What is the future for Legacy DirectAdmin License holders?

[staff_nowa]

I don't think DA people will remove it though. They'll add more and more until we get fedup. Better to move it to somewhere else. Currently i'm satisfied with Enhance and fastpanel

How are going with enhance I see they have limitations too about domains (sites)

 

[DennisNL]

Cyberpanel maybe

 

[Richard G]

If you run Litespeed only. It doesn't support apache.

 

[mashanz23]

May I ask which panel did you move to? I'm looking for an alternative to cpanel and this with DA doesn't look like it would end well.

Just completed the move to Enhance (setup a 3 server cluster with backups to object storage) add ..com after the name to check it out Redis management built in, Wordpress manager built in, Rspamd built in + more.

Supports Apache, Litespeed, Openlitespeed, Nginx

 

[urgido]

As my own personal comment I use the API of DA to connect it with my own CRM. IN the fact, I use the basic and normal features that any control panel brings us. I don't need PROPACK of whatever you call it.

A good example is cloudlinux which offers CloudLinux Share and PRO version and never forces us to upgrade to obtains "new features" that we never request.

I can highlight a good scenario for you: On feature request page of DA the Complete Backup System feature is "PLANNED", why still pending for development a feature that we need it really.
You need to know that there are better options that PRO PACK to complement DA. We just need the basics of hosting panel.
Don't waste your time selling us more than the same.

BTW, DA is a good product with good people but in this case I am not agree with recent changes.

Have a nice day/night guys!

 

[mashanz23]

I see they have limitations too about domains (sites)

You can have about 33 domains for the base price then depending on how many over that you need there is an extra fee.

There is no extra cost for additional servers eg you could have 20 accounts and a separate server for the control panel, email, dns, db and sites all for the same base cost. There is a calculator to determine pricing

 

[Rolf B]

You can have about 33 domains for the base price then depending on how many over that you need there is an extra fee.

There is no extra cost for additional servers eg you could have 20 accounts and a separate server for the control panel, email, dns, db and sites all for the same base cost. There is a calculator to determine pricing

Fabulous option, especially that DS records are supported, DA did not want to integrate this, but we need it in our country for DNSSec key rollover.

As we only have 40-70 accounts per DA server, it's even cheaper for us and the company seems very friendly. What are your experiences with the support?

 

[mashanz23]

Fabulous option, especially that DS records are supported, DA did not want to integrate this, but we need it in our country for DNSSec key rollover.

As we only have 40-70 accounts per DA server, it's even cheaper for us and the company seems very friendly. What are your experiences with the support?

I have only used support once and quick to reply to a general query on a Sunday, the community forum is helpful and friendly.
Some features are limited for now but the roadmap has plenty of upcoming features.

I setup a cluster in 3 different locations / 2 countries and split the roles. backup is set to S3 compatible object storage (also in a different country)
You can run the panel on a 2gb / 1 core VPS and split roles on different servers/vps or install everything on 1 server.

 

[smtalk]

Regarding posts questioning "update/upgrades of DA" - legacy life time licenses still get DirectAdmin software updates/upgrades (the product purchased), but yes, limitations exist with the compatibility of external software like MariaDB 10.11, not DA itself. ChatGPT/co-pilot may answer what is usually the meaning of "life-time" in the context of software licenses (and give examples of when does it end, as it seems I failed to explain with the examples of developers, security of the product's future etc., I was surprised to see that some people would be happy if no one were employed at DA to continue the development, as it would literally mean the end of life for the product. ChatGPT may also tell if "X years of life-time license developed for $Y" is a good deal, where X and $Y are variables of your license.

Regarding posts questioning complete DirectAdmin rewrite from C++ to Go - there were reasons for this, and results of this will start to be seen soon, including automated tests to make the software way more stable, new features and improved existing ones.

And to make it even more attractive, let us switch between 5 (2.5), 15 (7.5), or 30 (15) euro licenses.
I only see a win-win situation here.

$3 (Personal Plus), $8 (Lite), $15 (Standard) switch is ready in clients area. It happened mainly because of your suggestion, which was sent to DA. Thank you and everyone else for the ideas.

 

[sysdev]

What exactly is the definition of lifetime support?

- till I die
- till the merchant dies
- till the product dies

someone has to die I guess...

 

[Splet]

For how long will the "upgrade" option to $15/mo still be available for lifetime licences?

 

[sec-is]

@smtalk You could also use ChatGpt to check and improve your English before you post. I am not sure what you are trying to say in the first paragraph. And discussing words like lifetime is not adding to a solution right now, and just distracts us.

And like @Splet asks: I do not need an upgrade for my legacy licenses currently.
I seen no reason to end the offer to upgrade LLH to monthly paid licenses at any time, since it is a win-win situation.
Can you answer this: does the offer end in the future? If yes, what is the intention/time for this?

With regards to re-developing in GO, even though GO may be simpler, faster et cetera, development always comes with testing and debugging. I am really very afraid switching the language will start the end of existence of directadmin (having a constant streak of fixing and more fixing). But that is just me thinking that, and it would make all of my licenses useless. I am joining the crowd looking for alternatives to have some insurance for the (near) future.

 

[floyd]

Regarding posts questioning "update/upgrades of DA" - legacy life time licenses still get DirectAdmin software updates/upgrades (the product purchased), but yes, limitations exist with the compatibility of external software like MariaDB 10.11, not DA itself.

The ability to manage the latest versions of all the software that DA managed at the time of purchase is part of the DA updates/upgrades. DA is a management tool and if it fails to manage the items it advertised then DA is in breach of contract. DA managed MySQL when I made the purchase. It is reasonable to expect DA to continue to manage MySQL until either DA does not exist or MySQL does not exist. I can see limiting MariaDB because DA did not manage MariaDB when I made the purchase. But others made purchases under the arrangement of DA managing MariaDB.

I feel like we are just going around in circles. "No it doesn't. Yes it does. No it doesn't. Yes it does." And around and around we go. DA has made it clear they are not going to support what I purchased. So now I don't trust them to support anything else I purchase in the future.

The legal term in the US for what DA is doing is "arbitrary and capricious." If I had the money and the time I would let the courts decide but it far easier to just move on to a new product.

 

[Richard G]

ChatGPT may also tell if "X years of life-time license developed for $Y" is a good deal, where X and $Y are variables of your license.

You should not refer to ChatGPT as that is not an owner and not a license agreement. Further more other company's also have lifetime licenses, some with other structures, but some the same with real lifetime updates and upgrades.
So it's depending on company's and agreements, not what chatgpt or others find normal or reasonable.
You can make slight changes to make profit if really required, but it's going way to far, ask chatgpt if they find these cutbacks are reasonable. I couldn't find any company doing such things. So far about comparison.

Issue here is that owners promised us here in the past when the legacy change came up (we can lookup the quotes) that for the legacy licenses we didn't have to worry and nothing would be taken from us and we would keep getting the necessary updates and upgrades. We just would not get any new features like were in the pro pack. That's a major difference.
Most updates will go by itself, like php. Apache might need some slight adjustment when major release, as to mysql, but that has always been the case from the beginning, nothing new about that.
So at least MySQL should be kept supported, it's done for modern anyway.

As for the 15/month option, that is a major price raise for us. Especially if one has multiple licences which often some are not used for some time. I made a calculation earlier in the thread about that. It's just not doable.
And it was the rest of the DA team so mainly you, which denied the suggested pause option. So when switching, we would loose this option if not used (so not paid) for anymore. It would be way more fair if that pause option was there as we have this now too.

So if you have 7 licenses and sometimes use 4, sometimes 6 and then a long time 3, then for the time you use 3, to keep the licences it's a $ 720,- loss per year to keep the licenses. Which is not fair in anyway, neither is comparing them to normal licenses because it's a totally different structure and agreement and you still keep doing that.

We are prepared to help, but not for that amount of money and losses on our side. It's not our mistake, it was yours.

 

[wila]

We are prepared to help, but not for that amount of money and losses on our side. It's not our mistake, it was yours.

It's also not that it was an incidental mistake.. this lifetime license was sold for quite a few years.
So it actually DID work ok for you guys for a long time, until you figured that it did not and wanted to reneg of what lifetime means.

 

[LawsHosting]

To be fair, nearly all companies are doing this now - or for quite a few years now.... Subscription model and dropping the 'outright' owned prices...... Adobe, Filmora, to name two... (I know this comparison is iffy in this situation...... you get my point)

When people do this, I look elsewhere...... Not to mean I'm a Scrooge, it's the principal......

 

[wila]

To be fair, nearly all companies are doing this now - or for quite a few years now.... Subscription model and dropping the 'outright' owned prices...... Adobe, Filmora, to name two... (I know this comparison is iffy in this situation...... you get my point)

When people do this, I look elsewhere...... Not to mean I'm a Scrooge, it's the principal......

Sure, on all accounts, I do understand.

The real issue here is the way this is being dealt with.
You find out about the license changes by things that stop working or by discovering a new line on your login page.

Not by a clear communication of the company that informs their existing customer base with an email explaining that unfortunately the lifetime license deal no longer works for them. Maybe even with a special offer for those customers, because they can't keep their side of the contract.
It could have been an opportunity, but not really much in the way it is done now.

They never seem to have considered that treating their lifetime license customer base as adults -who might even understand their issues- would be a much better approach than the "Let's change this and then find out the back lash" scheme that's been forced on us now.

 

[Mikep]

Just to clarify, the term 'lifetime' in this context is perfectly clear. The license states that it expires on January 18, 2038. That's it.
It felt like a lifetime back in 2005, but not now.
@smtalk Rewriting from C++ to Go will pay off soon, and new features and improvements will be a lot easier to implement than in C++. However, as we saw with ProPack, it's questionable whether people want these changes now.
If you want to make it a different product, that's okay, but you should honor the "legacy" until January 18, 2038, and provide updates until October 20, 2034.
It's really a funny twist that all the changes asked for years and that were always mostly ignored are now used as an the main argument to increase prices, again.
You need to carefully balance the business case for change/charge more against respecting the commitments made to existing legacy customers and their perceived value and desires or just talk with Oakley Capital to cash out...

Salu2

 

[quape.net]

If I were in DA shoes, I will communicate nicely to tell everyone. "Hey this is not working for lifetime and this distro e.g debian 10 till it ends at xx.xx.xx will be the last and please support by converting all your license so that regular support. Most software works like this right now when we buy plugins for WordPress for our customer needs."

I think Directadmin should have some communication channel to keep us informed because it is not about the money but the treatment we get.

 

[Richard G]

Subscription model and dropping the 'outright' owned prices......

But do they also stop support on the existing licenses? Also they are not the same kind of lifetime licenses that we have here.

I wouldn't mind paying for support and updates, but not 15/month.

As said, fully understand that in this way it can't go on, but they only made one decision and that's it, further only cutbacks so we are now as of 2026 without any up to data database. For all people who made DA big in the beginning by buying those licenses over the year.
So I understand cutbacks but at least we should be provided with basic LAMP, where M for MySql is also good instead of MariaDB.
Or some other payment construction which is more fair to us (which would never have to pay again as it implicitely said on the website those days), especially for external license holders who payed a bunch more anyway.

For example (like Xenforo does) if it would be said € 60,- per year for support, no matter if you use it 3 months or a year, no money back, that might be accepted.
Or a choice like either pay € 40,- per half year or pay 60 for a whole year of support. No pause, no money back.
The 15/month is just way too much especially since we don't need the modern stuff anyway.