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III Customer Manual

1 General

1.1 Login and Password

After you have received your user name and password and the url of the ISPConfig system from your reseller you can login. Please go to the URL of the ISPConfig system (e.g. https://www.domain.tld:81 ; "www.domain.tld" has to be replaced appropriately) with your browser and enter your user name and password in the form "Login". Confirm by clicking on "Login".


1.2 Customer Interface

The customer interface consists of the following sections:


1.3 ISPConfig Privileges for Customers

As an ISPConfig customer you can do the following tasks:

Privileges of a Customer

  • Read a web's basic data and statistics
  • Create and administrate users and email boxes
  • Create and administrate (sub)domains
  • Apply for SSL certificates (optional)
  • Administrate MySQL access data

Privileges of a user

  • Change the settings of his mailbox (password, spamfilter and antivirus settings)

1.4 Saving

The ISPConfig system offers you two possibilities to save data you enter into a form:


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 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 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 Sites

All sites you manage with ISPConfig appear in the structure tree. By clicking on the title of a site you can see its details and edit some of its data.

2.1 Basic Data of a Site

The basic data - visible on the tab "Basis" - can only be edited by your hosting company and the ISPConfig administrator.



The basic data contains the following information:

Basic Data:

Information about the limits:

To see the current usage of your site (webspace, number of users and domains) go to the section "Statistics" (see chapter III-3).

Information related to site features:
The value "1" indicates that the feature is activated.

2.2 Users & Email

The management of a site's users and email boxes is done via the form "ISP Site". To add or edit a user click on the corresponding site in the structure tree and in the form that opens go to the tab "User & Email".


2.2.1 Adding a User with an Email Box

Adding a user is done in 6 steps:

1. Step: Open new form "ISP User".

In the structure tree click on the site to which you want to assign the new user.

Go to the tab "User & Email".

Click on the button "New".



2. Step: Provide a name, user name and password.

3. Step: Limit storage space of the user.

This is recommended if the overall webspace is low. In the field "Disk Space MB" enter the amount in MBs you want to assign to the new user. "-1" means "Unlimited".

See appendix 1 "Correlation Webquota <-> Mailquota" for information about the correlation between "WebSpace MB" and "MailSpace MB".


4. Step: Options.

The options can be selected now or later.

5. Step: Save.

Click on "Save" to save the new user, click on "Reset" to abort the process.

2.2.2 Email Forwarding

The creation of an email forward is useful if the user of the mailbox already owns an email address and does not want to have another one.

C lick on the name of the user on the tab "User & Email".

Go to the tab "Advanced Settings" and enter the email address to which incoming mails should be forwarded in the field "Forward:".

Click on "Save".

2.2.3 Email Alias - Different Spellings

The creation of an email alias makes sense for example if many emails do not arrive because the sender used another spelling of the email address.

O n the tab "User & Email" click on the name of the user.

Go to the tab "Advanced Settings". In the field "Email Alias" enter your desired aliases (e.g. different spellings like "meyer", "maier") (one per line). An alias is the part in front of the �@� so you need not enter something like �@mycompany.com�.

Click on "Save".

2.2.4 Email Autoresponder

With the autoresponder you have the possibility to automatically send replies to incoming mails (e.g. if you are on holidays).

Check "Autoresponder" and enter your autoresponder message in the field "Message" below. To deactivate the autoresponder, simply uncheck "Autoresponder".

2.2.5 Virus- and Spam-Protection

On the tab "Spamfilter & Antivirus" you can enable virus and spam protection for a user's inbox.

2.2.6 Mailuser Login

If the Mailuser Login is activated for a site (tab "Basis"), a user can make changes himself to his email settings (password, spamfilter and antivirus settings) by logging in under https://www.domain.tld:81/mailuser or. http://www.domain.tld:81/mailuser:

2.2.7 Delete Users and Email Boxes

In the structure tree select the site to which the user you want to delete is assigned.

In the form "ISP Site" go to the tab "User & Email" and select the user to be deleted.

Click on "Delete".

2.2.8 Activate Shell Access

Since this feature is a security risk it will only be granted in exceptional cases by server administrators.

This feature is active if you find the value "1" next to "Shell Access" on the tab "Basis". If this is the case this privilege can be given to users of the site.

To do this go to the tab "User & Email".

Select a user.

Check "Shell Access" in the form of the user and click on "Save".

2.2.9 Home Directory of a User

Every user of a site has his own home directory in the folder "user". For example, the user "testuser" has the home directory "user/testuser". If FTP access is allowed for the site a user (if he is not the site administrator, see chapter III-2.2.1) will find himself in his home directory after the FTP login (thus "user/testuser").

In every home directory you can find the folder "web" whose contents can be reached through the internet via

http://www.domain.tld/~testuser/

or

http://www.domain.tld/users/testuser/ ,

where "testuser" and "www.domain.tld" have to be replaced appropriately. .

2.3 Co-Domains

The administration of domains is done on the tab "Co-Domains" of a site. Here you can add new domains and configure forwards.

2.3.1 Add a Co-Domain

You can add a new co-domain as follows:

1. Step: Open form.

In the structure tree select the site to which you want to assign a new domain.

Go to the tab "Co-Domains".


Click on the button "New".

2. Step: Enter host and domain name.

3. Step: Save.

Click on "Save" to save the information or on "Reset" to abort the process.

2.3.2 Forwarding

The option "Forward" is useful if you want domains to point to another URL or to another folder of the site than the Document Root.

A forward is created as follows:

Click on the corresponding site in the structure tree.

Go to the tab "Co-Domains".

Click on the IP address of the domain.

Click on the tab "Forward". Here you can specify the target of the forward, e.g. another URL or a path to a directory of your site.


Forward to a URL



Forward to the folder "documents" in the folder "web" of the site

Click on "Save".

2.3.3 Options

Under "Options" you can select if the local server is responsible for emails targeted to this co-domain ("Local Mailserver", default value) or not (the emails are treated by an external mail server).

Background: May an external mail server be responsible for the domain domain.tld. You are logged in on the local server (e.g. with a webmail interface) and want to send an email to another mailbox of domain.tld which means that this mail has to be sent to the external mail server because it is responsible for emails to domain.tld. If you have selected "Local Mailserver" under "Options" the local mail server will feel responsible for this email which means the email will not leave the local server and arrive the correct mail box. For such cases you have to select "External Mailserver" (see chapter III-2.6).

2.3.4 Delete a Co-Domain

A co-domain is deleted as follows:

Select the corresponding site in the structure tree.

Go to the tab "Co-Domains".

Click on the IP address of the domain.

Click on "Delete".

2.4 SSL Certificate

An SSL certificate is useful to encrypt the data transfer between your site and the internet. You can only apply for a certificate if your reseller or the admin has activated this feature for you. In this case you will find the value "1" next to "SSL" on the tab "Basic Data" of your site.

2.4.1 Apply for an SSL Certificate

1. Step: Open tab / enter basic data.

Go to the section "SSL" of the site you need an SSL certificate for. Please note: The tab "SSL" is only visible after the feature "SSL" has been activated and saved on the tab "Basic Data".

2. Step: Apply for the certificate.

In the field "Action" select "Create Certificate".

Click on "Save".

Now the SSL Certificate and the SSL Request are generated and loaded into the respective fields in the form. Copy the SSL Request and send it to your Certificate Authority (CA). After a while (depending on your CA) you will get your signed certificate via email from your CA.

After you got your certificate from your CA:

3. Step: Load certificate.

Copy the new certificate from the email you got from your CA and paste it into the field "SSL Certificate".

In the field "Action" select "Save Certificate".

4. Step: Save.

Click on "Save".

2.4.1 Delete SSL Certificate

On the tab "SSL" select "Delete Certificate" in the field "Action".

Click on "Save".

2.5 MySQL Database

If you find the value "1" next to "MySQL" on the tab "Basic Data" then a MySQL database is available for the virtual site. If you want to use it you should protect it with a password:

Go to the tab "Options".

Click on "New".

In the field "Password" enter your MySQL password.

Please note: A database is created only after a password has been entered for the first time! If a database exists (which means a password has been provided before) it looks like this:

The password is not visible for security reasons. But it can be changed at any time simply by writing a new password into the field "Password".

Click on "Save" to save this information. Click on "Reset" to abort the process.

2.6 Options

Apart from the details referring to the MySQL database you can find the following fields on the tab "Options":

3 Customer Statistics

3.1 Site Statistics

On the tab "Statistics" you can find statistics covering the following areas:

3.2 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:

  1. 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".



  2. 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.

4 Web-FTP/Password Protection of Directories (.htaccess/.htpasswd)

If you do not have an FTP client or do not like to use it the ISPConfig system offers you the possibility to use FTP functionality via your browser.

The following functionality is offered by Web-FTP:

To use Web-FTP please select the respective site under "Web-FTP":

After your selection the file system of the corresponding site is shown in the structure tree.

Below the menubar you can find the three buttons "File Upload","New Folder", and "FTP Logout" .

4.1 Show Directory Contents

To see the contents of a folder click on the corresponding folder in the structure tree.

You will then be shown the contents of the directory.

4.2 File Properties

To edit file properties please click on the name of the file. You will then be shown the properties of the file.

You can now rename the file, move it to another folder or change its permissions.

4.3 Directory Properties

To see the properties of the site's basic directories "web", "user", "log", "cgi-bin" and "ssl" click on "/" in the structure tree.

If you click on a folder in the structure tree its subfolders will be shown.

The form "Folder" is loaded:

To see the properties of a folder please click on its name.

You can now edit the folder's properties.

4.3.1 Password Protection of Directories

You can protect a directory in a way that its contents is accessible in a browser only after a valid user name/password combination has been entered (see chapter III-3.2, "Webalizer Statistics").

Click on "Protect Directory".

Enter a user name and a password and click on "Save".

If a directory is password-protected the button "Protect Directory" is replaced by the button "Edit" in the form with the directory properties. If you click on this button existing users will be listed, and you can edit their passwords. In addition to that you can add new users.

4.4 File Upload

To upload files to the server click on the button "File Upload". The form "File" is loaded.

Select the file to be uploaded from your local hard disk as well as the folder where the file should be saved on the server, and specify the permissions of the file. Then click on "Save".

4.5 Create a Folder

To create a folder click on the button "New Folder". The form "Folder" is loaded where you can specify its name, path and permissions.

4.6 Delete Files and Folders

To delete a file or a folder please click on the "X" on the right side of its name.

Please note: A directory has to be empty before it can be deleted!

5 Additional Software

The following additional software is available for the ISPConfig system:

If the ISPConfig administrator has installed these applications you can find links for them under "Tools".

5.1 Webmail

The application used as email interface is called "Uebimiau". Further information can be found on the website of the Uebimiau project: http://uebimiau.sourceforge.net/ .

The application can be accessed via the link under "Tools" or via the folder "webmail" which is located in the web of the ISPConfig system, thus https://www.domain.tld:81/webmail/ where www.domain.tld has to be replaced appropriately.

5.2 phpMyAdmin

Further information about phpMyAdmin can be found under http://www.phpmyadmin.net/ .

The application can be accessed via the link under "Tools" or via the folder "phpmyadmin" which is located in the web of the ISPConfig system, thus https://www.domain.tld:81/phpmyadmin/ where www.domain.tld has to be replaced appropriately.

 

Appendix

1 Correlation Webquota <-> Mailquota

The following correlation exists between webquota and mailquota (see chapter III-2.2.1):

There are two possible scenarios:

  1. The hard disk is partitioned RedHat like, i.e., quota is enabled on the /home partition; on the other partitions there is no quota. Then "WebSpace MB" specifies the real web space available to the user; his mail box is not included in this storage space because it is under /var/spool/mail. The size of the email box is then specified by "MailSpace MB".
  2. The hard disk is partitioned SuSE like, i.e., there is one big partition with quota enabled on it. Then "WebSpace MB" specifies the whole storage space including the mail box which is available for the user. The mail box is included because the directory /var/spool/mail is also on the partition where quota is enabled.
    "MailSpace MB" then specifies the size which the mail box can have in ideal case, i.e., if the user has enough unused space. Example: You give the user "testuser" 10 MB under "WebSpace MB" and 5 MB under "MailSpace MB". "testuser" has used 1 MB of his 10 MB in his home directory, i.e., 9 MB are still available. Nevertheless his mail box cannot become bigger than 5 MB because that is the value specified under "MailSpace MB". But if "testuser" has used 7 MB in his home directory only 3 MB are left unused which means that his mail box cannot become bigger than 3 MB. The mail box size in the second scenario is the minimum of the two values "MailSpace MB" and "unused storage space".

The storage space used by all users of a web cannot become bigger the the value specified under "Space MB" on the tab "Basis" of a site.

 


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