It is unlikely that someone might now think of writing their server control panel: the Internet has long become attached to ISP, cPanel, Plesk and a dozen of their analogues. All “adult” panels can do approximately the same thing, differing only in interface, level of support, and specific functionality. But 13 years ago it was different:, . , 2007 . 5 . :
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— , cPanel , Plesk , .
— … Panel 2
— skid, Vesta developerWhat grew out of this idea after so many years? A good product, popular among hosters (the site mentions 25,000 installations per month worldwide), with an active community and with a large list of individual features. But like in any other product, in the process of using Vesta, a lot of nuances come out that are invisible from the outside. Next, we will analyze the principles of the panel, its jambs and strengths.Philosophy
skid in the same article described his motivation as follows:… , . , , . , . , GPL Plesk, cPanel DirectAdmin.
Initially, this was how it worked: there was a set of Apache scripts that simplified server administration, then a web interface appeared for those who were uncomfortable configuring everything from the terminal. But then, with the development of the interface, the focus shifted to less savvy users, UX changed under the principle of "solve the problem in one click", and the complex configuration should remain as an appendage for red-eyed admins. As a result, this led West to a contradictory present: in an ideal scenario, it is extremely easy to install and use, without requiring intervention in its internal systems. But as soon as something breaks, or God forbid, it requires new integrations, all the convenience begins to crumble rapidly. The panel does not always work adequately with different versions of modules,requires painstaking refinement and lighting of configs in any unusual situation. A forum (global in this regard is better than the Russian one) may contain more harmful tips than useful ones.On the other hand, with normal use, Vesta is really convenient: I managed to raise a test site in 15 minutes, while there are a lot of non-trivial buns available by click on the out of the box box.Installation
Vesta can be installed and work normally even on the budget server itself - the minimum requirements are 512 mb RAM / 20 Gb HDD / 1 Ghz CPU. Depending on the amount of RAM, it can disable non-critical modules during installation. For example, the most gluttonous antivirus kit is considered to be installed if it has at least 3 Gb RAM on the server. Of course, if such a compromise does not suit you, you can customize the installation by selecting the options manually or on the site .By the way, the documentation contains the location of the logs for all services: RHEL / CentOS , Debian / Ubuntu .After installation, you can not return to SSH, all further configuration is available in the web interface (port 8083).Patterns
For domains, configuration templates are available that you can customize on the go. There are not enough tips explaining the purpose of the templates, here is a section on the docks .DNS Cluster
It works out of the box, in two commands and a couple of lines in the config, you can configure the DNS slave on the backup server. DocumentationBackups
They are comfortable. FTP sending is configured with one command:v-add-backup-ftp-host remote.ftp-host.ltd backup-user p4ssw0rd
After that, backups are created in one click in the corresponding tab. Locally, they are also saved and available for download, of course.
SSL
SSL can be specified manually, or right at the stage of domain registration in Vest, check the “Let's Encrypt Support” checkbox and get a certificate automatically, conveniently.Packages
The packages known on the forum as “tariff plans” allow you to configure the number of domains, databases, tasks in the crown, the amount of traffic, disk, etc. This allows you to turn the panel into something like a hosting admin panel, setting certain categories of rights and limits for different users.
Statistics and logs
There are many of them, and they are also comfortable. The panel gives a summary of statistics on disk / traffic / domains / cron usage and everything else, there are beautiful resource graphs. You can also watch the event log and access / error logs without crawling out of the browser.
Logs are useful to watch, but the graphics are nicerServer management
Nginx, httpd, mail servers, NS, ftp, database servers, a firewall and crowns are managed from the same admin panel, which allows you to keep up with restarting the desired service from the console at the slightest change in the config. Which can also be edited directly in the browser in the same tab, win!Shortcuts
Probably not a single review of Vesta can do without mentioning hot keys. They are presented as a kind of killer feature that turns our idea of panel management ... stop, what? Okay, I understand that this can be convenient when working with a file manager, especially since the combinations there are borrowed from Midnight Commander, but what is their advantage in managing Vesta herself, I still do not understand. The panel is not a terminal and it does not hang for hours on end, the interaction is usually limited to quick approaches with a few clicks in different sections - look at the log, correct the config. Keyboard control as a replacement for 5-10 mouse clicks is quite redundant for me, but it looks cool.
Panel
Shortcuts File Manager ShortcutsProblems
First of all, we must remember that Vesta is a GPL product, and it only brings money for paid modules, hoster integration and support. According to my estimates, there are from 4 to 11 developers, plus contributor enthusiasts, so comparing it with large projects like ISPManager or Plesk is not entirely correct. However, with such a small team, Vesta was able to take a decent piece of the market for “simple” panels, which is great and worthy of respect. Now you can go to the minuses.Support
Formally, support is provided only for a fee at a decent price. When the Vesta admin encounters problems, he goes to the official forum or creates an issue. If you're lucky, they will help him. If you are not lucky (and this is not uncommon), his topic or issue will remain without an answer forever.Updates
They rarely fly. For example, over the past year, two updates have been released: one with security bugfixes, the other consists of one line*** WHATS NEW in 0.9.8-26 ****
Let's Encrypt HTTP / 2 support
Perhaps all the titanic work for the year was aimed specifically at improving security, but no one knows this except the developers. They do not keep blogs, do not post any news and pre-release posts, and as a result the patch falls like snow on the heads of unsuspecting admins.Compatibility
Another problem with sudden updates - it is not known what and where they can break. Quote from a pain-soaked post :… 0.9.8-18 . , , PHP 7.x, 100500 , , .
VestaCP , . , 0.9.8.-18 9 , , 29 2017-! , , , , .
In addition, Vesta may conflict with point updates (or rollback to the previous version) of individual modules, which can be very unpleasant when a fresh vulnerability is detected. In such cases, you will have to go to configs and manually change all the dependencies and occurrences (and hope that the next update will contain these fixes, and not just demolish your custom).By the way, VDSina has long been offering a template with VestaCP and choosing a PHP version for a specific domain:
Advanced use cases
Manual modification of the panel is also a thankless task, as it consists in editing configs and scripts, which, when updated, will be safely replaced with the original ones. Some integrations and plugins can be written using the API, but in general it still turns out to be difficult to maintain your code.findings
Vesta is a panel for simple tasks. It allows you to quickly publish sites and provides all the necessary functionality for their administration, and this is its strong point. It is easy to learn and perfect for small projects, such as a corporate website or a small online store, here it largely gives odds to the same ISP, while remaining free. In general, if you want to "just host" without unnecessary hemorrhoids, the above problems, most likely, do not concern you.Vesta is not well suited for large and complex projects. To improve security and fault tolerance, it requires major improvements, which translates into losses in time and money. For these purposes, there are good paid solutions with ready-made integrations and serious support.And finally, Vesta is an open source project with a minimum of commerce with a small team and excellent results. Overcoming difficultiesskidwith the team went from a daring idea to a popular, sought after product, and that's cool. Try it if you haven’t.