RE: [cobalt-developers] Cobalt GUI

["Rick Ewart" <cobalt@xxxxxxxxx>]

> Yes, why? You never heard of a monthly fee for software??
> 
> those sites I mentioned are the backbone's of webhosting 
> control panels, in
> which they maintain, support, and update.
> 
> Dave

I use Ensim Web Appliance on a few boxes and find it to be very good. It
isn't too expensive either - $450 for 250 domains and $599 for unlimited
domains for their Pro version (on special now). Comes w/ 30 days of
support.

They only have additional (post-purchase) fees for support (per
incident), and for their higher end products (I think - don't use them).
The support forums make the support almost unnecessary.

Its not quite as simple as Cobalt - its essentially an application
running on a linux box. You do a RedHat install according to their
instructions, then run their program. You need to keep up to date on
non-Ensim specialized rpms and applications, so it's a bit more work,
but I also think those boxes are more up-to-date than my Cobalts. It is
applicable for the Cobalt user who isn't completely afraid of the
command line and can do a bit there.

It also has a nice feature to help you pass control to resellers. The
only downside appears to be keeping them out of the shell (your
resellers will have the ability to allow shell to their clients). The
new Pro version has some extra security protection, though, so its
probably less of an issue.

They have a free 2 week trial if you have a box to test it on.

They seem decent, and raqshack has a good support forum - some good
folks on it, similar to these lists. While people bitch some, their
updates seem relatively timely, and/or you can update on your own as
they don't have quite as much "special sauce" in their setup.

Definitely worth the look. If nothing else, install RedHat for the
experience on a box, according to their directions. If you can get the
trial up and running without a lot of help, it probably is a go for you.

Rick