Introduction: Major Challenger to cPanel for Administration
This Tutorial will provide an introduction & overview of the main features of the Webuzo control panel, produced by Softaculous. The guide will cover the configuration of an Ubuntu 16 web server using the tools provided by the Webuzo control panel.
Softaculous has introduced Webuzo as a direct competitor to cPanel in web server administration. Webuzo has the same auto-install capabilities for web scripts, including all of the CMS, Blogs, Forums, Wikis, E-commerce, etc. packages from Softaculous.
Web publishers, programmers, & developers hosting with VPS hosting can use Webuzo for the administration of domain names, server settings, & installation of stack extensions.
Step One: Install & Update Webuzo with Ubuntu 16
Most users will have a VPS plan running on Solus VM with different disk image options for installing the Linux operating system. Webuzo is compatible with:
- Ubuntu LTS
- CentOS 6.x / 7.x
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.x / 7.x
- Scientific Linux 6.x / 7.x (x86_64)
Webuzo must be installed on a new version of the operating system with the following requirements:
- YUM / apt-get / tar / wget packages installed
- RAM – Minimum 1 GB (Recommended 2 GB for best performance)
- Disk Space – Minimum 5 GB (Recommended 10 GB for best performance)
- Open Ports – 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 21, 22, 25, 53, 80, 143, 443 & 3306
- No PHP, Apache, or MySQL pre-installed on the server
The advantage of Webuzo is the graphic user interface (GUI) which can be used to administer a web server without use of command line tools. Webuzo has more features than cPanel & includes the ability to manage different stack packages for a web server.
If required to install Webuzo on Ubuntu 16 manually, use the commands:
wget -N http://files.webuzo.com/install.sh chmod 0755 install.sh
For this Tutorial, install Webuzo without any stack software, & follow the steps below:
./install.sh --install=none
Run the Webuzo Set-up page, entering the email address, administrator user name, IP address, etc. as required & save the settings. Set the URL address below to login:
Login to the Webuzo Administration Panel at:
- https://example.com:2005/
- http://example.com:2004/
Login to the Webuzo Enduser Panel at:
- https://example.com:2003/
- http://example.com:2002/
Note: VPS users can also use the Dedicated IP Address of the server.
Enter the username of the admin account & password to login to the Webuzo control panel & begin configuring the settings of the web server stack software.
Step Two: Use Webuzo to Install the Web Server Stack
Webuzo provides users with the ability to install Linux web server stack elements either individually or in recommended configurations. This includes options for:
- LAMP Stack
- LEMP Stack
- LLMP Stack
- MEAN Stack
Click on the “Apps” tab in the Webuzo administration menu & choose one of the options for VPS or Dedicated Server plans. For this Tutorial, we are installing LEMP:
Then navigate to the NGINX settings page and enable SPDY. In order to run Apache2 with .htaccess files in reverse-proxy settings with NGINX, enter Port No. 8080.
Save the settings. Run cron on the web server and then update any of the extension packages like NGINX, PHP, MySQL, etc. as required. Proceed to add domain names.
Step Three: Manage Domain Names with Webuzo
The process for adding domain names with Webuzo is basically the same as cPanel, so cPanel users with CentOS, CloudLinux, & RHEL can have similar tools on Ubuntu.
Click on add domain and enter the TLD. The form will auto-populate a path address to create a new folder for the domain files. Add a Let’s Encrypt SSL Certificate & save.
The root domain will resolve as parked and any extra domain names will be considered as “add on” domains. You can manage unlimited domains & subdomains with Webuzo.
Step Four: Manage Database Options with Webuzo
Next navigate back to the “Apps” section and click on the “Databases” link. Install MariaDB to replace MySQL as the default database on the web server stack.
In this tutorial, MariaDB 5.5.59 was installed to replace MySQL 5.5.62 for running Drupal 8. There are also options for MariaDB 10.0, 10.1, & 10.2 (not required).
Webuzo has a vast selection of database formats available for “one click” installation on VPS plans, making it one of the best administration options for web/mobile developers.
Step Five: Install Web Scripts with Softaculous Tools
Use the PHP, JavaScript, Perl, Python, & Java tabs to browse the available open source web applications that can be installed by Webuzo. Most of these are the same as Softaculous. Choose Drupal & select version 8.6.4 or the latest release package.
Alternatively, install WordPress or any of the hundreds of open source scripts in the Webuzo archive. Make sure to run cron & update to the latest package releases.
Webuzo has an option to download all of the web scripts to local storage on the server by default, which may need to be disabled to support only the scripts required.
Conclusion: Excellent for VPS Plans & Dedicated Servers
Webuzo is produced by Softaculous & anyone who uses cPanel hosting regularly will be familiar with the GUI for managing domain names, server settings, email, or FTP accounts. Webuzo also includes “one click” installations for web server stack software.
Many command line tools can be used alongside of Webuzo, making it an excellent tool for server management on VPS plans running Ubuntu, CentOS, Scientific, or RHEL.
