Learn cPanel

As a web host, you want your servers always operating at their peak efficiency. This is true regardless of whether the consideration is either hardware or software. Once you have made the commitment to deploy cPanel across your server network(s) that you decide on the frequency of updates, as well as which cPanel release you will use.

What are the cPanel release tiers?

We are all at least generally familiar with the software development cycles, and different software developers use different release schedules according to the testing phase the software is in at the time. For example, some developers use an alpha, beta, release candidate (RC) type of release schedule, and each of these may have varying levels of releases.

The cPanel release schedule is very similar to the manner in which Linux distributions are released. cPanel updates in a variety of release tiers. Server administrators may then choose which release version is applicable to their system requirements.

The following are cPanel’s current release tiers:

• Stable
• Release
• Current
• Edge
• Long-term support

Each of the above cPanel release tiers represents various stages of the software development cycle. While the final decision to which release version to deploy is entirely up to the organizational decision-makers, including the system administrators, the selected version should be selected to meet the goals set for the server network and its assigned tasks.

What function does each release tier serve?

While most of the cPanel release tiers include fully functioning software, the software contains varying features and stability. Please remember that software continues to evolve with the developers constantly tweaking features and adding functionality. Each release tier is at a specific level of testing in the development cycle. There are some advantages and some disadvantages to each tier.

Adding an FTP account will allow users to access the domain’s folder on the server’s hard disk.

To create an FTP account:

1. Enter a username.
2. In the Password box, type the account’s password.
   • Remember to use a secure password. A secure password does not contain dictionary words, and includes letters, numbers, and symbols.
   • For help generating a strong password, click the Password Generator button.
3. Retype the password in the Password (Again) box.
4. Specify the FTP account’s home directory.
   • The Directory field defines the top level of directory access that will be granted to the new account. For example, an account with a Directory assignment of /$dir will not be allowed to access the / (root) directory; however, it will be able to access /$dir and all of its subfolders.
5. Set the disk space quota. The Quota field determines how much disk space will be allocated to the FTP account.
6. Click Create FTP Account.

If you have trouble uploading files via FTP, you may need to adjust the quota to allow more disk space for your account.

Note: You will not be able to exceed the disk space quota allocated by your hosting plan. If you are currently using the maximum disk space allowed by your plan, you may need to upgrade your hosting account or delete old or unused files.

Upon creation, the new account should be displayed in the list below. This list contains 4 functions for existing accounts. You can:

• Change a password.
• Adjust a quota.
• Delete an account.
• Configure an FTP client.

A customer of ours wanted to get emails from his server, if the load ever rose above a certain number.

Here’s a script I wrote up to accomplish this:

EMAIL="your email 1"
SUBJECT="Alert $(hostname) load average is $L05"
TEMPFILE="/tmp/$(hostname)"
TOPLOAD="10"
echo "Load average Crossed allowed limit." >> $TEMPFILE
echo "Hostname: $(hostname)" >> $TEMPFILE
echo "Local Date & Time : $(date)" >> $TEMPFILE
echo "| Uptime status: |" >> $TEMPFILE
echo "-------------------------------------------" >> $TEMPFILE
/usr/bin/uptime >> $TEMPFILE
echo "-------------------------------------------" >> $TEMPFILE
echo "| Top 20 CPU consuming processes: |" >> $TEMPFILE
ps aux | head -1 >> $TEMPFILE
ps aux --no-headers | sort -rn +2 | head -20 >> $TEMPFILE
echo "| Top 10 memory-consuming processes: |" >> $TEMPFILE
ps aux --no-headers| sort -rn +3 | head >> $TEMPFILE
echo "-------------------------------------------" >> $TEMPFILE
echo "| Memory and Swap status: |" >> $TEMPFILE
/usr/bin/free -m >> $TEMPFILE
echo "-------------------------------------------" >> $TEMPFILE
echo "| Active network connection: |" >> $TEMPFILE
echo "-------------------------------------------" >> $TEMPFILE
/bin/netstat -tnup | grep ESTA >> $TEMPFILE
echo "-------------------------------------------" >> $TEMPFILE
echo "| Disk Space information: |" >> $TEMPFILE
echo "-------------------------------------------" >> $TEMPFILE
/bin/df -h >> $TEMPFILE
echo "-----------------THE END-------------------" >> $TEMPFILE
L05="$(uptime|awk '{print $(NF-2)}'|cut -d. -f1)"
if test $L05 -gt $TOPLOAD
then
mail -s "$SUBJECT  $L05" "$EMAIL" < $TEMPFILE
fi
rm -f $TEMPFILE

Add this to the root crontab on the server by running:

echo "* * * * * /root/loadalert >/dev/null 2>&1" >> /var/spool/cron/root

Now we need to restart crond to pick up the change:

/etc/init.d/crond restart

I hope this helps someone out there!