Best Windows control panel

Stevio · 23rd February 2007

Helm or Plesk? Which do you think is best for Windows?

Are there any other decent ones? Hosting Controller perhaps.

Thanks.

(PS I know there is another thread looking at control panels but I wanted to specifically ask about Windows and the two control panels mentioned above.)

aguk · 23rd February 2007

The answers will be more peoples personal preferences rather than the actual "best one".

Some people like one control panel while others hate it.

Stevio · 23rd February 2007

Lol. Ok I shall rephrase. From people who have used both Plesk and Helm, which do they think, in their opinion, is the better control panel and why?

Cranky · 23rd February 2007

It depends a lot on your personal preferences. We use Plesk for Windows because we also use Plesk for Linux (platform parity helps us with marketing, and so my guys know what they're selling easier), I'm told it has the most features (I have no intention of checking that), the interface is intuitive and liked by most people, and I have an excellent working relatonship with SWsoft, Plesk's developers.

HELM's main advantage is it's natively designed to be multi-server so you can spread your services between multiple servers. Plesk is on its way towards this model now with Plesk Expand, but this costs more on top of the Plesk license fee (not much more though).

You'd need to try both to see which you prefer yourself, unless you have any specific requirements and we can let you know which CP has them.

I don't know who you are, so I'll ask... What are you looking for exactly? Do you want a CP to install on a VPS, a dedicated server, a bunch of your own servers to sell shared hosting, a bunch of servers to sell dedicated servers? There's a lot of pluses/minuses for each for both Plesk and HELM.

Stevio · 24th February 2007

I'm considering a dedicated server (and therefore considering what software to install). Finding a reliable hosting reseller account with reliable email is proving a very difficult task, so I may go down the dedicated server route. However, that route may be fraught with just as many difficulties, although if I had to go with someone just now it would be Giacom or Dedifast.

Cyberprog · 24th February 2007

HELM4 is a revelation for HELM, and i wouldn't be surprised that the new tcp/ip based communications wouldn't spell a linux version in the future

UKE-Craig · 24th February 2007

Helm gets my vote, been using it for a while now.

Even though I also love Plesk I would still choose Helm

.

Cranky · 24th February 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stevio

I'm considering a dedicated server (and therefore considering what software to install). Finding a reliable hosting reseller account with reliable email is proving a very difficult task, so I may go down the dedicated server route. However, that route may be fraught with just as many difficulties, although if I had to go with someone just now it would be Giacom or Dedifast.

Unless you have experience in managing Windows servers you'll most likely find this a lot less reliable than an experienced shared hosting provider.

web-project · 26th February 2007

My vote for Plesk fro Windows and cPanel for Linux.

Stevio · 27th February 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by UKE-Craig

Helm gets my vote, been using it for a while now.

Even though I also love Plesk I would still choose Helm

.

If you love Plesk why would you choose Helm over it?

Stevio · 27th February 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cranky

Unless you have experience in managing Windows servers you'll most likely find this a lot less reliable than an experienced shared hosting provider.

Why do you say that? Thanks.

thermaldegree · 27th February 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stevio

I'm considering a dedicated server (and therefore considering what software to install). Finding a reliable hosting reseller account with reliable email is proving a very difficult task

Have you tried lots of companies? Sounds like you're just having very bad luck :/

adamsmith · 27th February 2007

Having recently acquired a company running exclusively Helm 3, we're currently building a new Helm 4 based cluster with a view to eventually migrating everyone over and I have to say, it is a massive improvement and quite innovative in many ways. It's a long way from being bug free but so is Plesk!

WHA will give you a free trial license if you want to test it out.

Cranky · 27th February 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stevio

Why do you say that? Thanks.

Because any decent Windows providers will have experienced staff who are familiar with maintaining stable, reliable servers. If you're doing it yourself you may not necessarily have this experience and so your stability could be at risk. Of course there's a lot of cowboy's around who don't have a clue what they're doing, but a good Windows host can be stable.

Obviously you do get the advantage of not being affected by other users if you have a dedicated server, but this isn't always enough.

Stevio · 27th February 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cranky

Because any decent Windows providers will have experienced staff who are familiar with maintaining stable, reliable servers. If you're doing it yourself you may not necessarily have this experience and so your stability could be at risk. Of course there's a lot of cowboy's around who don't have a clue what they're doing, but a good Windows host can be stable.

Obviously you do get the advantage of not being affected by other users if you have a dedicated server, but this isn't always enough.

Finding a decent Windows provider is the problem however. Even with a dedicated server however, you are still relying on the company and their expertise.