Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : VPS Hosting : Which is better? DirectAdmin or cPanel

[gunemalli]

Hi all,

I think there has been many debates regarding this issue already, but not to what i want. I'd like to know which hosting control panel option is better for the following configuration:

512MB RAM Dedicated
0MB Burstable RAM (No burst RAM)
60GB Disk Space
600GB Bandwidth

This vps is running about 10 websites which of 3 sites generates about 150 hits/visits per day COMBINED.

Currently my provider is offering me cPanel for free with my package, but it's using about 400MB of RAM almost all the time.

Now my VPS comes real close to the MAX capacity about 3 times a day, but yesterday it had stayed on the Yellow Zone for 5hrs and about 2 days ago it had hit the Yellow Zone atleast 20 times but they're for short periods.

So now they're suggesting me to go for a RAM upgrade to avoid this. But I can't afford to go more than what i pay now for the moment.

So i'm open to suggestions and my clients don't mind what Control Panel they use as most of them don't even access the control panel.

Thanks in advance fellas.

[net]

CPanel is using more resources than DA but you can simply disable some that you do not need. Just make sure you optimize your VPS properly to use less ram.

[gunemalli]

well, I think i have done them. Mailman, spamassasin, like stuff r not running. BG process killer is active. using dovecot/pure-ftpd instead of others.

Did a little bit of more but can't remember them now.

[DDHS Bob]

DA is very lightweight on resources compared to cPanel, so if you only have 512mb of RAM to work with and your clients don't care about what control panel they have then I would definitely go with DA.

[iTom]

DA is lightweight, works well and also its cheap.
But personally I love cPanel so if I have the budget for a project I always use it.

[agnivo007]

DA all the way!

[subigo]

DirectAdmin does everything cPanel can do and it does it faster, smarter, and more stable.

[ServerOrigin]

DirectAdmin is the way to go and especially on a VPS. cPanel is ridiculous as far as being full of fluff and being a resource hog.

DirectAdmin is much more streamlined, can be custom skinned, and overall has more stable releases.

[subigo]

I should also add... The day cPanel dies for good will be one of the greatest days of my life.

[ServerOrigin]

Originally Posted by subigo

I should also add... The day cPanel dies for good will be one of the greatest days of my life.

rofl wouldn't hurt my feelings either.

Our DirectAdmin servers NEVER have a problem. cPanel is constantly requiring some kind of tweaking. Especially after updates. (At least on FreeBSD)

Directadmin is seamless, when it updates, you never notice

[alex-developer]

Originally Posted by agnivo007

DA all the way!

cPanel is more professional and the GUI is better.

[ramnet]

Originally Posted by net

CPanel is using more resources than DA but you can simply disable some that you do not need. Just make sure you optimize your VPS properly to use less ram.

And what is the best way to optimize? Easy! NO CONTROL PANEL.

Learn how the software your server runs works (httpd, mta, ftpd, sqld, etc) or hire someone to configure it for you - if you did that you could host all the stuff you need in nearly HALF the resources.

It's a higher upfront cost, but it is well worth it!

[ServerOrigin]

Originally Posted by ramnet

And what is the best way to optimize? Easy! NO CONTROL PANEL.

Learn how the software your server runs works (httpd, mta, ftpd, sqld, etc) or hire someone to configure it for you - if you did that you could host all the stuff you need in nearly HALF the resources.

It's a higher upfront cost, but it is well worth it!

If he's a hosting provider, most consumers require a control panel.

[CI-Theo]

If you don't think those using the server will mind using DA, then I'd suggest using it - it's incredibly easy to use, so I think that should work in your favour. Given it's low resource usage, I would recommend it by far.

Best of luck!

[ramnet]

Originally Posted by serverorigin

If he's a hosting provider, most consumers require a control panel.

It depends who is target customer is.

Originally Posted by gunemalli

This vps is running about 10 websites which of 3 sites generates about 150 hits/visits per day COMBINED.

<snip>

So i'm open to suggestions and my clients don't mind what Control Panel they use as most of them don't even access the control panel.

this is the perfect scenario - hire a freelance server tech to configure a server just the way to want it - you pay them one time. Usually such people will tell you what they did (or it'll be obvious). You then backup that configuration and you are all set until you need to change something drastic - and how often does that really happen? never (and drastic doesn't mean adding new websites or email either).

We actually do this for free and our customers love it. If you aren't afraid to learn how it works then you should really consider something like this - the command line doesn't have to be scary you know.