.

but if you get normal shell access you should be wondering why and if they do this with everyone (a lot of exploits nowadays do expect some kind of access to gain root level access). I personally would be careful with those, assuming that you do care about overall security on a server.


As a community guide you should really weigh your words carefully; the above is just false.

Let's see:
- (s)FTP access
- ability to run PHP, perl, python, etc.

All those will allow me to run *any* root exploit if the server isn't managed/patched properly. If you're implying that a non-jailed shell is essential to gain root level access using an exploit, then well, I can't help you.

As a community guide you should really weigh your words carefully; the above is just false.

Let's see:
- (s)FTP access
- ability to run PHP, perl, python, etc.

All those will allow me to run *any* root exploit if the server isn't managed/patched properly. If you're implying that a non-jailed shell is essential to gain root level access using an exploit, then well, I can't help you.

I will keep this short: i never said its essential.

I will keep this short: i never said its essential.

Well, then why say "I personally would be careful with those, assuming that you do care about overall security on a server."

What's the detrimental effect to the server security in your opinion?

Well, then why say "I personally would be careful with those, assuming that you do care about overall security on a server."

What's the detrimental effect to the server security in your opinion?

Interesting but off-topic. You know as well as i do that a normal shell brings more risks, that does not mean that there can not be other risks or security considerations. As a side note: My personal opinion has nothing to do with my title here on WHT; have a complaint about it, please contact the helpdesk; you can use the REPORT button on the right hand corner of the post. Thank you.

You know as well as i do that a normal shell brings more risks, that does not mean that there can not be other risks or security considerations.

Would you like to open a different thread to discuss that then? :) A normal shell doesn't bring any more risks then having any other access to the server (i.e. (s)FTP, ability to run scripts, etc.)

Een mening is niet een feit/An opinion is not a fact.

Apologies to the OP for going off-topic.

Check out www.eleven2.com

No, definitely not expecting to get root access of any kind, not even expecting to get one account to manage all of the accounts. Rather, I'd happily login with a different username and password for each of the customers under my reseller account. A jailed shell is fine too. However, while my current reseller allows ssh in a jailed shell, they don't allow access to the /usr/local/cpanel/3rdparty path which limits what I can do to support my current clients.

And to the point of VPS/dedicated, I really don't want to use a VPS or ded server for this. I've run ded servers and VPS for years but I'd rather spend my time concentrating on more profitable areas of the business rather than worrying about securing and maintaining the server itself. That's why a reseller is the way to go.

It's about 25 domains hosted, by the way.

If you dont want to deal with manageing a vps or server then you will want to check hosts that will be willing to enable all rights in WHM with the exception of root. I believe you would be able to request SSH access, with or without a charge.