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By Mitch Keeler
Every Web host provides you with one, and if you do a lot of work on your Web site it could be something you curse or something you get to adore every single day. A control panel is like the brain behind your Web site’s body. It gives you one place to look at to do everything you would ever need to do to your Web hosting account. You can create E-mail accounts, create FTP accounts, track statistical information and so much more.
Did you know that there are different types of control panels though? I do not think anybody can argue with the fact that the most popular control panel software out there today is cPanel. There are other options out there though. Some might be better, some might be worse.
You shouldn''t judge the quality of your Web host by the control panel they offer alone. It is an important piece to the Web hosting puzzle.
cPanel
The folks at the cPanel Web site say, "cPanel is designed for the end users of your system and allows them to control everything from adding / removing email accounts to administering MySQL databases." The fact of the matter is though that they do that and so much more. Most often used on Redhat Linux based systems, cPanel provides support for over ten different flavors of Linux. There is no Windows or OSX versions yet however. Their interface is clean, with more options and features than you could shake a stick at. It is easy to see why they are the number one control panel used today. They do have several competitors though, chomping at the bit to take their space on the top of the mountain. cPanel used to have a demo control panel up for folks to test drive, however I could not find a trace of it on the cPanel Web site anymore.
Mitch''s Score: 5/5
Plesk
Plesk is available for both Linux and Windows Web hosting servers. This alone gives them a little advantage over cPanel. Their interface looks much like Windows XP. You have all the soft colors and big icons that you would ever need. I have to give them credit though, because it does look great. They have all the basic features that cPanel has as well.
Mitch''s Score: 5/5
H-Sphere
Created by Positive Software, H-Sphere is yet another pretty control panel that you might have access to. It too provides support for Windows and Linux based machines. From complete automation to key functionalities, it has many features. Compared with Plesk and cPanel it leaves you with wanting a little more. Perhaps in the next few versions it will be able to catch up. The organization inside the H-Sphere is not that great either.
Mitch''s Score: 3/5
Ensim
Ensim is yet another control panel that provides support for flavors of Windows and Linux alike. They say that it is for the management of any type of Web site. That is good to know. If they had a dislike for Web sites about the dead parrot sketch from Monty Python, I might be a little mad. The interface is pretty enough, but it comes a little short compared with the options in some other clients.
Mitch''s Score: 4/5
DirectAdmin
DirectAdmin claims to be the control panel that is the easiest to use. They do have many features that the other control panels boast about. It appears though that they only support a few flavors of Linux. No Windows support yet. The interface is very pretty and organized, but lacks when it comes to some of the extra features that cPanel or Plesk could provide.
Mitch''s Score: 4/5
Interworx
Interworx is another Linux only control panel. There is nothing wrong with this, because there are many more Linux based Web hosting servers out there today. Just by looking through their Web master level features, I would say they deserve to be ranked at the top. One thing that I really like from them is their site usage snapshot. It gives you a chart to look at, right off the bat to see your upstreams and downstreams. The interface is clean, and everything is organized well.
Mitch''s Score: 5/5
Helm
Now we have seen a lot of different Linux only control panels, but what about a Windows only one? That is one thing that Helm provides to the end consumer. There are many customer features to go on and on about, but how does it feel once you get on the inside? It has the standard pretty interface, nothing new there. These control panels are built to be used over and over, so they have to be easy on the eyes. One thing that did get my attention is the ability to see your billing information inside the control panel. That is very nice indeed.
Mitch''s Score: 4/5
Hosting Accelerator
Hosting Accelerator is another Windows Web hosting server control panel. The end user features are very standard, and lacks of any shock and awe you might have seen with other clients out there. The interface on this control panel though is way too busy. It looks as if they through organization out the proverbial window. Seeing how much stuff you can shove in front of may face is not a good way to make a first impression. For a geek, this might be nice. For somebody new to Web hosting though, this is frightening.
Mitch''s Score: 3/5
InsPanel
Yet another Windows only Web hosting server control panel, InsPanel hopes to offer a new look at the idea. There are many features to be listed, but none of them stick out at me like a sore thumb. The control panel is well organized, with everything in it''s place. An average product, but remember there is nothing wrong with that!
Mitch''s Score: 4/5
CWIPanel
CWIPanel has a message on their front page saying that you can "unleash the power of your Windows server!" Now can you really? Let us have a look. The list of features look much like the other Windows only control panels. However they did not have a control panel demo for me to look at, so there really is not much else to be said. From what I''ve seen though they look to be about average as it goes for Windows server management.
Mitch''s Score: 4/5
Conclusion
Hands down, I believe that cPanel is the best control panel out there today still. I have used cPanel many times for my own Web sites and have never had a problem yet. For Windows hosting, I would pick Helm as my favorite out there today.
Without control panels we would still be doing all these things with Linux commands, paper clips and chewing gum. As the operating system made life with a computer easier, the control panel makes life with a Web hosting account a more pleasant experience.
There are many factors that play into purchasing a Web hosting account, but Web hosting company is only as good as the control panel behind it. By looking at these eleven examples, you should be able to judge which ones might offer you the best results.
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Colocation Web Hosting Management Firm, VeriCenter, to be Acquired by SunGard
Houston, Texas - Managed hosting, colocation, and IT outsourcing services, VeriCenter, has reached a definitive agreement with information availability and business continuity services firm, SunGard Availability Services, for the company to acquire VeriCenter, Inc.
17.08.2007 posted by Administrator
The transaction, the terms of which were not disclosed, is not expected to have a material impact on SunGard`s financial results. The addition of VeriCenter increases SunGard`s economies of scale. It also broadens SunGard`s service offerings that combine dedicated and shared resources tailored to specific customer information availability needs. The VeriCenter resources complement SunGard`s business continuity and production hosting solutions that maximize the availability of networks, systems, data and applications.
Ted Gaasche, Chief Executive Officer of SunGard Availability Services explained, ``Companies have a decreasing tolerance for IT system downtime to avoid business disruptions, and budgetary pressures require them to look for vendors that can increase IT availability in a cost-effective way. The powerful blend of SunGard`s deep portfolio of information availability services, VeriCenter`s strong facility footprint and the world class expertise of our combined team will further enhance the ability to help protect customers` mission-critical people, systems and applications.``
Founded in 1999, VeriCenter serves more than 600 customers with complex requirements and significant uptime needs. VeriCenter hosts business applications, Websites, Software-as-a-Service, and messaging and collaboration applications from a nationwide network of seven data center facilities.
An acquisition by SunGard Availability Services will give VeriCenter customers access to a much broader range of business continuity, consulting and managed services to support their IT requirements.
Gray Hall, Chief Executive Officer of VeriCenter added, ``SunGard is a best-in-class business continuity services provider and it has a rapidly growing managed services business. More of VeriCenter`s customers seek a total availability solution from a single vendor, and combining our managed services delivery with SunGard Availability Services will help meet this need. Together, we can serve customers that seek business continuity, managed services or the blend of the two.``
Once the acquisition is finalized, SunGard Availability Services will serve more than 10,000 customers in nearly four million square feet of operations space predominantly in North America and Europe. Much of VeriCenter`s nearly 470,000 square feet of operations space remains untapped. SunGard Availability Services can customize the construction at each site to satisfy customer demands for managed services and business continuity to support customers.
With annual revenue exceeding $ 4 billion, SunGard provides software and processing solutions for financial services, higher education and the public sector. SunGard also helps information dependent enterprises of all types to ensure the continuity of their business. SunGard serves more than 25,000 customers in more than 50 countries, including the world`s 50 largest financial services companies.
SunGard Availability Services is a provider of information availability services, providing t nearly 10,000 clients in North America and Europe with access to business-critical information systems. With over three million square feet of hardened facilities, SunGard offers a complete range of information availability services for more than 30 technology platforms, from 48-hour disaster recovery hotsites to always-on, high-availability infrastructure, co-location and electronic vaulting services. SunGard also provides technology and systems management services for application and data center outsourcing, as well as business continuity consulting services and planning software.
2006 Business Highlights for VeriCenter Included:
* 26th consecutive quarter of sequential sales growth
* 22th straight EBITDA-positive quarter
* 169 new customers, including BodyCote, Energy Partners, First Data Systems, Jason’s Deli, Merrill Lynch Commodities, Peerless Manufacturing and Ziff-Davis.
* Introduction of Premier Services, a dedicated technical support offering for complex enterprise environments.
* Release of Version 4.0 of the VeriCenter Customer Portal, which presents real-time data to customers about their environments hosted at VeriCenter, and serves as a communication mechanism between VeriCenter and its customers.
* Completed expansion projects in VeriCenter`s Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, and Denver data center facilities, bringing the company`s current level of production raised floor space to 145,000 square feet.
* For the second consecutive year, VeriCenter was recognized in the Inc. 500 as one of the fastest-growing companies in the United States.
VeriCenter, Inc. is a managed services, application hosting and IT infrastructure outsourcing company for large and mid-market enterprises. From its nationwide network of seven premier data center facilities, VeriCenter endeavors to provide a comprehensive range of managed services including management of servers, storage, backups, network, databases, security and data centers to more than 600 business customers in a broad range of industries. In addition to providing cost savings through economies of scale, VeriCenter delivers value to its customers by providing application availability, reliability and scalability, combined with a flexible and service-oriented culture, and by continuously adapting services to incorporate advances in infrastructure technology such as virtualization and utility computing solutions. In both 2005 and 2006, VeriCenter was recognized in the Inc. 500 as one of the fastest-growing companies in the United States.
You Can Discuss This News in Voice Over IP Forum.
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