cPanel

cPanel
A screenshot of the control panel for domain owners
Original author(s) Speed Hosting, Webking, VDI & cPanel, Inc
Developer(s) cPanel, Inc.
Initial release March 21, 1996 (1996-03-21)
Stable release
74.0.6 [1] / September 4, 2018 (2018-09-04)
Preview release
74.0.6 [2] / July 17, 2018 (2018-07-17)
Written in Perl[3]
Operating system Linux, iOS, Android
Available in Multilingual
Type Web hosting control panel
License Proprietary
Website cpanel.com

cPanel is an online Linux-based web hosting control panel that provides a graphical interface and automation tools designed to simplify the process of hosting a web site to the website owner or the "end user". cPanel utilizes a three-tier structure that provides capabilities for administrators, resellers, and end-user website owners to control the various aspects of website and server administration through a standard web browser. While cPanel is limited to managing a single website, the server administration panel of which cPanel is a part is known as WHM, short for WebHost Manager.

In addition to the GUI, cPanel also has command line and API-based access that allows third-party software vendors, web hosting organizations, and developers to automate standard system administration processes.[4]

WHM is designed to function either as a dedicated server or virtual private server. The latest WHM version supports installation on CentOS, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), and CloudLinux OS.[5] cPanel 11.30 is the last major version to support FreeBSD.[6][7]

Application-based support includes Apache, PHP, MySQL, PostgreSQL, Perl, and BIND (DNS). Email-based support includes POP3, IMAP, and SMTP services. cPanel is accessed via https on port 2083, while WHM is accessed via https on Port 2087.

Once installed, WHM cannot be easily removed. WHM's FAQ states that the best way to uninstall WHM is by reformatting the server.[8] However, uninstall guides are available online for expert server administrators who do not wish to reformat their server. Similarly, it should only be installed on a freshly installed operating system with minimal prior configuration.[9]

History

cPanel, Inc. is a privately owned corporation headquartered in Houston, Texas.[10] The software was originally designed as the control panel for Speed Hosting, a now-defunct web hosting company. The original author of cPanel, John Nick Koston, had a stake in Speed Hosting. Webking quickly began using cPanel after their merger with Speed Hosting. The new company moved their servers to Virtual Development Inc. (VDI), a now-defunct hosting facility. Following an agreement between Koston and VDI, cPanel was only available to customers hosted directly at VDI. At the time there was little competition in the control panel market, with the main choices being VDI and Alabanza.

Eventually, due to Koston leaving for college, William Jensen and John Koston, signed a Split Agreement. cPanel split into a separate program called WebPanel; this version was run by VDI. Without the lead programmer, VDI was not able to continue any work on cPanel and eventually stopped supporting it completely. Koston kept working on cPanel while also working at BurstNET. Eventually, Nick left BurstNET on good terms to focus fully on cPanel. cPanel has since been updated and improved over the years.

cPanel 3 was released in 1999: main additions over cPanel 2 were an automatic upgrade and the Web Host Manager (WHM). The interface was also improved when Carlos Rego of WizardsHosting made what became the default theme of cPanel.

Acquisition

On August 20, 2018 cPanel announced[11] it had signed an agreement to be acquired by a group led by Oakley Capital.

Add-ons

To the client, cPanel provides front-ends for a number of common operations, including the management of PGP keys, crontab tasks, mail and FTP accounts, and mailing lists.

Several add-ons exist,[12] some for an additional fee, the most notable being Auto Installers like Installatron, Fantastico, Softaculous, and WHMSonic (SHOUTcast/radio Control Panel Add-on). Auto Installers are a bundle of scripts which automate the installation (and update of) web applications such as WordPress, SMF, phpBB, Drupal, Joomla!, Tiki Wiki CMS Groupware, Geeklog, Moodle, MagicSpam WHMCS, and ZamFoo. Fantastico is a popular Auto Installer but is losing market fast because of lack of updates (see [13]) and fewer number of scripts. There are free versions of the auto installers, however, they are very limited on the script the provide, and often leave out the most popular scripts like WordPress. The add-ons need to be enabled by the server administrator in WHM to be accessible to the cPanel user.

WHM manages some software packages separately from the underlying operating system, applying upgrades to Apache, PHP, MySQL, Exim, FTP, and related software packages automatically. This ensures that these packages are kept up-to-date and compatible with WHM, but makes it more difficult to install newer versions of these packages. It also makes it difficult to verify that the packages have not been tampered with since the operating system's package management verification system cannot be used to do so.[14]

WHM (WebHost Manager)

WebHost Manager is a web-based tool which is used for server administration. There are at least two tiers of WHM, often referred to as "root WHM", and non-root WHM (or Reseller WHM). Root WHM is used by server administrators and non-root WHM (with less privileges) are used by others, like entity departments, and resellers to manage hosting accounts often referred to as cPanel accounts on a web server. WHM listens on ports 2086 and 2087. WHM is also used to manage SSL Certificates (both server self generated and CA provided SSL certs), cPanel Users, hosting packages, DNS zones, Themes, and Authentication methods.[15] Additionally, WHM can also be used to manage FTP, Mail(POP, IMAP and SMTP) and SSH services on the server. The default automatic SSL (AutoSSL) provided by cPanel is powered by Comodo.[16]

As well as being accessible by the root administrator, WHM is also accessible to users with reseller privileges. Reseller users of cPanel have a smaller set of features than the root user, generally limited by the server administrator, to features which they determine will affect their customers' accounts rather than the server as a whole. From root WHM, the server administrator can perform maintenance operations such as upgrade and recompile Apache & PHP, install Perl Modules, and upgrade RPMs installed on the system.

Enkompass

A version of cPanel for Microsoft Windows exists, titled Enkompass. As of October 15, 2011, Enkompass was offered free, as development for the product had been slowed.[17] As of February 2014, Enkompass was declared end-of-life, with version 3 remaining available for download, but without further development or support.[18]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "74 Stable Announcement". cPanel News site. September 4, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  2. ↑ "74 Change Log - Change Logs". cPanel Documentation. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  3. ↑ "In what programming language is based cpanel?". cPanel Forums. March 19, 2015.
  4. ↑ "cPanel & WHM's Software Development Kit (SDK)". cPanel.
  5. ↑ "System Requirements for Installing cPanel & WHM". cPanel.
  6. ↑ "cPanel & WHM Version 11.30 Long-Term Support Announcement". cPanel.
  7. ↑ "Operating System End of Life Policy for cPanel & WHM". cPanel.
  8. ↑ "Installation FAQ". cPanel Documentation. Retrieved October 22, 2014. The best way to uninstall cPanel & WHM is to reformat your server. Reinstall your operating system to return your server to a default setting if you do not plan to continue to use cPanel & WHM.
  9. ↑ "Important Facts about Installation - Quick-Start Installation Guide". cPanel.
  10. ↑ "Franchise Tax Certification of Account Status". Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.
  11. ↑ "Oakley Capital to Invest in cPanel". NewsWire. 2018-08-20. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
  12. ↑ "cPanel Application Catalog". cPanel.
  13. ↑ "Fantastico De Luxe: an insecure recipe for disaster". Drupal.org. August 1, 2006.
  14. ↑ Kirsch, Christian (April 28, 2013). "Manipulierte Apache-Binaries laden Schadcode". Heise Newsticker (in German). Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  15. ↑ Tech Notes (2018-04-06). "Tech Notes - Steps to get 3rd/4th party SSL Certificate installed for cpanel client via non-root WHM". technotes.whw1.com. Retrieved 2018-04-06.
  16. ↑ "Comodo and cPanel Join to Enable Automated SSL Encryption for Web". Comodo.com. Comodo Group. 8 December 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  17. ↑ "cPanel to Offer Enkompass For Free". cPanel. October 15, 2011. Archived from the original on July 12, 2014.
  18. ↑ "Enkompass EOL Notice". cPanel. January 24, 2014. Archived from the original on July 25, 2014.
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