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.

Every two weeks, Technical Writer Lindsey White will interview cPanel experts and investigate a variety of subjects to help listeners learn more about cPanel products.

The cPanel podcast team will release a new episode on a bi-weekly basis as well as offer information about the next episode via the podcast site. There is a pre-released schedule for the first three podcasts in the series, which includes:

Podcast Overview

• Episode 1- “How to Install WordPress in cPanel”
  • Will go through the basic steps to help answer this commonly asked question
  • This podcast became available August 1, 2010.

• Episode 2- “Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificates Demystified”
  • Will explain how SSL certificates can be used to make a website more secure
  • This podcast will be available August 15, 2010

• Episode 3- “Installing Custom Web Applications
  • Will provide listeners with insight into the process of installing web applications in cPanel
  • This podcast will be available September 1, 2010

Podcast episodes will be available via direct download from the cPanel Podcast site. Listeners will also have the option to subscribe via RSS feed or through iTunes.

Listeners may visit http://www.cpanel.net/podcast for more information about the cPanel podcast series.

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.

1. Type the email address to be created in the Email field.

• If you manage more than one domain, make sure to select the appropriate domain from the pull-down menu.

2. Type the password in the Password field.
3. Retype the password in the Password (again) field.
* You can click the Password Generator link to have a strong password generated for you.
4. Type the quota in the Mailbox Quota field.

• The quota defines how much hard drive space the account will be allowed to use.
• PICK Important: Due to mail server constraints, quotas cannot be greater than 2048 MB. Quotas exceeding this amount must be unlimited.

5. Click Create Account.

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!

Lets “use” the cphulkd database, and see what tables we have

root@w4 [~]# mysql
Welcome to the MySQL monitor.  Commands end with ; or \g.
Your MySQL connection id is 2279778
Server version: 5.0.90-community MySQL Community Edition (GPL)

Type 'help;' or '\h' for help. Type '\c' to clear the current input statement.

mysql> use cphulkd;

Database changed
mysql> show tables;
+-------------------+
| Tables_in_cphulkd |
+-------------------+
| auths             |
| brutes            |
| good_logins       |
| logins            |
| whitelist         |
+-------------------+
5 rows in set (0.00 sec)

So we have auths, brutes, and logins.
The table we are looking for is brutes. This is the table where the blacklisted IPs reside.

mysql> select * from brutes;
+--------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+---------------------+---------------------+
| IP | NOTES | BRUTETIME | EXPTIME |
+--------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+---------------------+---------------------+
| 24.90.253.66 | 5 login failures attempts to account moo@omg.com (ftp) | 2008-01-07 14:54:02 | 2008-01-07 14:59:02 |
+--------------+-------------------------------------------------------------------------+---------------------+---------------------+
1 row in set (0.00 sec)

mysql>

So we simply remove the entry.

mysql> delete from brutes where IP='24.90.253.66';
Query OK, 1 row affected (0.00 sec)

mysql> 

There you have it! This is most likely the quickest way to remove IP’s that have been locked out.

This is best ran in the background, as the outputs are nulled. I.E:

./corefinder &

Have fun!

#!/bin/bash
# Find's Core Files, and reports back

TMPDIR='/tmp'

subject="FindCores_Report_for_`hostname`"
EMAIL="youremailaddress@email.com"
rm -f $TMPDIR/findcores.*
ls /var/cpanel/users/ > $TMPDIR/findcores.users
for i in `cat $TMPDIR/findcores.users`
	do
		if [ -e /home/$i ]; then
			#echo "Checking $i"
			echo "Report for $i" >> $TMPDIR/findcores.$i.corefiles
			cd /home/$i && find . -type f -regex '.*/core\.?[0-9]*$' >> $TMPDIR/findcores.$i.corefiles
			if [ `cat $TMPDIR/findcores.$i.corefiles | wc -l` -lt 25 ]; then
			#echo "Non-Alert"
			rm -f $TMPDIR/findcores.$i.corefiles
			else
			#echo "Alert"
			cat $TMPDIR/findcores.$i.corefiles | mail -s $subject $EMAIL
			fi
			rm -f $TMPDIR/findcores.$i.corefiles
		fi
done

rpm -qi perl-libwww-perl

If the RPM is not installed or if the aliases are otherwise missing (e.g., on FreeBSD), then the issue may be resolved by forcing a re-install of the LWP module from CPAN and having it install the aliases for LWP that enable the GET, POST, and HEAD commands; the re-installation may be performed using the following command, and when running it you would need to answer yes to the questions by entering “y” when prompted to create the aliases:
Code:

/scripts/realperlinstaller --force LWP

GRANT SELECT, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, CREATE, DROP, REFERENCES, INDEX, ALTER, CREATE TEMPORARY TABLES, LOCK TABLES, CREATE ROUTINE ON `user\_database`.* TO 'user_username'@'%' IDENTIFIED by 'password';

sed ':a;N;$!ba;s/\n/ /g'