January 16, 2020

Turnkey Solutions Guide for Dummies Series

Guide No. 3: Centos Web Panel Guide for Dummies

When speaking about control panel for managing servers, we can’t skip CWP. CWP is short for CentOS Web Panel, while CentOS is one of the most popular operating systems installed on both VPS & dedicated server. CWP is a free web hosting control panel designed for quick and easy management of servers (both VPS and dedicated server) without the need or hassle to use ssh console for every time you want to do something on your server, thus it is especially useful for those who are not familiar with Linux commands and shell scripts. This panel offers a huge number of options and features for server management in its control panel package.

We HostSailor would like to introduce CWP as the third panel in this series of guides to our users around the world. With CWP & WHM, one can get started to manage and setup CentOS servers at ease with all the features provided by this panel. You can also request to build a custom module for integration.

What does CWP offer?

CWP automatically installs a full LAMP software bundle on your desired Linux server featuring Apache, MySQL, and PHP/Perl/Python, together with the admin interface which will allow you to set up a webserver, webmail and mail servers, etc. One can also easily migrate from your cPanel account to free CWP panel within some clicks using its package. More details can be found at the CWP homepage.

Part 2: CWP Installation Guide for Dummies Step by Step

2.1 CWP panel installation on your VPS and Dedicated Server

We have prepared a script to allow you to have CWP panel installed quickly with everything under your control if you do not want to bother anyone else for it.

Prerequisites: see below. You will find it is very similar to that for VestaCP or cPanel, as we have described in the first VestaCP guide in this series

A clean OS without any other control panel installed and any configuration changes
At least 512M/1024M RAM for 32/64 bit OS and 10G HDD. It’s recommended that 4GB+ RAM in case you also want to have full functionality such as Anti-Virus scan of emails
A VPS/dedicated server running CentOS 6.x, 7.x or RedHat 6.x, 7x or CloudLinux 6 with static IP address, and its root login credentials.
HostSailor client account login credentials
SolusVM account login credentials
A valid domain with DNS Management enabled if your domain is purchased through us

Step 1: Set up Nameservers, Records and Reverse DNS

This is the same as that for the other panels we have introduced in the first two guides (VestaCP and cPanel) .

Step 2: Install CentOS web panel

        $ ssh root@server-IP-address
        $ cwp

Or you can do everything step by step by downloading the script online yourself:

        cd /usr/local/src
        $ wget http://centos-webpanel.com/cwp-el7-latest
        $ sh cwp-el7-latest

After the installation is completed, you will need to log in your SolusVM to reboot your VM. Just log in your VPS or dedicated server again, and type the following command to complete the installation – namely to update the HostSailor Mail Server information.

        $ ssh root@server-IP-address
        $ eximpatch

With these steps completed successfully, you will have nearly everything you need to manage your server with CWP.

Please be aware that CWP panel does not provide an uninstaller. In case you would like to remove CWP from your server, you must reinstall the server to have it removed.

Step 3: Manage Your Server with CWP panel

Go to your favorite web browser and access your server using CWP panel using the following information.

      https://185.xxx.xxx.xxx:2030
      Username: root
      Password: xxxxxxxxx

Part 3: A quick tour around the CWP panel interface

From top to down in the navigation area on the left-hand side, you can see everything you would need to manage your server. We won’t list all of the functions and tools it offers here, but name a few below:

Server Settings: you can easily change your root password, generate SSH key, change date and time, change the hostname and check disk quota. Advanced users can also play with Crontab for root and users to add common and custom Cron Jobs easily.
WebServer Settings: you can also manage webserver configurations, check Apache status and manage SSL certificate, etc. in a very simple way.
Email: With the features available there, you can manage email accounts and everything related to it within a few clicks.
User Accounts: you can manage the accounts, migrate accounts from one to another CPW, even migrate cPanel server account. What’s more? You can also check out the features, themes, and languages.
File Management: this might be the handiest one of all. With this tool, you will not need to upload files to your server via Linux commands like scp! Scp is simply a pain in the neck especially when you don’t remember the complete paths where the files are. This tool will free you from all that pain and give you the most convenient graphic interface to create directories/files or upload files to your server with a few clicks. Life can’t be simpler!

You might have also noticed on the top of the interface, there are three shortcuts: Dashboard, Terminal, and FileManager. Just try them out, you will for sure love them!

In case you run into any problems during this process or while using this CWP panel guide, you can always contact our technical support team which is available 365/7/24 to assist you. And for your information, CWP panel also has professional version with even more functions available. Check out that online in case you need it.

We hope you will enjoy this Centos Web Panel guide as much as we do while sharing this knowledge.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you run into any trouble while using this CWP panel guide for dummies. We are always glad to be here and help you out to make your day!