II Reseller Manual
1 General
1.1 Login and Password
After you have got the url of the ISPConfig system and your login data from your administrator you can login. Please go to the URL of your ISPConfig system (e.g. https://www.domain.tld:81 ; replace "www.domain.tld" appropriately) with your Browser and enter your user name and your password into the form "Login". Confirm by clicking on "Login".
- Forgot your password? If you forgot your password please ask the ISPConfig administrator to help you.
1.2 Interface for Resellers
The interface for resellers consists of the following sections:
- Menubar with the menus "ISP Manager", "Web-FTP", "Tools", "Help" and "Logout".
- Buttons: Directly beneath the menubar you can find the buttons "New client", "New site", "New folder" and "Search".
- Structure Tree: The structure tree is the storage system of the ISPConfig system. It manages all the sites and customers. By clicking on "expand" (next to "ISP Manager") all folders are opened. By clicking on "collapse" the tree is closed. Sites can be assigned to customers (folder "Clients") but do not have to be. Then you can find the sites in the customer independent folder "Sites".
1.3 ISPConfig Privileges for Resellers
The privileges of a reseller in ISPConfig include those of a customer:
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1.4 Saving
The ISPConfig system offers you two possibilities to save data you enter into a form:
- "Save"-Button: Click onto the "Save"-button to save your entries. The information will be submitted, and the structure tree as well as the start page will be reloaded in your browser.
- Change the tab: If a form consists of more than one tab you can simply change the tab to save your data. The data of the old tab will be saved, and the new tab will be loaded, whereas the structure tree will not be reloaded. This technique of saving data allows you to process forms with more than one tab in one pass and is one of the main characteristics of ISPConfig.
1.5 Changing the ISPConfig Password
You can edit your ISPConfig password under "Tools" -> "Change Password".
Please enter your current and your new password (2x) into the form "Change Password" and click on "Save".
1.6 Language Settings
You can set the language of your ISPConfig system under "Tools" -> "Change Language" .
In the form "Change Language" select the language the system should use for you and click on "Save".
Please note: The language setting only affects your own account. Other users of the ISPConfig system (other resellers or customers) can select their language individually.
1.7 Display of Passwords in the ISPConfig System
Passwords that you entered in the ISPConfig system (e.g. reseller or customer passwords for accessing the ISPConfig system; passwords for customers' MySQL databases) will not be displayed in the ISPConfig system for security reasons after they were saved! Thus, an empty password field in an ISPConfig form does not mean that no password was entered before.
An existing password does not get displayed after the reload of the respective form.
1.8 Help
Click onto the menu item "Help".
Here you will find the reseller- and customer-manual in English and German in PDF format as well as links to the knowledgebase on the Projektfarm website.
In addition to that you can find a question mark next to many input fields in the ISPConfig system:
If you click on the question mark a small pop-up window with context-sensitive help will open.
2 Customers
Customer management is done via the structure tree. The default folder is the folder „Clients“. There you can save customers but you may also create new subfolders (e.g. „Customers A-K“, „Customers L-Z“) (see chapter II-4.1.1).
2.1 Add a Customer
A customer can be added as follows:
1. Step: Open the form "ISP Reseller".
Click on the button "New Client".
The form "ISP Client" with the opened tab "Master Data" appears.
2. Step: Assign title, folder and master data
- Title: This is the title for the customer in the structure tree.
- Folder: Select the folder "Customers". Alternatively you can create your own folders for customers. These folders will appear in the drop down menu. The creation of folders is described in chapter II-4.1.1.
- Master Data: Enter the master data of your customer. Some of the fields are optional.
- Save Customers: By clicking on "Save" the customer is saved and appears in the structure tree under the title you provided. Click on the newly created customer to carry out further tasks. OR: By clicking on the button "Limits" you can go directly to the next step. The master data is saved, but the structure tree does not get updated yet. The update happens when you click on "Save" or on "ISP Manager" in the menubar.
Under the tab "Site Management" a customer's sites can be controlled. You can also add new sites. Sites can also be added subsequently.
4. Step: Assign Access Data
Go to the tab "Enter information ".
- User Name: Acustomer's username should be unique.
- Password: Enter the customer's password for logging in to the ISPConfig system. As soon as you click on "Save" the password becomes invisible in the password field. If a customer forgets his password you can reset it here.
5. Step: Enter Billing Information (Optional)
O n the tab "Bill" you can enter the information required for billing (address, invoice amount, billing intervals, payment arrangements). This information is optional.
6. Step: Save
Click on "Save".
2.2 Edit Customer Data
In the structure tree of the ISP Manager open the folder "Clients" and click on the customer you want to edit. Make the desired changes in the form "ISP Client" and click on "Save".
- Change Title: In some cases it might be necessary to change the title of a customer, e.g. if a second customer with the same name (such as Miller) has registered.
- Change a Customer's Master Data: If the address, telephone number etc. of a customer change, you can update the customer in the tab "Master Data" and click on "Save".
- Change Password: A new password can be set simply by filling out the field "Password".
- Billing Information: Click on the section "Billing Information" to edit a customer's information.
- Add / Edit Sites: See chapter II-3.
- Delete a Customer: Open the customer's form and click on "Delete".
Please note: A customer can only be deleted if no sites are assigned to him.
3 Sites
Site management can be handled in two ways: customer dependent and customer independent.
- Customer dependent Site Management: The tab "Site Management" in the customer's form lists a customer's sites . By clicking on "New" you can add new sites for the customer (see chapter II-3.1). By clicking on the IP address of a site you can see the site's details and make changes if necessary.
- Customer independent Site Management: In the folder "Sites" you can find customer independent sites. This assignment is done in the form header of the respective site in the field "Folder". The customer independent management of sites allows sites to be ordered by criteria such as the size of a site.
3.1 Adding a Site
A site is added as follows:
1. Step: Open the form "ISP Sites".
In the structure tree of the menu "ISP Manager" click on the customer to whom you want to assign the site. (If you want to add a site for a new customer, please add the customer first as described in chapter II-2.1.)
The form "ISP Client" shows up. Click on the tab "Site Management".
Click on the button "New".
If you have created hostingplans before (over the button "Hostingplan"), then select the appropriate hostingplan for the new site now, otherwise select "Individual Settings".
The form "ISP Site" appears.
2. Step: Assign title, folder and basic information.
- Title: This is the title under which the site will appear in the structure tree.
- Folder: Select the folder "Sites". Alternatively you have the possibility to create a new folder for the sites which you then can select here. Learn how to create folders in chapter II-4.1.1.
- Server: Select the server that will host the site.
- Hostname: Enter the hostname (e.g. www).
- Domain: Enter the domain of the site (e.g. mydomain.com).
- IP Address: Enter the IP address of the site.
- Create DNS: Click on "Create DNS" to create a DNS entry for the current site. After you have provided the other information for the site and have clicked on "Save" the DNS entry is created and can be edited by the administrator if necessary.
3. Step: Limit webspace, users and domains.
- Space MB: Enter the amount of MB that should be available to the site ("-1" means "Unlimited").
- Max. User: Enter the maximum number of users with email boxes that can be assigned to the site ("-1" means "Unlimited").
- Max. Domains: Enter the maximum number of co-domains that can be set up for the site ("-1" means "Unlimited").
4. Step: Activate site features.
- Shell Access: Allows the customer to use the linux shell. This is a security risk and should therefore only be granted in exceptional cases. Shell access includes FTP access.
- CGI Scripts: Allows the web server to execute cgi scripts in a certain directory (cgi-bin).
- PHP Scripts: Allows the web server to execute PHP scripts (file extensions .php, .php3, .php4).
- SSI: Activates Server Side Includes (SSI) (file extension .shtml).
- FTP Access: Allows the users assigned to a site to access the site or the users' directories via ftp.
- MySQL: Enables the creation of a database which is assigned to the site. If you supply a user name and password for the MySQL database in the tab "Other" the database will be created automatically.
- SSL Certificate: Enables the creation of an SSL certificate for the site. You still have to fill out the section "SSL" and select "Create Certificate" in that section to create the certificate. Learn more about applying for an SSL certificate in chapter III-2.4.1. If this field is not activated the tab "SSL" is not shown!
Please note: There can be only one SSL-capable site per IP address! - Anonymous FTP: Activate this to create an Anonymous-FTP account for this site.
Please note: There can be only one Anonymous-FTP account per IP address! - Anon. FTP MB: Please specify the storage space in MB that should be available for the Anonymous-FTP account. "-1" means "Unlimited". If "Anonymous FTP" is not activated this field is ignored.
- Apache Direktives (Optional): This field is available to you as a reseller only if the ISPConfig administrator has activated it for you. It offers you the opportunity to write additional Apache directives into the site's virtual host container manually. These directives will undergo a syntax check. If the syntax check gives back an error the directives will be commented out automatically so that the Apache web server cannot die.
5. Step: User administration.
O n the tab "User & Email " in the form "ISP Site" new users are added / existing ones are managed.
Learn more on how to add users in chapter III-2.2.1.
6. Step: Domain administration.
O n the tab "Co-Domains" new co-domains are added / existing ones are managed.
Learn more on how to add co-domains in chapter III-2.3.1.
7. Step: Save.
Click on "Save".
3.2 Edit Sites
In order to edit a site you have to open the corresponding site form first. This can be done in two ways:
- Customer dependent: In the structure tree click on the customer whose site you want to edit. Then click on the folder "Sites" and select the site you wish to edit.
- Customer independent: In the structure tree click on the folder "Sites" and select the site which is to be edited.
The form "ISP Site" is loaded. Enter your changes and click on "Save".
- Change Title/Folder: In some cases it might be useful to change the title of a site and/or to move it to another folder. Simply enter a new title and/or select the new folder.
- Change Basic Data: Here you can change the basic data (host, domain, IP address).
- Change Limits (Webspace, Users, Domains): The shown limits can be changed by entering new values. "-1" means "Unlimited".
- Create DNS Entry: Check "Create DNS" and click on "Save".
- Change Access Data of a Site: As a reseller you are allowed to change the access information of a site (customers are not).To do so, go to the section "Access Data" and enter the username and the password.
- Add/Edit Co-Domains/Users: See chapters III-2.2 and III-2.3.
- Extend/Restrict Site Features: Features can be activated/deactivated with hindsight. Simply select/deselect the corresponding checkboxes in the tab "Basis".
- Delete Sites: Click on the button "Delete". The site will then be moved to the recycle bin. There you have two possibilities: restore the site or delete it finally (see chapter II-4.3).
3.3 Hostingplans
By clicking on the button "Hostingplan" you can create hostingplans (e.g. package "Professional" with 200 MB webspace, CGI, PHP, 3 MySQL databases, etc.). If you create a new site, you can select one of your previously defined hostingplans. The form for creating a new site will then show the properties of the selected hostingplan. If you do not want to use a hostingplan to create a site you can select "Individual Settings".
4 General Management Functions
The general management functions aim at sorting and managing customers and sites. This includes the handling of folders, the search function and the recycle bin.
4.1 Folders
The ISPConfig system allows the creation of new folders to provide a better overview of customers and sites. This allows you to sort your customers and sites alphabetically, by size etc.
4.1.1 Adding a New Folder
Creating a new folder is done as follows:
Click on the button "New folder".
Enter a title for the folder (e.g. "Customers A-K").
In the field "Folder" select the superior folder for the new folder (i.e. the parent folder).
Click on "Save".
Now you can see the new folder in the structure tree by opening its parent folder.
4.1.2 Moving a Site or Customer to another Folder
This is done as follows:
In the structure tree click on the corresponding document (site or customer).
In the field "Folder" select the new folder.
Click on "Save".
4.1.3 Editing Folders
This is how to move a folder:
- Move a Folder: In the structure tree click on the pen next to the folder you want to move.
If necessary change the name of the folder. In the field "in Folder" select the folder where the current folder should move to. Click on "Save".
- Delete a Folder: In the structure tree click on the "B" next to the folder you want to delete. Then click on "Delete".
Please note: The whole contents of the folder will be deleted too (i.e. the folder and its contents will be moved to the recycle bin from where you can restore/delete everything).
4.2 The Search Function
You can search for customers or sites on the basis of specific criteria.
This can be done as follows:
Click on the button "Search".
Specify what you are looking for (sites or customers) and click on "Next" (>>).
- Site Search: The search criteria for sites are: host, domain, IP address and webspace.
- Customer Search: The search criteria for customers are: company, last name, first name, street, postal code and town.
Enter your search criteria and click on "Search".
You can edit or delete each result by clicking on "edit" or "delete".
4.3 Recycle Bin
You can find all deleted customers, sites, users and domains in the recycle bin.
The recycle bin can be found at the bottom of the structure tree and can be opened by clicking on it.
- Empty Recycle Bin: By clicking on "Empty recycle bin" all documents in the recycle bin are deleted permanently.
Restore documents:
- Restore Customers: If you restore a customer all documents related to that customer (e.g. sites, domains and users) will also be restored.
- Restore Sites: If you restore a site all documents related to that site (e.g. domains and users) will be restored, too.
- Restore Domains: A domain can only be restored if the site to which it is assigned is not in the recycle bin.
- Restore Users: See above ("Restore Domains").
Please note : Domains and users use different symbols.
5 Statistics
The ISPConfig statistics contain information about the usage of storage space and about the traffic.
5.1 Customer Statistics
As a reseller you can find information about the server traffic caused by your customers by selecting the corresponding customer in the structure tree.
The form "ISP Client" is loaded. In the tab "Statistics" you can find statistics about the web-, email- and FTP-traffic of the respective customer.
5.2 Web Statistics
In the form "ISP Site" you can find statistics about the corresponding site (web statistics).
The web statistics contain the following elements:
- Storage Space and Usage: Information about the total storage space for the site and the actual usage of the storage space. The storage space limit can be edited on the tab "Basis".
- Traffic: You can see the traffic of the current month (web, email, FTP) as well as the traffic of the last four years (if available).
5.3 Webalizer Statistics
If the statistics software "Webalizer" is installed on the server, the Apache log files of the sites on the server are analysed once a night, and new statistics are created. You can see them in the folder "stats" of the respective site, e.g. http://www.domain.tld/stats/.
The statistics are password protected. To login there are the following possibilities:
- If no user has been created for the site (on the tab "User & Email"), you can login with the user name "admin" and the password "stats".
- If users have been created for the site, you can login with every valid user name/password combination.
Please note: If you have created a new site, the Webalizer statistics are not yet available because Webalizer is run only once a night. After 24 hours at the latest the first statistics should have been created.
6 Web-FTP/Password Protection of Directories (.htaccess/.htpasswd)
Web-FTP and password protection of directories are treated in chapter III-4.
7 Salutatory Emails and Standard Index Pages
Under Tools -> Welcome Mail you can create salutatory emails for new customers. Salutatory emails will be sent automatically when a new customer is created and if the field "email" in the customer's master data contains a valid email address. This way you can send new customers information about their new accounts automatically.
Under Tools -> Standard Index you can specify HTML code for standard index pages with your own corporate identity, for example. The standard index pages will be created when a new site is created.