;       Linux WHM cPanel Hosting Issues

cPanel is popular webhosting control panel which is widely used among webmasters, if you are thinking of a linux based dedicated server then you would probably get WHM/cpanel as your control panel with server, WHM would be used by for creating hosting account and managing your server whereas cPanel would be offered to your clients so that you can play with their hosting packages. If you are trying to get linux server then you would get WHM/cpanel as your hosting control panel.
Using WHM Webhostmanger you can easily administer all your hosting account created under your reseller account. Main advantage of using WHM is that you don’t have to manually create/setup hosting accounts as you can use its automated process or can use its user friendly graphical user interface. Once you create an hosting account using your WHM, your client would be get its own cpanel for managing it. cpanel would be the control panel for all end users for whom you have create hosting account. Using cPanel they could setup email, FTP accounts, can add new domain in their hosting package, can easily administer their hosting account. Make sure as a server administrator you set certain limit for your clients.

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FTP is a widely used among webmasters who are trying to copy move files from one location to other. Its a general protocol which can be worked on UNIX as well as other (non-UNIX) systems. You can easily access any remote machine which is thousands of miles apart..  Initially you will have to know the name of machine or its IP address so that you can connect to it. Usually you would be suing FTP for accessing your web server where your account is hosted so that you can upload all your webfiles.
There are many FTP commands which you should be aware of so that you can manage your data transfer process easily.
Firstly you will have to use following command so that your local machine can get connected to remote machine.
To connect use : ftp machinename  or machinenumber.
Once you get login to your FTP session you can use following commands which could be helpful for you.

Binary :  if you want to copy files in binary mode.

Cd :  Change directory on the FTP server

Dir :  List the names of the files in the current remote directory :

Exit : If you want to exit from FTP then use this command

Get :  Get a file from the FTP server

Lcd :  Change the directory on the local machine

Ls :  Same as dir

Mget ;  Same as get, but you can use wildcards like “*”

Mput :  Same as put, but you can use wildcards like “*”

Passive :  Make the file transfer passive mode

Put :  Put a file from the local machine onto the FTP server

Pwd :  Give the directory name on the local machine.
Following commands would be helpful for better file management.

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If you want to allow few users who can fire get command on your server then you can do so easily using following steps, you can easily allow only selected/required users in particular group to run GET commands on your server :

First create a group on the server
]# groupadd getgrp
Now execute permission to group
]# chmod 750 /usr/bin/GET
Add this group to GET file.
]# chown root.getgrp /usr/bin/GET
To check the permission of GET
]# ll -ld /usr/bin/GET
If you want to add users to getgrp so that they can get execute permission on GET. Make sure getgrp should be secondary group of that user. For eg we will consider myuser1 as user for whom we want to grant permission.
]# gpasswd -M myuser1 getgrp
You need to check if the user is added
]# cat /etc/group | grep getgrp
For some reason if you want to add another user say myuser2 then make sure that you have to mention both myuser1 and myuser2 in your command as :
]# gpasswd -M myuser1,myuser2 getgrp
If you don’t mention both the user, this command will replace all the users with the user mentioned in your command. Its always recommended to run the cat command before adding any user so that you know how many users are already added. Or you can just edit the /etc/group file and add the user in the getgrp line.
Thus using above steps you can allow only root, myuser1 and myuser2 to execute GET command on your server and all other users will be denied for using GET command.

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Before placing order for server with any webhost, you should look what network speed you would be getting for your server. There are many ways to test network speed of your webhost. one of popular and widely used method is by pinging your server in MSDOS. You can also tracert it in MSDOS to see how many hops it takes to get from your computer to required server. You may ask your webhost to provide you download speed test.

Following instructions would help you to test network speed of your webhost   : 

Testing network speed is a measure on how fast can the data be delivered between the visitor and the host’s server. you can use Ping command on your Dos prompt so as to test network speed. You can easily test network speed by pinging the server. you just need to open MS-DOS prompt and fire a simple command: ping serverID, where server ID is either a domain name (e.g. C:\>ping yahoo.com), either an IP (e.g. C:\> ping 128.65.134.89).

Once you fire ping command you would be getting results similar to these:

Reply from 64.190.235.64: bytes=32 time=432ms TTL=45
Reply from 64.190.235.64: bytes=32 time=180ms TTL=45
Reply from 64.190.235.64: bytes=32 time=377ms TTL=46
Reply from 64.190.235.64: bytes=32 time=216ms TTL=45
Ping statistics for 64.190.235.64:
Packets: Sent=4 Received=4 Lost=0 (0% loss)
Approximate round trip times in milli-seconds:
Minimum = 180ms, Maximum = 432ms, Average = 301 ms

 A ping time of under 200ms is very good, 200 to 400ms is average and 400ms and above are poor ping times. Make sure a poor ping times do not always indicate a problem or slow network. If you are pinging servers that are very far away (pinging a server located in USA from a computer located in Australia), then you may get poor ping times then normal even you have a good connection.The Loss % represents the percentage of packets (sent messages) that were “lost” (did not return within 1 second). High Lost packets are not good but few web hosts disable the Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP), so pings are not responded. Usually webhost do this is to increase security for the server.

Another method for checking network speed you can use is Traceroute : This traces the route between the computer and the server. All information goes from your computer to the server, is passed through a few routers to get its destination. A traceroute will tell you how many routers are involved in between your computer and server and all information about the routers. You can fire this command at MS-DOS prompt as tracert serverID or domain name. C:\WINDOWS>tracert www.mysitespace.com
You would be getting results similar to these :

Tracing route to www.mysitespace.com [64.68.191.111] over a maximum of 30 hops:

1 119 ms 121 ms 120 ms sym0103723m01.bctel.net [207.102.1.251]
2 107 ms 114 ms 98 ms 207.102.34.249
3 113 ms 117 ms 123 ms 192.197.174.118
4 135 ms 122 ms 116 ms 166.48.13.245
5 134 ms 145 ms 159 ms core7.SanFrancisco.cw.net [204.70.4.93]
6 144 ms 142 ms 136 ms Hssi2-1-0.BR1.SCL1.Alter.Net [206.157.77.74]
7 145 ms 152 ms 147 ms 105.ATM3-0.XR1.SCL1.ALTER.NET [146.188.145.158]
8 138 ms 149 ms 146 ms 195.ATM2-0.TR1.SCL1.ALTER.NET [146.188.146.2]
9 189 ms 170 ms 209 ms 107.ATM6-0.TR1.NYC1.ALTER.NET [146.188.137.165]
10 187 ms 180 ms 180 ms 199.ATM7-0.XR1.BOS1.ALTER.NET [146.188.179.85]
11 194 ms 177 ms 185 ms 191.ATM8-0-0.GW1.BOS1.ALTER.NET [146.188.176.225]
12 196 ms 208 ms 179 ms NVC.customer.UU.NET [64.68.0.242]
13 197 ms 206 ms 207 ms www.mysitespace.com [64.68.191.111]

The numbers on the left are the so-called “hops”. The number of hops that it takes to transmit a packet of data from computer A to computer B is the number of routers. In above example there are 13 hops. As you can see, each response line gives you the HOP #, the round trip times for the 3 packets that were sent and host information (IP address and/or host name). The roundtrip times for each hop are representative of the time it takes to go from the source to the host for that particular hop and back to the source. For better network speed you should have small number of hops.  Thus you can consider Traceroute as a good way to determine path of data transmission from your local machine to your server.

Download Speed Test File : You can ask your webhost to provide you with test download file using which you can download at your local end can thus can test network speed of network. You should go with a host who has the capability of sending at least a few hundred kBytes/second but if you are on dial-up connection you’ll not be able to test this yourself. There are chances that webhost may try to fool you by providing you a test file located on a fast, empty server so that you can get best speed so its always suggested to contact some one who is using their services [ current user ] and ask him to post a test file on his account which you can download and can check speed. This download test file should be big enough so that you can see the speed and stability over time, you can think of getting 10-15MB file, also try to test this download file at pick hours when server might be busy. Most important point to be noted is that all results depend on location, ISP etc. you can request few forum members to check what speed they get for your download test file and if you get good response from them, you can surely go with your preferred webhost.

 There are many online tools applications available on internet using which you can also check network speed but above commands are enough for you to get basic information.

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CentOS one of the most popular and widely used OS which is offered by most webhosting service provider with their VPS or Dedicated server hosting plans. CentOS is based on the RHEL Linux distribution and is guaranteed to be stable and reliable operating system for your server.
As CentOS is available for free to use, thus you can save cost for OS for your server which will reflect on overall server pricing. Most important feature of CentOS is that it is frequently updated for its stability and reliability making it very secure and stable. As CentOS is compatible with cPanel the most popular webhosting control panel it has got top position in webhosting industry and is mostly offered by Linux servers.
The YUM respitory is installed as default with majority of CentOS servers using which system managers can install any program of their choice on their dedicated server.
if you want to install any program yourself then you can easily compile free available source code and can get it installed on your server easily. As CentOS is based on RHEL linux distribution thus all programs based for Redhat can also be used with CentOS server. If you are not using any control panel with your server then you should have good server management skills so that you can take care of your VPS or dedicated server which are based on CentOS. Although there are many webhosting service provider who offer you managed hosting services but as a webmaster you should have good idea about server management which would be helpful in case of emergency when your webhosting service provide may not available for to help you. CentOS is much more flexible and easy to use operating system and perfect for your dedicated servers.

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Unnecessary open ports can create problem for your server and such servers are more prone to get attack by hackers. Hackers always search for open ports on any server and if they manage to get one, they can get into your server and can do anything they want. Even they can prevent your access to your server. thus as precautionary measure you should check if by mistake you have kept any port open. Following commands will help you to get all details about your server.

First of all you need to check which services are running on your server, you can use :
chkconfig –list | grep on
Now you should disable certain services which you don’t want and can be harmful for you. Use chkconfig service name off.
You need to stop such unwanted services using following command : /etc/init.d/service stop
You can also close certain ports using iptables and firewall setting.

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On any dedicated server or computer system you have number of ports which are used for communicating with other computer over a network. Each port have its specific function and is unique. You have Port numbers ranging from 0 to 65535. Ports 0 to 1024 are reserved which are used for certain privileged services. Such as you have port 80 which is defined for HTTP service as a default, you don’t have to specify this port number while accessing any domain name or url.

80 WebServer Port 80
When a user types in your IP address or Host Name in the browser, the browser will search for the IP address on port 80 by default for the web pages.

81  WebServer Alternate Port 81
Whenever a user types in your IP address or Host Name in the browser, the browser will look at the IP address on port 80 which is default port and if this Port is blocked, port 81 is used as an alternate port for hosting a website.

21  FTP Server Port 21 
When someone try to connect to your FTP Server, the FTP client will try to establish  connection on Port 21 by default. Thus Port 21 must be open for standard FTP clients to log in and connect to your server.

22  SSH Secure Shell Port 22
If you want to run a SSH Secure Shell then you should keep open port 22 as this port is required for the SSH Client to connect to your server.

23  Telnet Server Port 23
If you run a Telnet server, this port is required for the Telnet Client so that they can connect to your server. In order to use telnet for remote admin and login, port 23 must be open.

25   SMTP Server Port 25
When someone sends a mail message to your SMTP Server, the mail will attempt to come in to your server on Port 25. This is the standard SMTP (Simple Mail Transport protocol) port.

2525  SMTP Alternate Server Port 2525
When someone sends a mail message to your SMTP Server, the mail will attempt to come in to your server on Port 25. Port 2525 is an alternate port used by TZO for the Store and forward services. This is a non-standard port, but useful if the standard SMTP (Simple Mail Transport protocol) port is blocked

110  POP Server Port 110
When you run a mail server, users will typically log into that machine via POP3 (Post Office Protocol) or IMAP4 (Internet Message Access Protocol) to retrieve their mail. POP3 is the most popular protocol for accessing mailboxes.

119   News (NNTP) Server Port 119
When you run a News server, typically News Clients wanting to connect to your news server will connect on port 119. This port needs to be open to run your own news server.

3389   Remote Desktop port 3389
Port 3389 is used for Windows Remote Desktop. If you want to remotely connect to your computer for remote control, using the free XP Remote desktop requires port 3389 to be open.

389  LDAP Server Port 389
LDAP or Lightweight Directory Access Protocol is becoming popular for Directory access, or Name, Telephone, Address directories. For Example LDAP://LDAP.Bigfoot.Com is a LDAP directory server.

143   IMAP4 Server Port 143
IMAP4 or Internet Message Access Protocol is becoming more popular and is used to retrieve Internet Mail from a remote server. It is more disk intensive, since all messages are stored on the server, but it allows for easy online, offline and disconnected use.

443   Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Server Port 443
When you run a secure server, SSL Clients wanting to connect to your Secure server will connect on port 443. This port needs to be open to run your own Secure Transaction server.

1503 &1720   Microsoft NetMeeting and VOIP Ports 1503 and 1720
MS NetMeeting and other VOIP allows you to host an Internet call or VideoConference with other NetMeeting or VOIP users. NetMeeting is a free product that can be found on the Microsoft Website at http://www.microsoft.com
5631  PCAnywhere Port 5631
When a PCAnywhere server is set up to receive remote requests, it listens on TCP port 5631. This allow you to run a PCAnywhere host and use the Internet to connect back and remotely control your PC.

5900  Virtual Network Computing (VNC) Port 5900
When you run an VNC server to remotely control your PC, it uses port 5900. VNC is very useful if you want to control your server remotely.

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Blocking IP addresses using .htaccess file
Manytime you need to block certain IP which is threatening your website/server or is trying to attack your server by creating load on it [ DDOS attack] then you can easily block such IPs using .htaccess file. Once you manage to get the IP address which is playing with your server then you just need to add it in deny list of htaccess file. All IPs which are listed in this list cant access your site anymore and thus you can protect your server from such attacks. All you have to do is to add IP in your htaccess file which is located at root directory by using following code.
<Limit GET>
order deny,allow
deny from IP address
</Limit>
You can add as many IP address as you want in this list. One thing to be noted that spammers/hackers can change their IP addresses very easily as most spammers work from their home PCs which are not static and may update very often. Thus is may be very difficult for you to get exact IP address which you need to block. So its always better to get a good firewall for your server or a webhost who will manage your dedicated server for such security issues and will monitor it round the clock.

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When it comes to host your website you need to consider what hosting platform you would be choosing, if you are using any Microsoft owned application for developing your website then you will have to consider Windows Plesk hosting plans else Linux would be good option for your hosting needs. One of the important tool you would be using for managing your website is control panel which would be offered by your webhosting service provider. If you are hosting your site on Linux shared hosting plans then you may get cPanel as your control panel which is usually offered for free and you would be getting Plesk as hosting control panel if you are hosting website on Windows Shared Hosting package. Both cPanel and Plesk control panels are widely used control panel using which you can easily managed your website hosting account. Plesk can also be offered on linux hosting packages thus plesk control panel can be used with Linux as well as Windows Hosting packages. If you are hosting your website on higher hosting plans such as VPS or Dedicated server then you may have to pay extra for getting control panel with your hosting accounts it all depends on the policies led down by your webhosting service provider.  You may think is it necessary to get a webhosting control panel ? yes, its is always recommended to get a control panel with your webhosting account. Following are the most important features which you would get from your control panel.

Webhosting control panel cPanel and Plesk both offer similar basic features. You can easily create, or edit, or delete e-mail accounts thus you can easily manage all email accounts, as well as can perform all domains or sub-domains maintenance using both control panel. Both control panels allows you to upload all your files/directories and thus can manage your web files and directory from the control panel itself. There are many other useful features which you will have with your control panel. Thus control panel will ease your website hosting environment.

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MySQL is a database type which is works on SQL or Structured Query Language, its widely used in website hosting industry where all databases required for your website is stored and can be accessed online. Using SQL commands/statements or queries you can easily retrieves and updates data in your databases. In the webhosting world PHP –MySQL is best combination and is widely used for developing websites. The combination of PHP scripting and MySQL database creates a very flexible environment for all websites. Thus if you are looking for hosting PHP-MySQL based website then you should look for a webhost who will support MySQL on their servers. Most webhosting service provider offers you hosting packages which are perfect for hosting PHP-MySQL based websites. MySQL runs on both Linux and Windows OS, so if you want MySQL database web hosting, you can use either opt for Windows Hosting packages or linux Hosting packages. As Linux hosting is more stable and cheaper option, PHP-MySQL database hosting is preferred on Linux hosting packages. MySQL database hosting can handle heavy traffic and many concurrent connections to the database easily.You have many versions of MySQL for website hosting. However, if you are using MySQL for the first time, it is better to opt for version 4.1 as it is offered as default version with most webhosting service provider. If you are looking for getting MySQL hosting, you have to check if they can offer you MySQL on Windows Hosting too, also check out the restrictions for remote access. Is there any limitation on number of databases you can create on your hosting account, what is the maximum size for your databases. Make sure your website hosting service provider have package bundled with PHP as this will help you to create dynamic websites easily.

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