Wow :) - I'm impressed!

L

loopforever

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I'd just like to say, that I've been planning to move to CPanel (from Ensim) in mid/late June - but, after seeing DirectAdmin, I'm pretty much convinced that this is the way to go :)!

I have a few suggestions for you guys, if you'd like to hear them:

1) Some people do not run MySQL on localhost. I feel there should be a feature to change the MySQL host for the entire control panel, so that when a user creates a new database, or does any MySQL related operations, it takes place on the specified host, rather than localhost. This would also apply to the host that phpMyAdmin connects to, and would need to be changed according to the specified host.

2) The ability to turn the trouble ticket feature on/off would be useful to those who use external trouble ticketing systems.

Other than that, it looks great :)! Keep up the great work!
 
Hi loopforever,

1. You are the first to comment on MySQL hostname customization, but I think it's a good idea. A lot of sysadmins have requested that we allow them to customize how DirectAdmin makes settings, and we will be working on this eventually.

2. You can disable the ticket system in DirectAdmin, and provide a link for customers to follow instead (e.g. to your external ticket system). Maybe it wasn't obvious in the demo, but it's there.

Thanks!

Mark
 
Thanks for the quick response :). I'm just going to post suggestions as I think of them, maybe you can integrate them into future releases (in no particular order):

1) Subdomain Paths - Allow the end-user to specify the home-dir of their subdomains, and allow them to specify whether a subdomain is an actual subdomain or simply a redirect to another relative path on the master domain.

2) On the "Edit User, Reseller, or Admin Passwords" page, instead of a text box for the username to change, make a drop down box that is sorted like this:

Select a user:
-----------------
[Reseller 1 Name]
- r1_user1
- r1_user2
- r1_user3
[Reseller 2 Name]
- r2_user1
- r2_user2
- r2_user3
[Reseller 3 Name]
- r3_user1
- r3_user2
- r3_user3

3) Since there is no such thing as "unlimited" bandwidth or disk space, remove the check box for "Unlimited" in the package add/edit screens - it will help promote good business practice among DA users. Also, I am not sure if this is already enabled (I can't tell from the demo on the site), but do not allow resellers to allow any specific option over a specified threshold. For example, if a reseller account is allowed 10,000 email addresses, do not allow them to assign 10,001 addresses to their clients.

4) http://www.directadmin.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8 . NickRac's request is an important one. I suggest SquirrelMail, since it's easy to configure and use globally for all domains on a server. It is also skinnable.

5) http://webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?threadid=136247&highlight=outlook+registry . In the POP3 account list in the user panel, generate .reg files on the fly, to auto-configure a users e-mail account in Outlook. It would be a neat feature ;).
 
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Hi loopforever,

1) Currently subdomains only point to www.domain.com/subdomain, but you can always create a redirect in that path if you want it to redirect somewhere else.

2) That's a good idea, and not too difficult to do, but what happens when there are 600 users on a server? Thats one big list. :)

3) Although Resellers can allocate more "items" than their limit, the Reseller's Users cannot create more than the total items the Reseller is allowed.

4) Webmail is moving higher up the list of requests as it's being requested more and more. We havn't made a decision as to which one we'll use, but SquirrelMail shows great potential.

Thanks,

John
 
Hi John,

Thanks for the reply :). I made a suggestion to Mark about the script installers, so I won't post that here. I've added an additional suggestion above (#5) that you guys might want to consider throwing in there when you have free time. :)

As I said in my post above, the items are listed in no particular order, however, as a web host these items are critical:

1) *MUST HAVE* SMTP Server so mail can be sent OUT of the server.
2) *IMPORTANT* A webmail system.

Everything else I've suggested would just improve your system for Admins and their clients, and should probably be placed at the bottom of your "todo" list ;).
 
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Hello loopforever,

Prohacker is right in that exim supports SMTP, however we chose to disable it by default. When time permits we will provide a method to enable it (should be an exim.conf adjustment).

Webmail is in the works and might be available within a week or so (We hope :))

Thanks,

John
 
Since we all havent really experiences the update process, will DA update itself and install the features itself, or what methods will be aviable to update it all?

Thx
Dave
 
Hi Dave,

When a new update is available your copy of DirectAdmin will automatically request and install it on your system. There actually have been some updates released, it's just that they were at the system level rather than at the features level. That's why you have 1.03 instead of 1.00 right now. :)

You can, of course, go into your Admin menu and manually try to upgrade DirectAdmin, but it will usually beat you to the punch.

Mark
 
Now that I actually have DirectAdmin installed on my own machine - I've got some more practical suggestions:

1) Following the account structure (Admin->Reseller->User), I feel it is important that creator of an account, whether it's an Admin account, or Reseller account, should be able to easily log into any accounts owned by them. This is particularly useful when you have clients who have absolutely no idea what's going on, and you need to accomplish something for them (ie. Add a POP3 account or something). So, for example, an Admin should have permission to log into all reseller and user accounts created by it, and a reseller should have permission to log into all user accounts created by it.

2) When users create additional FTP accounts, the "@domain.com" part (in the username) should be optional.

3) Additional FTP accounts should have a 4th option concerning their ~. Users should be allowed to specify the absolute path for this account, so they can create unique ftp accounts for additional domains they host. Be sure to check the validity of this input, as you won't want Joe-Scmoe creating an FTP account in another user's ~.
 
So, for example, an Admin should have permission to log into all reseller and user accounts created by it, and a reseller should have permission to log into all user accounts created by it.

Admins/Resellers can do this. See "Signing in as Your Customers" at:

http://admin.site-helper.com/gettingstarted.html

(The document is for Admins but this feature applies to Resellers also.)

When users create additional FTP accounts, the "@domain.com" part (in the username) should be optional.

Not possible. What if two different people want FTP accounts named "upload"? You can do this right now in DA if each account has its own IP address (you don't need the @domain), but for shared hosting the @domain allows users to choose their FTP login name without fear that it is being used by someone else on the system.

Additional FTP accounts should have a 4th option concerning their ~.

That's something that we can probably fit in when we have the time. :)

Mark
 
loopforever said:
2) When users create additional FTP accounts, the "@domain.com" part (in the username) should be optional.
Click to expand...


The @domain.com is required because FTP is not a name based protocol like HTTP.. FTP does not know what domain you are using to connect to the server with.. So the only way to do this without an @domain.com would be to give each user an IP...
 
Admins/Resellers can do this. See "Signing in as Your Customers" at:

http://admin.site-helper.com/gettingstarted.html

(The document is for Admins but this feature applies to Resellers also.)
Click to expand...
One of these days, I'm going to sit down and read the entire documentation. I swear! ;)

Not possible. What if two different people want FTP accounts named "upload"? You can do this right now in DA if each account has its own IP address (you don't need the @domain), but for shared hosting the @domain allows users to choose their FTP login name without fear that it is being used by someone else on the system.
Click to expand...
Understandable - didn't think about this before.

Additional FTP accounts should have a 4th option concerning their ~.
Click to expand...
Excellent :)!
 
The Prohacker said:
The @domain.com is required because FTP is not a name based protocol like HTTP.. FTP does not know what domain you are using to connect to the server with.. So the only way to do this without an @domain.com would be to give each user an IP...
Click to expand...

Very true, however adding additional FTP users is easy to do, and it does not require @domain.com - all you've got to do is give it a proper ~ in /etc/proftpd.passwd and /etc/passwd.

In any case, I see where Mark is coming from - without the @domain.com, clients run the risk of attempting to create a user that already exists on the system.
 
next month we will be up to DA 1.33333333 if the updates continue like this :p
 
loopforever said:
Another suggestion...

- Allow resellers and admins to resend welcome e-mails :).
Click to expand...
And an option to not actually send the welcome email ;)
I think it may already be there but just in case ;)
 
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