cPanel

cPanel is the user interface of the pairing: <cPanel & WHM>, where WHM (Web Host Manager) is the interface for the server administrator. It is a proprietary product. The software facilitates the management of a web hosting server, and was developed by cPanel, L.L.C., an American corporation. It provides a graphical interface (GUI) and automation tools designed to simplify the process of hosting a web site to the website owner or the "end user". It enables administration through a standard web browser using a three-tier structure. While cPanel is limited to managing a single hosting account, cPanel & WHM allows the administration of the entire server.

cPanel
Original author(s)Speed Hosting, Webking, VDI & cPanel, LLC
Developer(s)cPanel, L.L.C.
Initial releaseMarch 21, 1996 (1996-03-21) (26 years old)
Stable release
88.0.10 [1] / June 15, 2020 (2020-06-15)
Written inPerl[2]
Operating systemLinux, iOS, Android
Available inMultilingual
TypeWeb hosting control panel
LicenseProprietary
Websitecpanel.net 

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.[3] cPanel & WHM is designed to function either as a dedicated server or virtual private server. The latest cPanel & WHM version supports installation on CentOS, Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL), and CloudLinux OS.[4] cPanel 11.30 is the last major version to support FreeBSD.[5][6]

Once installed, cPanel & WHM cannot be easily removed. Its FAQ states that the best way to uninstall the software is by reformatting the server.[7] However, uninstall guides are available online for expert server administrators who do not wish to reformat their server.[8]

History

cPanel has been developed by cPanel, L.L.C., a privately owned corporation headquartered in Houston, Texas, United States.[9] It was originally designed in 1996 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, he and William Jensen signed an agreement in which cPanel was 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, he left BurstNET to focus fully on cPanel.

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.

On August 20, 2018 cPanel L.L.C. announced that it had signed an agreement to be acquired by a group led by Oakley Capital (who also own Plesk and SolusVM).[10] While Koston sold his interest in cPanel, he will continue to be an owner of the company that owns cPanel.

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,[11] some for an additional fee, including auto installers such as Installatron, Fantastico, Softaculous, and WHMSonic (SHOUTcast/radio Control Panel Add-on). 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.[12]

WHM

WHM, short for 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 fewer privileges) is 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 certificates), cPanel users, hosting packages, DNS zones, themes, and authentication methods.[13] The default automatic SSL (AutoSSL) provided by cPanel is powered by Sectigo (formerly Comodo CA).[14] Additionally, WHM can also be used to manage FTP, Mail (POP, IMAP, and SMTP) and SSH services on the server.

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 upgrading and recompiling Apache and PHP, installing Perl modules, and upgrading RPMs installed on the system.

Enkompass

A version of cPanel & WHM for Microsoft Windows, called Enkompass, was declared end-of-life as of February 2014. Version 3 remained available for download, but without further development or support.[15] In the preceding years, Enkompass had been available for free as product development slowed.[16]

Pricing

On June 27, 2019 cPanel announced a new account-based pricing structure.[17] The new structure was on a combined per-server and per-account basis that many users and partners considered cumbersome and difficult to implement, and also resulted in significant price increases for some customers and providers.[18] After a backlash from their customers, cPanel issued a second announcement but did not change the new structure.[19]

Following the price increase announcement, a number of companies have announced impending price increases for their customers. LiquidWeb, SiteGround, and Interserver are among those who no longer push cPanel as their preferred control panel. Other web hosts like MyServerPlanet, KnownHost, and D9Hosting are recommending cheaper alternatives such as DirectAdmin and Interworx.[20] Scala Hosting and Nimbus Hosting have decided to ramp up their development and release of their own control panel.

See also

References
  1. "88 Change Log". cPanel Documentation. June 15, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  2. "In what programming language is based cpanel?". cPanel Forums. March 19, 2015.
  3. "cPanel & WHM's Software Development Kit (SDK)". cPanel.
  4. "System Requirements for Installing cPanel & WHM". cPanel.
  5. "cPanel & WHM Version 11.30 Long-Term Support Announcement". cPanel.
  6. "Operating System End of Life Policy for cPanel & WHM". cPanel. Archived from the original on 2012-06-26. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
  7. "Installation FAQ". cPanel Documentation. Archived from the original on July 18, 2014. 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.
  8. "Important Facts about Installation - Quick-Start Installation Guide". cPanel.
  9. "Franchise Tax Certification of Account Status". Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.
  10. "Oakley Capital to Invest in cPanel". NewsWire. 2018-08-20. Retrieved 2018-08-20.
  11. "cPanel Application Catalog". cPanel.
  12. Kirsch, Christian (April 28, 2013). "Manipulierte Apache-Binaries laden Schadcode". Heise Newsticker (in German). Retrieved November 3, 2017.
  13. 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.
  14. "Comodo CA Rebrands as Sectigo". PR Newswire. 1 November 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  15. "Enkompass EOL Notice". cPanel. January 24, 2014. Archived from the original on July 25, 2014.
  16. "cPanel to Offer Enkompass For Free". cPanel. October 15, 2011. Archived from the original on July 12, 2014.
  17. "Announcing Account Based Pricing". cPanel Blog. 2019-06-27. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
  18. "Pricing". cPanel. Retrieved 2019-06-27.
  19. "Update to Account Based Pricing". cPanel Blog. 2019-07-05. Retrieved 2019-07-06.
  20. Shim, Timothy. "7 Free Alternatives to cPanel". HostScore. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
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