Can a Superadmin account also be a Reseller?

[iPwsite]

Hello,

I currently have a DirectAdmin account where my domain advel.com is set up as Superadmin. I would like this domain to function as a Reseller so it can manage its own hosting accounts.

Is it possible for an account to be both Superadmin and Reseller at the same time?

If not, what is the recommended way to make advel.com a Reseller while keeping my Superadmin account intact? Are there best practices or risks I should be aware of when doing this?


Thanks in advance for your guidance!

 

[DrWizzle]

You can convert your account with advel.com to be a reseller, but you would need a separate admin account for server admin. You can't have a reseller and admin account having the same domain name unfortunately and would need the new admin account to downgrade the admin account to a reseller.

In short, create a new admin account for yourself. Login as the new admin, and downgrade your advel.com account to a reseller.

An admin account will always have all the functions of the admin, a reseller and a user.

 

[iPwsite]

Thank you for your reply.

I’ve just completed a fresh DirectAdmin installation and need some advice on setting up accounts for my domains. My goal is to have my Superadmin account use advel.com as its primary domain, dedicated to server administration tasks. I also have several other domains that I want to manage, either under the Superadmin (admin) account or as separate Reseller accounts to handle their own hosting accounts.

I’m unclear on the best steps to proceed after a fresh install. Specifically:

• How do I properly configure advel.com as the Superadmin domain while ensuring it’s only used for admin tasks?
• For my other domains, should I place them under the Superadmin account or create separate Reseller accounts for each? What are the best practices for deciding this?
• Are there risks (e.g., domain conflicts, downtime) or specific steps to avoid issues when setting up these accounts, especially since the Superadmin can’t also be a Reseller with the same domain?

Based on a recent forum thread, I understand that an account can’t be both Superadmin and Reseller for the same domain, so I’d need a separate Reseller account for managing hosting accounts. Could someone provide a step-by-step guide for setting up advel.com as the Superadmin domain and creating accounts for my other domains (either as Users under Superadmin or as Resellers)? Any tips on best practices or pitfalls to avoid would be greatly appreciated.

Do I have to have a 2 seperate domain names one for superadmin and one for reseller account?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Best,

 

[DrWizzle]

You'll have to have separate accounts for the reseller and admin. You can specify any domain name you like for each, but they can't be the same.

You'll log into each account with a username and not the domain name, so the domain name doesn't have to resolve, but cannot match any other on the server or will cause massive problems.

You could setup your admin account with advel.com and your reseller account with advelresell.com (for example). The domains will only resolve if you point your domains DNS to your server. Then you can create user accounts logged in with the reseller account.

Don't forget, first you'll have to go to your admin account and set limits for your reseller account, and also limits for user accounts. This will dictate how much server space, email space etc will be allocated/made available to each user.

These sites are a goldmine of info to get you started:

DirectAdmin

DirectAdmin Web Control Panel Site-Helper. Helping you get the most out of DirectAdmin and your web site!

evo.site-helper.com

| Directadmin Docs

DirectAdmin Knowledge Base

docs.directadmin.com

 

[Ohm J]

Admin can do as reseller, but it's security risks when you put admin account into the billing system like WHMCS.

So just create the real reseller account.

Note: create the domain using admin account, not issued at all, it fine.

 

[iPwsite]

Thanks for reply.

I have a fresh DirectAdmin installation with advel.com set as the Superadmin domain (admin account) using ns1.advel.com and ns2.advel.com for DNS resolution. I have a customer domain, cheapmeals.com, that I want to manage under a Reseller account to handle its own hosting accounts. I understand from a previous thread that a domain cannot be both Superadmin and Reseller.


Do I need to buy a new domain (e.g., advelresell.com) to create a Reseller account for managing cheapmeals.com, or can I use cheapmeals.com directly as the Reseller’s primary domain? How do I set this up while keeping advel.com as the Superadmin domain for server administration and DNS resolution? What are the steps to ensure no conflicts, and should cheapmeals.com use ns1.advel.com and ns2.advel.com at the registrar?


Thanks for your help!


Best,

 

[Richard G]

I understand from a previous thread that a domain cannot be both Superadmin and Reseller.

It can, because admin is both admin and reseller. But it's not required.
So if you want cheapmeals.com as seperate reseller account, you have to create a seperate user account for it and make that account a reseller.
So yes, cheapmeals.com can be used as primary reseller account.

 

[Richard G]

What are the steps to ensure no conflicts, and should cheapmeals.com use ns1.advel.com and ns2.advel.com at the registrar?

1.) user admin with domain advel.com and ns1 and ns2 advel.com
2.) another user account which you make reseller and domain cheapmeals.com
3.) You can use ns1 and ns2.advel.com for cheapmeals.com but if you want ns1 and ns2.cheapmeals.com you can create those too if you want, that's your own choice.

This way there are no conflicts. I forgot to answer the last question so added this answer, hopefully this makes it more clear.

 

[iPwsite]

Thanks, cheapmeals.com is my customer account which is related to foods. You mean it can be a reseller account as well and other clients domain added under cheapmeals.com?

 

[johannes]

Reselleraccount doesnt need a real domain, if you just use it for other users. You can use an invalid domain as example cheapmeal.bog.
And for admin, you can also use a subdomain (setted up as real domain), example admin.advel.com, so you can have advel.com free for reseller or users.

 

[Richard G]

Thanks, cheapmeals.com is my customer account which is related to foods. You mean it can be a reseller account as well and other clients domain added under cheapmeals.com?

Yes if you want, that's up to you. Any account can be a reseller account or even an admin account.
And as @johannes wrote a reseller account doesn't even need a real domain. So as you can see a lot of things are possible with accounts.

 

[zEitEr]

Thanks, cheXXXXXs.com is my customer account which is related to foods

I see the domain (I mask it in the quote) is redirected to another host and the other domain (adXXXXXl.com) using different nameservers, not the ones you mentioned. I don't find Directadmin behind of any mentioned domains. I hope you don't try to advertise your domains here (you mention your domains too many times and don't hide them). Actually in order to get a help requested in this thread no real domains are needed. May you provide a real IP where you have directadmin installed?

 

[iPwsite]

Hi, As a Superadmin, I can create hosting accounts in two ways:

1. Via User → Domain setup
2. Via Admin → Account Manager → Create New User

What is the difference?

I'm a bit confused about the best way to set up hosting accounts as a Superadmin in DirectAdmin. From what I've read, there are two main methods:

1. User → Domain Setup: This seems to be for adding a domain to an existing user account, right? It handles things like DNS, email, and FTP for that specific domain.
2. Admin → Account Manager → Create New User: This creates a brand new user account from scratch, complete with resources (bandwidth, disk space), login creds, and a primary domain.

My question: If I use the second method (Create New User) and assign a primary domain during setup, do I still need to go back and use Domain Setup to add any additional domains for that same user? Or does the new user creation handle multiple domains right away? Is there a way to add extras during the initial creation?


Any tips or best practices would be appreciated—I'm trying to streamline this for multiple sites per client. Thanks

 

[DrWizzle]

Hi, As a Superadmin, I can create hosting accounts in two ways:

1. Via User → Domain setup
2. Via Admin → Account Manager → Create New User

What is the difference?

Difference is:
1) You're only managing the domains (and subdomains) associated with the user account. This will have the default domain there when the account was created. This is managed at a user level, not really by admin or reseller unless you're masquerading as them via the admin console.
2) Create new user (By admin or reseller) is exactly what it says in the tin. You're simply creating an account for a user. The user thgen logs in with the details provided and manages the domains, dns, email and other services you offer,

To answer your last question, upon user account creation, it's only created with 1 domain. You'll then have to go in as the user, or ask user to do this, and add as many domains as needed/allowed on the account. They can then be switched between in the user account via the dropdown menu located where i took this shot. (No domain is showing here as this is a dummy admin account)

 

[floyd]

Hello,

I currently have a DirectAdmin account where my domain advel.com is set up as Superadmin. I would like this domain to function as a Reseller so it can manage its own hosting accounts.

The terminology here is driving me nuts.

No such thing as a "superadmin." All admins are created equal.
Admins are also resellers and users.
Admins can manage all resellers and users.
Resellers can manage users they create.
Users can manage domains they create.
Yes admins and resellers can have domains but they are managed from the user level of their account.

recommended way to make advel.com a Reseller

You don't. The domain can be in the reseller's account but it itself is not a reseller or admin.

If a user needs to create other user accounts then he needs to be a reseller.

Adding domains directly to a admin or reseller account is a security risk. Domains should be in a user account that is only a user.

 

[floyd]

Reselleraccount doesnt need a real domain, if you just use it for other users. You can use an invalid domain as example cheapmeal.bog.
And for admin, you can also use a subdomain (setted up as real domain), example admin.advel.com, so you can have advel.com free for reseller or users.

Just to add to this you can even delete the domain after the reseller is created.

 

[DrWizzle]

The terminology here is driving me nuts.

No such thing as a "superadmin." All admins are created equal.

Sorry @floyd to inject a little humour into this thread, but every time I see the term "Superadmin" It reminds me of this!

 

[Richard G]

The terminology here is driving me nuts.

No such thing as a "superadmin." All admins are created equal.

Well if he feels easier to talk about it like this. But not all admins need to be equal.
You can created admins with less rights than the "main" admin. Also backup of original admin is admin.root.admin.tgz which only 1 admin account has.
I understand what you're saying, by default all admins are indeed created equal if one does not change options.

If he likes to call the main admin account a super admin to make it easier for himself... who cares, at least we don't mind.

Adding domains directly to a admin or reseller account is a security risk. Domains should be in a user account that is only a user.

That's a point of view, not should be. It is indeed safer to put an account in a reseller or user account, but that also depends on what kind of site you run as admin. We have had domains on admin and reseller fo 20 years (and I for 17 years) and never had issues.
But if one is going to use for example Wordpress with addons and 3rd party themes, then it's better to not use admin if possible.
However on Personal licenses (for those still having them) this is not an option and on personal plus licenses that can be done.

Do I have to have a 2 seperate domain names one for superadmin and one for reseller account?

I think all is already answered, but you do not need a domain. I would personally use the domain with the nameservers under admin account and use other domains under user or reseller.

Once an account (no matter which one) is created, the admin/user/reseller can add as many domains as he wants (depending on the DA license) via the Domain setup in their account.

 

[Ohm J]

Best practice, please create the real reseller to ensure if "something wrong... like your billing script got hacked", you won't have any chance to restore from the backup.

because they can remove your backup from the account.

 

[floyd]

If he likes to call the main admin account a super admin to make it easier for himself... who cares, at least we don't mind.

It can make things more confusing for the OP though. The point is to make things clearer for the OP not us. He seems to be confused about how some things work.

That's a point of view, not should be. It is indeed safer to put an account in a reseller or user account, but that also depends on what kind of site you run as admin.

Yes that is one of the reasons for a forum, to give points of view. It's is also where I learned that it is better to have all domains under regular users.