Configuring Servers – WHM (Part 1)

How to Access WHM –

1. Enter the URL to access WHM in your web browser.

https://ip:2087

http://ip:2086

You can also use the following URLs to access WHM

https://domain.tld/whm

https://ip/whm

http://domain.tld/whm

http://ip/whm

Note: replace “ip” with your server’s IP address or replace “domain.tld” with your domain name.

To Log In :

2. Enter the username.  This should be “root”.
3. Enter the password.
4. Click the OK button.

Hostname A Entry Missing! Warning

You will likely see a warning concerning a missing hostname A record when you log in for the first time.  We will be addressing this issue later in the tutorial, so we will just ignore the warning for now by closing the warning.

Configure Server Settings –

Now that we are logged in, let’s configure some of the server settings.

1. Click the Basic cPanel/WHM Setup link.

Main Shared Virtual Host IP –

By default, the primary IP address of the server is set to be the Main Shared Virtual Host IP.  This is the most common configuration for servers.  However, we can change this to use a different IP address on the server if we wish.

 

Server Contact Email Address –

Email accounts using the primary domain will need to be created in the cPanel for that domain after the account is added.

Setting Default Name Servers –

Your name servers will need to be registered to point to IP addresses on the server through your registrar. WHM gives you the option to specify four (4) namesevers. However, most of the time, only two are used.

Save Changes

3. Click the Save button.

Reset the Root Password –

1. Click the Change Root Password link.
2. Enter the New Password.
3. Enter the password again in Confirm New Password.
4. Click the Change Password button.

Initial Quota Setup –

Quota should already be enabled for the accounts on the server, so you should not need to use the Initial Quota Setup icon to enable them.

Server Time –

The server should already be pre-configured for Central Standard Time (CST).  You can use this option to change the timezone for the system time.

Tweak Settings –

1. Click over >>>Tweak Settings link.

Mail –

Setting the catch-all/default address behavior to “fail” will cause mail sent from non-existing addresses to your domains to be rejected by default by the server

Save Changes

2. Click the Save button.

Configure WHM/cPanel Updates

1. Click the Update Config link.
2. Click the Save button to save any changes.

Set Hostname in Networking Setup

1. Click the Hostname link.
2. Enter the New Hostname.
3. Click the Change button.

Nameserver IPs

The nameserver IP’s should already be assigned unless you changed the nameservers in the Basic cPanel/WHM Setup above and didn’t user the option thereto assign the IP address to the new nameservers.

Resolver Configuration

The Resolvers should already be configured to use the resolvers located at the datacenter.

Security Options

1. Click on over >>>Security Center link.
2. Click over >> Password Strength Configuration link.
3. Click over checkbox for Default Required Password Strength.
4. Enter a numeric value from 0 to 100.
5. Click the Save button.

Create Package –

1. Click the Home link at the top of the page.
2. Click the Packages icon.
3. Click the Add Packages icon.
4. Enter the New Package Name.
5. Change Max Parked Domains to “unlimited“.
6. Change Max Addon Domains to “unlimited“.
7. Select the cPanel Theme.
8. Select a Feature List.
9. Click the Add button.

DNS Functions-

1. Click the Home link at the top of the page.
2. Click the DNS Functions icon.

Edit Zone Templates –

3. Click the >> Edit Zone Templates icon.
4. Click the >> standard link.
5. Click the >>Save button to save any changes

Sender Policy Framework (SPF) –

1. Click over >> Home link to return to the mail screen.