A year with Directadmin

factor

factor

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Original post:

A few weeks in with DirectAdmin and my thoughts

A few weeks in with DirectAdmin and my thoughts. I haven’t discovered everything. DirectAdmin at its core is great piece of software. These of course are MHO. They are also generalities. Note: I am not looking for a debate. I am simply a Client voicing his opinion. I am not mad or angry...
forum.directadmin.com forum.directadmin.com

Updated from a week with Directadmin. I have kept a lot of the old verbiage and expanded some of it.

A year with DirectAdmin and my thoughts. I have almost discovered everything I think...I am kidding. I am not that smart just a regular guy like you. DirectAdmin at its core is still a great piece of software. These of course are MHO. They are also generalities.

First some general thoughts. This is still true if you take out cPanel and Plesk. DirectAdmin is still the number one choice. Which is evident by the mass influx of cPanel refugees. They just keep coming. This means more sales, more clients, more support requests, and more opinions…. A friend used to say “it’s just a bunch of work.” One other panel has similar features and they have been bought now and are updating the software. So this could be competition. There are some Open-source Panels but frankly just are not viable to me, still not a year later. So in case of the last year did not say it loud enough, DirectAdmin it’s you OR Venture capitalists. For most its a no-brainer. This places the company still in a pivotal spot. I think they are still trying to pivot.

Strengths:
Rock-solid stable. I have had not one issue over the entire year due to a DA update. I even have done automatic updates every day all year. That just made some people cringe. I am here to tell you I did it and it works. Now keep in mind I don’t run old EOL PHP or some crazy custom setup. That is asking for trouble. I have run ./build all several times just for fun. All works just fine.

Is not interwoven into the OS. You are not getting something with nonstandard binaries. So no guessing how it will behave. Just go to the man page and see how..still true. A note about binaries I am not against them as long as they are standard OS-based ones.

Simplicity. For example, all the conf are in one place in the GUI File editor. Still true more GUI features added now. The system is very maintainable even in the terminal. I would love to see a Menu driven system for the command line 2 other popular panels have this.

Current: Since its source built. It has the ability to be stable and current at the same time. No waiting for some distro or company to release a non standard binary. This makes the application in question configurable. Want Process control on PHP go add it to compiler options… Still true.

Options. Need a different OS, check. Need a different webserver, check. Need a different spam tool, check. Great options. Still true.

The OS choice is a strength, not a weakness. Lately, some have said it would be better to focus on popular Linux only. Well which popular Linux CentOS, Debian, how about the top Distro on Distrowatch MXlinux https://distrowatch.com/mx

No...you say, its desktop Linux but it is popular. What about windows server it has 30% market share just like Linux 30%. So where is the other 40% its in Unix or not listed as Linux.. Windows is popular. Why not code for windows?

Performance. Since it's giving you source control and compiled on your system and server. Memory usage is low and performance is top. Still true.

Custom settings: You can customize anything and save that so the system will behave how you want it to. Never losing it at all. Still true.

Not for faint of heart: Not a sysadmin? Don’t know what Linux or FreeBSD is? Can’t research on google at the very least? In short, if you are a “Business Person” just opening a web hosting business hire a sysadmin. Can’t afford one. Not for you… move on. Sorry if that’s harsh but sometimes the truth hurts. This is still true.

The new part here is the addition of the personal license. This brings some that are users, not admins. They struggle since most just think it easy to install Directadmin and maintain the server. Some never even read the help files and want someone to just tell them where the Software went wrong...

Forum Users: This one of the biggest assets. The community is so awesome. STILL AWESOME...

Weaknesses:
Backup/Restore system. Ok, a year later and no movement. No improvement. Frankly, it is very strange. I don't understand how an IT company can’t feel compelled to have a great backup and recovery system. Still a big weakness.

It needs to be more complete and have more location options. You need to be able to choose “who, what, when, where, and how”.

Who: All good here.

What: is good.

When: I think cron covers this.

Where: local, ftp, sftp, AWS, BackBlaze, and others. You also need to be able to restore from all locations.

How: Full, incremental, both, and except list. It should include logic based on the type chosen example Incremental > full back up= weekly, monthly , etc.

Restore: should accommodate from all “Where” and all “How”

File manager: I would say lately they have improved this some. It is still fine. You need to show it to your non-tech spouse or friend and say use this. Then write down everything they say… The “Root” location of User is fine but it should default to the opening on the Domains folder. OR “Root” should be Domains folder and allow you to go back to Users. I also agree the function type stuff should just be a bar on the same row as columns and density, not tooltips. Should add options to sort folder or files to top that the users can save.

directadmin.conf: Still not added. I still think we need it. directadmin.conf needs an Admin-only GUI screen. All the choices are not face up and apparent. Not centrally located either. Let me give example: You want dkim, ssl, certain letsenctypt settings. All do able if you “knew” there was a setting. You do find the settings eventually and set it. After a few forum posts and searching https://help.directadmin.com In short I should be able to check a box or add text to the correct area. This way I know I have all the settings set and or added. Without a screen or a well-commented file, I don’t know. I think this is a multi-faceted issue.

Certain features not standard: Still not added. In the every changing landscape that is Information technology. Certain “features” (directadmin.conf) should follow the 80 20 rule. All of these seem to be documented in the https://help.directadmin.com

Here is what I mean.

10 years ago https:// wasn’t the 80% it was 20% now it’s the standard. SSL is still not the automatic default but they are working on it. SSL still should just be built in and work by default. Failing only because DNS was wrong or it just couldn’t issue. The system should just set a letsencrypt cert on the server out of the gate. The 20% should be set ssl=0 and turn it off. This goes back to the directadmin.conf issue.

DKIM this should be in the system by default. Some might say DMARC as well. Just like Spf. This goes back to the directadmin.conf issue. Still not Default

webmail.domain.com should be built by default. This should just exist in the system https://help.directadmin.com/item.php?id=633 by default. Not able to set as default option

DNS: Bind is fine to keep it. You should offer native PowerDNS support as well. Its ability to cluster and be Master and Slave simultaneously would be great. We still need PowerDNS not added.

Server to Server user transfer: If I have 2 DA servers and I need to transfer users to a new server this would be a great MultiServer option. In the Admin Backup and Transfer there should be a button that is “Transfer”. Which guides you through from which server to transfer where. This would also be a great place to keep the GUI for external account transfers like from cPanel, Interworks, Plesk, and others… Still not added and still needed.

Documentation and Forum software: The new documentation site has helped. The old one is still up which is confusing. The documentation has gotten better More work is needed but better. Here is the short of it. The documentation should be clear, concise, and cover every feature and option.

I have a new twist on this. Part of the issue is a lot of the new users don’t read the documentation or search for the answer. They just post a question that was literally 3 posts ago. Also, Directadmin doesn't have enough active moderators to keep post organized and the duplicate posts shutdown. The documentation should be so good I go to the forum as a last resort. I understand the forum is community-driven and the software has been around a long time. Still not there yet.

Forum: A+ this is fixed now we have xenforo as I suggested a year ago. Vbulletin is gone…

They added the feedback site which is great. https://feedback.directadmin.com/ It only allows upvotes which cut down on the +1 no -1 no...+2 bickering. If you want it upvote it otherwise move on. The only problem here is some things with just a few votes got added and some things with lots of votes have yet to be added.

They added a new documentation site which is great. https://docs.directadmin.com/ The old one needs to be taken down.

In general thanks for all the work and added features. Keep at it you doing good.

Again these a just my opinions. Feel free to write your own thread.

I hope you, and everyone you know are well. I like you hope and pray everyday COVID goes away.

Stay Safe, wear a mask and stay inside.
 
Why just year if You registered at forum Jul 22, 2017? three years passed like one? ;)
In February it will be 11 years since I have been working with DA.
Much has been done in these years, and much remains to be done. Most of all I like the flexibility of the panel, you can change anything, open source is cool!
The biggest question for me right now is backups. I need incremental backups, I need the ability to restore a separate domain, I need a cron-backup for the user. Therefore, in our hosting company we make admin backups excluding data-dir and our own rsync (incremental) backups of files and mysql.
 
I have been using DA on and off in past 10 years.... I love the "simplicity" of it. Cpanel and other panels for that matter are always clogged and some times not really logical.

I never really relied on DA's backup system. It could use some updates indeed, but still for some normal use it's A ok. I personally use rsync to remote server.
 
Some great information here.... I too have been a user for a year and I must say it has come along but I pretty much agree with whats above. Except for the backup.

To me the backup is excellent at restoring offsite backups after a server failure.
The downside is that it creates full backups each time and you can choose multiple locations... OK they are simple ones, but it works. Since JetBackup has been in development I see this being used in the future.

A few things I would love to see, some mentioned above:
  • directadmin.conf as a GUI.
  • Default SSL and auto SSL for Hostname when it detects the DNS is setup.
  • webmail.domain.com.
  • Admin user login notification.
  • Easier email track and trace function, where you can narrow down per Domain/user in one location a bit more graphical.
  • DA to DA server transfer.
  • Not sure if this is a DA issue, but some of the plugins look a bit weird when you go into them.
 
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Zhenyapan said:
Why just year if You registered at forum Jul 22, 2017?
Click to expand...
Nope. 3 years ago I tried DA joined the forum and all. I bought several lifetime licenses (thankfully). However, cPanel won out. So I never stayed with DA. Until the debacle last year then I fully switched and dedicated myself to the cause.
Zhenyapan said:
Much has been done in these years, and much remains to be done.
Click to expand...
So true.
Zhenyapan said:
open source is cool!
Click to expand...
Very much so. I don't really consider DA opensource though their code isn't open. The surrounding apps are for sure.
Zhenyapan said:
The biggest question for me right now is backups. I need incremental backups, I need the ability to restore a separate domain, I need a cron-backup for the user. Therefore, in our hosting company we make admin backups excluding data-dir and our own rsync (incremental) backups of files and mysql.
Click to expand...
All true

Also thank you for all you do here on the forum.
 
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experttechit said:
To me the backup is excellent at restoring offsite backups after a server failure.
Click to expand...
Yes for full restore it works well. It just needs more options.
experttechit said:
they are simple ones
Click to expand...
true which is way we need better options.
experttechit said:
Since JetBackup has been in development I see this being used in the future.
Click to expand...
True but this is a non native 3rd party tool. Which also cost money to use.
experttechit said:
Not sure if this is a DA issue, but some of the plugins look a bit weird when you go into them.
Click to expand...
As far as I know, DA doesn't make any plugins.
experttechit said:
  • directadmin.conf as a GUI.
  • Default SSL and auto SSL for Hostname when it detects the DNS is setup.
  • webmail.domain.com.
  • Admin user login notification.
  • Easier email track and trace function, where you can narrow down per Domain/user in one location a bit more graphical.
  • DA to DA server transfer.
Click to expand...
True on everything else.
 
I have never had a problem with the backup system. I use it to move users to other servers on a regular basis. However I do not have it backup the domains directory or email data. I use rsync for that because there is no point in backing up GB of files that I already have backed up.
 
I run DA for over a year now, and I fell in love with it. I've helped people with Cpanel etc over the years
floyd said:
I have never had a problem with the backup system. I use it to move users to other servers on a regular basis. However I do not have it backup the domains directory or email data. I use rsync for that because there is no point in backing up GB of files that I already have backed up.
Click to expand...
I just use the default backup system at admin level, works fine for my use. Cronned some backups too
 
floyd said:
I use rsync for that because there is no point in backing up GB of files that I already have backed up.
Click to expand...
Can you enlighten me on that? I understand the rsync part, but what do you mean backup GB of files that you already have backed-up? Backed-up where?
 
I use the admin backup/transfer to backup everything except the domains directory and email data. It stores those backups in admin_backups. Then I rsync /home/* to another machine. So I only have backups from the last 24 hours or less. I do this for me. Its not something my clients are aware of or have access to. I do it in case of some kind of failure.
 
floyd said:
I use the admin backup/transfer to backup everything except the domains directory and email data. It stores those backups in admin_backups. Then I rsync /home/* to another machine. So I only have backups from the last 24 hours or less. I do this for me. Its not something my clients are aware of or have access to. I do it in case of some kind of failure.
Click to expand...
So @floyd you backup all your accounts in the same disk inside your server (DS or VPS?). Seems to be risky.
But then you copy and move this backups to another server (backup server). That is the better choice.

- The problem I see here with Cpanel to DA is that in Cpanel my clients can recover a file from a backup from last week. In DA that is not possible at all. No incremental backups options.

- I love @bdacus01 feedback. Thats the way all this community and DA users should keep going. Thanks for that!
- For me It's still a higher sys admin level to achieve, higher if you come like me from being more than ten years in a Cpanel confort zone.
 
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@floyd Thank you for explaining. You already told this in some other thread, I only got confused this time because you spoke about things you already have backed up. So if I understand correctly, you already have backups, but on moves, you do it like you described.
I might be thinking of trying this next time I have to move an account or move to another server.
 
I think you got it but I see where I can be confusing.

I have another machine which stores the backups so they are safe. Everyday I use admin backups to back up everything that is not in the home directory. This would be user accounts, email accounts, databases and such. The admin backups get stored in the normal place. Then minutes after the admin backups are complete the rsync begins to transfer changed files in the home directory to the backup server. This would include the admin backups it just made. But this way creating backups doesn't take so long since its not having to back up files that I already have on the backup server.

When I move accounts to another server I create the admin backups except home just like normal. I then move the backup to the new server and restore the account. I then copy the users home files.

Keep in mind I have not changed DNS yet. I also change the TTL to 100 hours before so that DNS caching will be minimal. Since I do not use the DNS on the DirectAdmin servers its easier to control DNS. That is a whole other story.

I will usually repeat the process but after the second admin backup I will suspend the account. I will then do another restore on the account. Then rsync one more time and while that's happening change the DNS. Usually nobody even notices there may been a couple of minutes of downtime.

I probably ended of confusing it again. Maybe I should offer a step by step in another thread. My brain tends to work in parallel instead of serial so its hard for me to do step by step.
 
disaint said:
- The problem I see here with Cpanel to DA is that in Cpanel my clients can recover a file from a backup from last week. In DA that is not possible at all. No incremental backups options.
Click to expand...

True no incremental but clients can restore a backup from last week if they choose to make backups. They can set it up via a cron job.
 
It's interesting to hear about experiences from other people. We've been using DirectAdmin since 2006 or somewhere around there. There's certainly been improvements over the years.

We have however, had to create several in-house solutions, for example our own dns master/slave (hidden master) setup, because this was not available when we needed it. I haven't tried the built-in solution, since what we have works well. We've also set up a proxy for smtp/pop/imap connections, so all our customers can connect to a single hostname, regardless of which server their domain is currently on. Our custom migration script allows for easy moving of customers between our servers, with minimal downtime. We have a redundant mail filter gateway in front of our DA servers as well. The fact that all this, and more, is possible (and fairly easily to do), is a good example of the flexibility of the sytem and the possibility to customize.

I've for a long time wished DA would distribute software as packages (deb/rpm), to avoid having to compile everything on every single server. I see the flexibility of compiling, but needing to do the exact same compilation on 50 servers seems a little silly.

Some sort of clustering functionality is also something we would be very interested in. Being able to serve a gone-viral website from an auto-scaled pool of servers instead of a single server would be an increadibly powerful feature.

The last few years, we've been investing heavily in automating the setup, maintenance, config management etc of all our servers. And for this purpose, DirectAdmin and Custombuild is not really ready. Personally I have no need for a GUI to manage servers, as I want to automate the changes I need to do, either by modifying config files, or doing API calls.

As for backup, which I see is a big discussion point for many, we've been using rdiff-backup for server level incremental backups for many years, and really only use the builtin admin backup/restore situational, or within the migration script mentioned above. The rdiff-backup solution does not allow our customers to perform restores, so while we don't have many requests for restores, it would certainly be a useful feature to have, without needing a full daily backup stored for x weeks.

Hope I didn't derail this thread too much. :)
 
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