Webmin mailbag, plus some uncovered secrets

Last month’s newsletter about the SCO Group’s Webmin Web interface tool for Unix system admin sparked a flurry of e-mails from readers.   One reader, Nick Gracilla commented: “I was surprised to read about Webmin and the SCO Group, and not find a reference to SCO’s recent lawsuits against IBM and other major Linux distributors. I’d be concerned [about] using a “freeware” product of theirs: they are clearly not strong supporters of the open source movement.”

Last month’s newsletter about the SCO Group’s Webmin Web interface tool for Unix system admin sparked a flurry of e-mails from readers. 

One reader, Nick Gracilla commented: “I was surprised to read about Webmin and the SCO Group, and not find a reference to SCO’s recent lawsuits against IBM and other major Linux distributors. I’d be concerned [about] using a “freeware” product of theirs: they are clearly not strong supporters of the open source movement.”

I didn’t mention the lawsuit because it seemed off-topic and as I understand it, the freeware version of Webmin has been put in the public domain from which it can’t be taken out again.

Steve Heflin wrote: “Unless Webmin has done some major improvements over the last six months, it is totally lame if you need to manage multiple domains. I think you owe it to your readers to protect them from the pit that I fell into with Webmin when I tried to bring on a 2nd domain on the server and couldn’t. [Plesk Server Administrator] is BY FAR a superior Linux Web server administrator program.”

I don’t think that Webmin was ever designed to manage more than a single domain so I’m not surprised that it has problems when you try to.

And thanks Steve, for the recommendation: Plesk Server Administrator, or PSA, (see links below) is indeed awesome.

The latest PSA release, Version 5, with the optional Multi-System Monitoring can manage a 50-server infrastructure. And for Web hosting environments the optional PSA 5.0 Master allows the addition of resellers who can self-manage.

This release includes what Plesk calls “view-from-the-top administration,” which allows system administrators the ability to manage multiple servers from a single console. SysAdmins can restart system services, manage customer accounts, view and send account status, and manage billing information.

PSA allows individual nontechnical domain owners to manage mail, create protected directories, set up anonymous and standard FTP accounts, manipulate and manage FrontPage 2002 and 2000 accounts, manage SSL certificates, register domains, rotate log files, view graphical statistics, manage multiple databases and database users and utilize a Web-based e-mail service.

Other key features are custom “skins”; multilanguage localization; third party application integration; Frontpage, Webalizer, and SMTP encryption; European DNS SOA support, DNS Firewall and load balancing support; custom script support, an integrated file manager, integrated Web-based e-mail, and MAPS (Mail Abuse Prevention System) support. Check out the demo, it is really impressive.

PSA runs on RedHat Linux 7.1, 7.2 or 7.3 and the standard configuration of FreeBSD 4.4 and requires either Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 and above or Netscape Navigator 4.x.

This is a powerful system and reasonably priced at $199 for 30 domains; $599 for 300 domains; and $799 for unlimited domains. The Master Upgrade pricing for 10 servers is $199; for 25 servers, $399; and for 50 servers, $599.

*Footnote

Plesk wins this week’s “They Don’t Get It” Award: To get the above pricing you have to register with the company (leave anything out on the form and you won’t get anywhere).

Then, when you have been a good boy or girl, Plesk sends you an e-mail with instructions. You have to follow a link to confirm your account and then (and only then) can you log on to see the pricing. Now Plesk has my details I wonder what it will do with the information.

Note also that its Web site hides all of its links. For example, the link on the index page for the demo page returns you to the index page if you copy the link. What Plesk has done is to use a JavaScript function to handle the onclick event and set the href of the link to be the home page (curiously missing the closing “>” on many of the links which should cause a few browsers a problem).

This is both bizarre and interesting, as it would stop search engines from indexing Plesk’s content (why would you want to do this if you’re trying to sell?). It also opens a new window to the target page that has the menu suppressed so that you can’t print the page or do any of the other things you might want to do. I can only assume that Plesk is trying to keep what it does a secret, or that it is a control freak, or it is too clever by half. Plesk, any comments?