This is a guide to setting up a new WHM/cPanel Server to be used for web hosting accounts. It is intended for web hosting company administrators and dedicated server owners. For under $99 per month, it is easier than ever to manage and run your own dedicated server. You can have guaranteed uptime from your datacenter, and outsourced support starting at $30/month. All you need to do is set up the server and get going. Whether it is for a web hosting company or a couple of personal websites, an inexpensive linux server is powerful, reliable, and easy to setup.
WebHostManager(WHM) is a common linux based tool for managing websites on a server. cPanel is a common control panel to manage an individual website. It allows you to add email accounts, view stats, make backups, install programs, etc. These 2 tools are the most inexpensive set used commonly to manage hosting accounts, and you will find them very prevalent in the budget shared hosting world. It usually adds about $20/month to the cost of a dedicated server but provides most of the features of the more expensive tools.
Whenever you order a dedicated server from a datacenter, you will receive a welcome email with details of the server including the server name, ip addresses, and root password. This information will allow you to setup and configure WHM so that you can host websites and use your own custom Domain Nameserver instead of a raw IP address.
The first thing you need to do is the setup of WebHostManager(WHM). This includes configuring the default Domain nameservers, main IP address, and server contact email address.
1) Login to root WHM (http://
2) In the left margin, click Next to run the setup wizard
3) Agree to the end-user license agreement
4) Edit setup
a. Server contact email address: info@yourdomain.com
b. Default Cpanel theme: x
c. Default home directory: /home
d. Home directory prefix: home
e. Main shared virtual host IP: xx.xxx.xxx.xx (should be main IP of server)
f. Hostname: server.yourserver.com
g. Primary nameserver: dns1.yourserver.com
h. Secondary nameservers: dns2.yourserver.com
i. Leave everything else unchanged
j. Click Save
Next, you need to setup the system quota. To do this follow these instructions: 5) Click Next Step in left margin