Custombuild config/execute through DirectAdmin?
- Thread starter BBM
- Start date
interfasys
Verified User
I think what he is referring to is how cPanel allows you to build apache, and all that from the web interface.
scsi
Verified User
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2008
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- 4,575
Thats because they run everything as root they can do that then.
BBM
Verified User
I've used cPanel for awhile about 10 years ago but not as an Admin, just Reseller.
My initial thought was with CB available under DA, it would maybe make using/configuring CB a bit easier for 'novice' server-owners. Helping them to make their server more safe/secure by keeping it up to date easier.
Being able to (partially?) set up or control CB in DA could give a novice user a little more 'insight' if the GUI could be designed nicely. And I'm putting myself as being a novice-user example here with very basic linux-experience.
Sometime last year I got myself a VPS to play with and because of server issues with my previous hoster I had to start using my VPS a bit earlier then I hoped for. But I managed to get all the domains moved and running nicely on my vps, partly based on my earlier 'Reseller'-experience.
After a while I started looking into keeping the CentOS VPS uptodate and started reading about Yum and shortly after about CB.
I had a quick look at it and just wanted to see what updates were available. I thought I could safely upgrade to CB2, but I didn't want to start using CB as of yet because I knew a few careless updates by me could bring the server down very easliy. Typing and navigating around in a ssh-console screen is not high on my favorites list, so I was very cautious already.
But by downloading CB2 I must have triggered CB to become active already when about week later, just after adding a new user to my VPS, suddenly the httpd-service went down and wouldn't startup again because of a mismatch in recently installed software somewhere. This ment about 40 websites went offline as well at that moment.
Luckily I was able to get some very extensive help from Richard G here on the site who also helped me set up the 2nd nameserver.
Now this probably could also have happened otherwise, but it would, for me, have been nice to quickly see in DA if CB was active or not somehow.
My initial thought was with CB available under DA, it would maybe make using/configuring CB a bit easier for 'novice' server-owners. Helping them to make their server more safe/secure by keeping it up to date easier.
Being able to (partially?) set up or control CB in DA could give a novice user a little more 'insight' if the GUI could be designed nicely. And I'm putting myself as being a novice-user example here with very basic linux-experience.
Sometime last year I got myself a VPS to play with and because of server issues with my previous hoster I had to start using my VPS a bit earlier then I hoped for. But I managed to get all the domains moved and running nicely on my vps, partly based on my earlier 'Reseller'-experience.
After a while I started looking into keeping the CentOS VPS uptodate and started reading about Yum and shortly after about CB.
I had a quick look at it and just wanted to see what updates were available. I thought I could safely upgrade to CB2, but I didn't want to start using CB as of yet because I knew a few careless updates by me could bring the server down very easliy. Typing and navigating around in a ssh-console screen is not high on my favorites list, so I was very cautious already.
But by downloading CB2 I must have triggered CB to become active already when about week later, just after adding a new user to my VPS, suddenly the httpd-service went down and wouldn't startup again because of a mismatch in recently installed software somewhere. This ment about 40 websites went offline as well at that moment.
Luckily I was able to get some very extensive help from Richard G here on the site who also helped me set up the 2nd nameserver.
Now this probably could also have happened otherwise, but it would, for me, have been nice to quickly see in DA if CB was active or not somehow.
nobaloney
NoBaloney Internet Svcs - In Memoriam †
It's been my experience that generally DirectAdmin doesn't offer web-based configuration for setups which need to be done only once.
Is it that important to you? How about to others? Should this become a feature request to be discussed among the community?
Jeff
Is it that important to you? How about to others? Should this become a feature request to be discussed among the community?
Jeff
BBM
Verified User
I'm not sure about the actual importance, because as you might say once CB is configured, it can probably run unattended for awhile. But the main reason for the topic is also mostly based on the lack of 'ssh savvy-ness' on my part (and maybe that I'm a spoiled Mac-user who mostly likes to see a GUI).
But otoh, since CB has become such an important part of DA, I wonder if shouldn't it be 'visible' under DA somewhere? At least maybe it could show a notification or ticket that there are updates available for instance.
Then, under the Updates-page, or even Service Monitor, it would be nice if there was another column with a possible 'update'-button behind the service. But I can imagine having to enter your root-pw to update a service through the DA-website could have security-issues.
Do most folks who are using CB, just let CB upgrade their server to the newest versions automaticly? Or do you usually stay 'one subversion' behind for a while to let others find possible errors?
Given my careful, 'first encounter' with CustomBuild, and still having the server crash on me a week later, I'm still very hesitant to just dive in again and activate CB and let it do it's thing, without knowing if something gets broken again in the process, only for me to find out sometime later (when I can't fall back onto an older snapshot anymore).
And, (showing my novice-carefulness again) I've read that you can't always 'just' update one thing without updating something else first or at the same time.
But I really need to start updating my vps as it's getting pretty outdated by now.
Even if CustomBuild was available under DA somehow, I do understand that with properly maintaining a server one ofcourse has to upgrade other software through SSH that CB doesn't touch.
Wow, became a long story again.
First of all, you probably don't want idiots running around messing in config files and clicking update buttons at the first sign of an update unless you have a great (and well payed) supportnumber
But... it's pretty doable to just make a pluging to edit config files and 'submit' an update-flag where a root cronjob rebuilds packages, based upon the flag.
Well, it's easy when all your build goes well and doesn't end up in a bash loop, asking you to press y/n
I just don't think it's worth the effort because most of the admins would rather login to a shell and see exactly what's going on when they rebuild stuff.
But... it's pretty doable to just make a pluging to edit config files and 'submit' an update-flag where a root cronjob rebuilds packages, based upon the flag.
Well, it's easy when all your build goes well and doesn't end up in a bash loop, asking you to press y/n
I just don't think it's worth the effort because most of the admins would rather login to a shell and see exactly what's going on when they rebuild stuff.
nobaloney
NoBaloney Internet Svcs - In Memoriam †
I know what I think (believe, actually).
I believe that if you're running a server you shoul probably at the very least feel at home at the command line.
But as for me? Well, to give you an idea...
Long before exim, we old systems administrators used Sendmail (to you newcomers: yes, that's why we have a sendmail interface. Sendmail had a very arcane and complex configuration system.
So complex and arcane in fact that a language was written, with it's own configuration file, just to manage the Sendmail configuration file.
I never bothered with that; I always managed the Sendmail configuration directly.
I guess you cold say I'm at home on the command line.
The bottom line is that there are only so many hours in a day. Do you want the DirectAdmin staff to create the interface, with all the problems that cold come with it if a non-experienced systems admin makes a mistake, instead of continuing to add important features?
Or in other words, go ahead and convince us that this needs to be a Feature Request.
Jeff
I believe that if you're running a server you shoul probably at the very least feel at home at the command line.
But as for me? Well, to give you an idea...
Long before exim, we old systems administrators used Sendmail (to you newcomers: yes, that's why we have a sendmail interface. Sendmail had a very arcane and complex configuration system.
So complex and arcane in fact that a language was written, with it's own configuration file, just to manage the Sendmail configuration file.
I never bothered with that; I always managed the Sendmail configuration directly.
I guess you cold say I'm at home on the command line
.The bottom line is that there are only so many hours in a day. Do you want the DirectAdmin staff to create the interface, with all the problems that cold come with it if a non-experienced systems admin makes a mistake, instead of continuing to add important features?
Or in other words, go ahead and convince us that this needs to be a Feature Request
.Jeff
