Right, my client (for a variety of reasons) had issues with their previous host so I've signed them up for a dedicated Linux server with a host who shall remain nameless.

So far, so good. Now, I'm missing a few php modules and extra goodies, like imagemagick, that are required for day to day running of their site. Also, the default control panel sucks summat wrotten.

Plesk is rather unoffordable, so I'm looking at Webmin. I'm not quite sure where to start as me and Linux command line have never really got on (what can I say? I'm visual.....). Once Webmin's up and running I'm confident it'll all be gravy, as I'm fine with configuring Apache and PHP....

Any tips/suggestions? I'm going to have a word with their support peeps tomorrow to see if they can get the ball rolling for me, but for now I'm relying on the power of geekiness to save my Tuesday.

None of the Linux Geeks on this morning? For shame...

None of the Linux Geeks on this morning? For shame...

Webmin/Usermin is OK for local hosting (I use them on our local servers and are pretty easy to install/setup). Nowhere near secure enough for a production server though, I'm afraid (unless you're prepared to do a fair bit of hacking).

You'd be better advised to use either Plesk or cPanel (both of which are pretty expensive).

Could you not have got a dedi-box with Plesk/cPanel already installed?

lol maybe you should have got a windows server to RDP to?
Administering ubunutu through command line could not be easier: apt-get install imagemagic, sorted!

lol maybe you should have got a windows server to RDP to?
Administering ubunutu through command line could not be easier: apt-get install imagemagic, sorted!

Problem is, as soon as we request the root password, it stops being managed and becomes hardware only. I already have a full time job!

We've decided to keep it as a mail server. The client sends upwards of 25,000 email bulletins a week, and it's fine set up as-is, so as the saying goes... if it ain't broke...

'sides, I can use my normal reseller hosting accounts for their website, it was just the sheer volume of mail that required the server to itself.

Ah well, next time!

Ah well, next time!

To be honest, the further I stay away from Linux, the happier I am. I like Windows, I'm even getting less frustrated with Vista.....

I like windows too, get all the mac designer software, all the games and other niceties :)
But then i would not host a customer site on windows, this is where linux kicks ass!
A few apt-get's plus a few config changes and you have a solid web server in minutes, all free all legal, no limitations and you dont need the disk it just fetches it from the repository , it does its job really well :)

I like windows too, get all the mac designer software, all the games and other niceties :)
But then i would not host a customer site on windows, this is where linux kicks ass!
A few apt-get's plus a few config changes and you have a solid web server in minutes, all free all legal, no limitations and you dont need the disk it just fetches it from the repository , it does its job really well :)

If I had the time to manage it properly, I would! I might play around with it on a virtual machine or something, just to get a feel.