Control panel and server stack
DirectAdmin installation and configuration, CustomBuild setup and maintenance, PHP version management, PHP-FPM, Apache and Nginx.
DirectAdmin
DirectAdmin Server Administration and Managed Services
Axanti handles the installation, configuration, hardening, tuning, troubleshooting and migration of Linux servers running DirectAdmin.
Your server can be hosted with Axanti or with another provider.
Beyond the interface
Your DirectAdmin server needs more than a control panel
DirectAdmin makes many daily tasks easier: creating an account, adding a domain, managing a mailbox or installing a certificate. It still does not replace a system administrator.
Underneath the panel there is still a full Linux server: web services, PHP versions, databases, email, DNS, certificates, backups, security, updates and incidents to handle when they occur.
Axanti works on this whole environment, not only on the DirectAdmin interface, as a specialization of its Linux server administration and managed services.
What lives under the panel
- ✓Linux system
- ✓Web services
- ✓PHP
- ✓Databases
- ✓DNS
- ✓SSL
- ✓Backups
- ✓Security
- ✓Updates
- ✓Incidents
Scope of work
Full administration of a DirectAdmin environment
Depending on the environment and the agreed scope, Axanti can take care of all or part of the following.
Data, email and DNS
MySQL and MariaDB, email services, DNS zones and SSL certificates, based on the domains and applications hosted on the server.
Continuity and performance
Backups and restores, system and application updates, system diagnostics and performance tuning.
None of these tasks is automatically included in a contract: the exact scope is agreed with you based on the server, the hosted applications and the level of support you want.
Two ways to work together
One-time intervention or recurring support
One-time DirectAdmin intervention
For a specific need, on a server that already exists:
- ✓Server down or unstable
- ✓Error after an update
- ✓PHP no longer working
- ✓Apache or Nginx problem
- ✓Database
- ✓DNS
- ✓SSL certificate
- ✓Disk space
- ✓Migration
- ✓Configuration change
DirectAdmin managed services
For businesses and agencies that no longer want to administer the server day to day.
Recurring support covers maintenance, updates, security, backups and following the environment over time, with interventions carried out according to the agreed scope.
The exact content and frequency of the work are defined with you: there is no one-size-fits-all package, and the responsibilities handed to Axanti are written down before anything starts.
Existing server
Your DirectAdmin server can stay with your current provider
Already running DirectAdmin on a VPS or dedicated server with another provider? You do not have to move in order to get support.
When the environment and the access allow it, Axanti can administer that server where it is, or support the person who already looks after it.
A migration to Axanti is only suggested when it genuinely makes sense: performance, cost, reliability, security or the end of life of the current server.
- ✓Existing DirectAdmin VPS or dedicated server
- ✓Administrator access and scope confirmed beforehand
- ✓Migration suggested only when it makes sense
Server stack
CustomBuild, PHP-FPM, Apache and Nginx
These are the components you actually work with on a DirectAdmin server, and the ones behind most of the problems that show up.
CustomBuild
Managing the components and versions of the DirectAdmin server stack, adjusting configuration and keeping customizations in a supportable way, so that an update does not quietly undo what was tuned.
PHP and PHP-FPM
PHP versions available on the server, configuration, PHP-FPM pools and processes, then analysis of the PHP problems reported by the hosted websites.
Apache and Nginx
Configuration suited to the server and to the hosted applications. The right choices depend on the environment, the applications, their load and the available resources: there is no single setup that fits every server.
Security
Security and isolation
Access and firewall
Firewall, access control and SSH configuration, to limit what is exposed and who can connect to the server.
Updates and certificates
System and application updates followed over time, SSL certificates in place and renewed for the relevant domains and services.
Permissions and isolation
File permissions, account isolation where relevant, and the DirectAdmin mechanisms suited to the environment, such as jailed shells or per-account PHP-FPM isolation.
These mechanisms are not all enabled by default on a DirectAdmin server and do not suit every environment. What is relevant for your server is assessed before anything is put in place.
Migration
Migrating a DirectAdmin server
A DirectAdmin migration can cover user accounts, domains, websites, databases, email, DNS, SSL certificates, configurations and backups.
- ✓User accounts
- ✓Domains
- ✓Websites
- ✓Databases
- ✓DNS
- ✓SSL certificates
- ✓Configurations
- ✓Backups
We plan the switchover with you and keep the interruption as short as possible. Depending on the environment, a brief outage or a DNS propagation delay remains possible: we do not promise a zero-downtime migration.
01
Preliminary analysis
Inventory of the accounts, domains, applications, versions and particularities of the source server.
02
Version compatibility
Checking PHP versions, databases and components before anything is transferred.
03
Destination setup
Installing and configuring the target server so it can receive the environment.
04
Transfer
Copying accounts, websites, databases, email and configurations, then validating before the switchover.
05
DNS switchover
Adjusting records and propagation delays, planned with you according to the site activity.
06
Post-migration checks
Reviewing websites, email, certificates, scheduled tasks and logs once the switchover is done.
Takeover
Taking over an old DirectAdmin server
Plenty of DirectAdmin servers have been running for years without anyone really daring to touch them.
Axanti starts by reviewing what is in place before changing anything: installed versions, active services, scheduled tasks, customizations, access and dependencies. That step avoids breaking in one evening an environment that has been holding together for years.
The required work is then laid out in order of priority, separating what can be fixed in place from what would justify a fresh environment instead.
Common situations
- ✓Previous administrator no longer available
- ✓Poorly documented environment
- ✓Outdated PHP versions
- ✓Ageing system and services
- ✓Configuration piled up over several years
- ✓A server nobody dares to update
Quebec and Canada
DirectAdmin for web agencies and developers
You look after your clients’ websites, but you have no intention of becoming a Linux administrator.
Axanti can act as the infrastructure resource behind a web agency or a developer: the server, DNS, email, migrations, server incidents, PHP configuration and performance questions. You keep the client relationship and the work on the websites.
- ✓Linux and DirectAdmin servers
- ✓Migrations and takeovers
- ✓Security and performance
New infrastructure
Looking for a new server as well?
If you do not have your infrastructure yet, Axanti can also provide the server, set it up with DirectAdmin and administer it.
Managed VPS
For a project that has outgrown shared hosting and needs its own resources and control, without managing the technical side yourself.
See managed VPSManaged dedicated servers
For environments that need more power, storage or isolation, with the same technical support.
See dedicated serversYour server does not run DirectAdmin, or no control panel at all? The Linux server administration and managed services page covers every environment.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about DirectAdmin administration
The questions most often asked before handing a DirectAdmin server over to Axanti.
Can you administer a DirectAdmin server hosted elsewhere?
Yes, when the environment and the access allow it. Axanti can work on a DirectAdmin VPS or dedicated server hosted with another provider. A migration is only suggested when it becomes relevant.
Can you repair an existing DirectAdmin server?
Yes. We can review the state of the server, the logs, the web services, PHP, the databases, email and the operating system before proposing a fix. Feasibility and timing depend on the actual state of the environment.
Can you install and configure DirectAdmin on a new server?
Yes. Axanti can prepare a Linux server, install DirectAdmin, then configure CustomBuild, PHP versions, web services, databases, DNS, certificates and email for the intended workload. The DirectAdmin licence comes from its publisher and its cost is separate from the administration work.
Can you migrate a DirectAdmin server?
Yes. A migration can cover accounts, domains, websites, databases, email, DNS, certificates and configurations. We first check version compatibility and prepare the destination before the transfer and the DNS switchover. A short interruption remains possible depending on the environment.
Do you work with CustomBuild, PHP-FPM, Apache and Nginx?
Yes. These are the usual components of a DirectAdmin server: component and version management through CustomBuild, PHP versions and PHP-FPM pools, then Apache or Nginx configuration based on the hosted applications and the available resources.
Can you take over an old DirectAdmin server?
Yes. We start by reviewing what is in place — versions, services, scheduled tasks, customizations and access — before changing anything, then define the work needed to bring the environment back to a maintainable state.
Can I ask you for a one-time intervention only?
Yes. DirectAdmin administration can be provided for a specific intervention or as recurring support, according to the agreed scope.
Is DirectAdmin limited to servers hosted by Axanti?
No. We can administer a DirectAdmin server hosted with another provider when the access allows it. If you do not have infrastructure yet, Axanti can also provide a managed VPS or a managed dedicated server.
Have a web project, a server to manage or an idea to build?
Axanti can support you with a clear, professional solution adapted to your reality.