17 March 2013

How to: WHM Initial Setup


Access WHM

To access the WHM interface:
Type https://IP:2087 in your preferred web browser.
IP is meant to stand for the IP address of your web server.
Use root as the login name in the Username field.
Enter the root password into the Password field.
Click Login.

Initial Setup

When you log into WHM for the first time, you will see an Initial Setup screen. This feature will help you configure your server in 6 steps.



Step 1: Agreement

Please read the license agreement and click I Agree/Go To Step 2.
 Note: To view more information about this version of WHM, click View Release Notes.

Step 2: Setup Networking

This area allows you to define contact information. Required fields are marked with a red asterisk ().

Under the Contact Information heading:
1. In the Server Contact Email Address field, enter the email address at which you wish to be contacted if your server has a problem.
  • To receive news updates from cPanel via email, select Subscribe to cPanel News mailing list.
  • To receive updates about new cPanel releases via email, select Subscribe to cPanel Releases mailing list.

2. If you would like to be contacted via text messages, enter a phone number into the Server Contact SMS Address field.
3. If you would like to be contacted via AIM, click the Server Contact AIM Name checkbox.

  • Enter the contact AIM name into the resulting Server Contact AIM Name field. If you do not yet have an AIM contact name, you can click the Get a new AIM name link to create a new AIM account.
  • Enter the AIM name your server will use into the AIM Name to Send Alerts From field.
  • Enter the password for the server's AIM name into the Password for that AIM account field.

4. If you would like to be contacted via ICQ, click the Server Contact ICQ Number checkbox.

  • In the Server Contact ICQ Number field, enter the ICQ number at which you wish to be contacted. If you do not yet have an ICQ contact number, click Get a new ICQ number to create a new ICQ account.
  • In the ICQ Number to Send Alerts From field, enter the ICQ number your server will use to contact you.
  • In the Password for that ICQ account field, enter the password for your server's ICQ account.

Under the Hostname heading:

  • Enter your server's hostname into the This Server's Hostname field.

 Remember: The hostname, in this case, must be a fully qualified domain name (FQDN). FQDNs are domain names that specify the exact location from the top level user domain to the root domain, when read from right to left. This hostname will require you to use 2 dots (.), for example:
server.example.com.
You do not have to enter the trailing dot into the field.

About resolvers

Resolvers initiate DNS queries, in effect, allowing your server to find and convert human-readable domain names to machine-readable IP addresses. You will need to configure these resolvers in order for your server to work correctly. Resolver IP addresses can be obtained through your Internet service provider (ISP).

Under the Resolvers heading:

  1. Enter a primary resolver IP address into the Primary Resolver field.
  2. Enter a secondary resolver IP address into the Secondary Resolver field. Note: The primary and secondary resolvers are required fields.
  3. If you have a third resolver IP address, enter it into the Third Resolver field. Adding an additional resolver, though not required, is a good idea for helping ensure your server's uptime if anything should happen to either of your other resolvers.

Under the Main Network/Ethernet Device heading:

  1. In the Select the main network/Ethernet device menu, select the device you would like to use for your connection .
  2. Click Save & Go to Step 3.
You may go back to Step 1 by clicking the Go Back button.

Step 3: Setup IP Addresses

This area allows you to add IP addresses to your server.
 Remember: You will need at least 1 IP address to function as the primary IP address of your server. Without this IP address, visitors will not be able to access your server through the Internet.
If you wish to skip this step, click Skip This Step and Use Default Settings.

To add IP addresses:

1. Enter the new IP address(es) into the IP Address(es) to add field.

  • You may use CIDR notation to add multiple IP addresses simultaneously. You may refer to the Quick CIDR Reference Table on the right for more information.
  •  Remember: When using CIDR notation, enter the appropriate subnet mask for the range of IP addresses you wish to add.

2. Click Add Ip(s).

  • If you have already added IP addresses to your server, you can remove any IP addresses not in use by clicking Remove in the Current IP Addresses table.

3. Click Go to Step 4.

  • You may go back to Step 2 by clicking the Go Back button.

 Note: If you intend to use only 1 IP address on this server, click the Skip This Step and Use Default Settings button at the top of the page.

Step 4: Nameservers

This screen allows you to configure nameservers. Nameservers are responsible for spreading your server's DNS information throughout the Internet. DNS allows visitors to access websites on your server.

To configure a nameserver:


  • Select the nameserver software you would like to use, or disable local nameservers by clicking the corresponding button.
  •  Important: Read through the advantages, disadvantages, and notes before making a decision. The BIND nameserver software will be adequate for most servers.

Next, you will need to choose nameserver domains. You will need to add these at your domain registrar before they will work.

To add nameserver domains:

1. Enter the first nameserver into the Nameserver 1 field.

  • Most nameservers follow the naming convention ns1.example.com and ns2.example.com, where example.com stands for your domain name.

2. Enter the second nameserver into the Nameserver 2 field.

  • If possible, you should add nameserver domains to the Nameserver 3 and Nameserver 4 fields. Configuring additional nameservers in this way will prevent downtime if anything should happen to the first 2 nameservers.

The last step in configuring your nameservers is to add A entries for your nameservers and hostnames. A entries are records on your server that resolve domain names into their corresponding IP addresses.

To add A entries:


  1. Click the Add "A Entries" for all Nameservers checkbox.
  2. Enter the IP addresses for each of your nameservers.
  3. Click Add "A Entries" for Hostname if you would like to add an A entry for your server's hostname.
  4. If you clicked the Add "A Entries" for Hostname checkbox, enter the IP address for your server.
  5. Click Save & Go to Step 5.
  • You may go back to Step 3 by clicking the Go Back button.


Step 5: Services

This screen allows you to configure the services you and your clients will be able to use on the server. To use the default settings, click Skip This Step and Use Default Settings at the top of the screen.

To configure your services, select which, if any, FTP server software you would like to use.

To configure an FTP server:


  • Select the FTP server software you would like to use, or disable FTP, by clicking the appropriate button.
  •  Remember: Review the information within the Advantages, Disadvantages, and Notes fields before making a decision.


To configure a mail server:


  • Select the mail server you would like to use, or disable mail, by clicking the corresponding button.
  •  Remember: Review the information within the Advantages, Disadvantages, and Notes fields before making a decision.
  • If you're switching mail servers: If you wish to preserve settings for each mailbox as you migrate to the new mail server, click the checkbox under the Convert Mailbox Format heading. Unchecking this box will speed up the migration — however, you may lose your email settings.

The final step in configuring the services for use on your server is to select whether you would like to use our cPHulk software. cPHulk is a small program that will run in the background of your server to prevent people from successfully using a brute force attack to gain access to your server.

To enable and configure cPHulk:

1. Click the Enable cPHulk checkbox.
2. Use the checkboxes to determine:

  • Whether to extend lockout time for each additional failure past the limit.
  • Whether you will receive notifications when a brute force attack is detected.

3. You may access cPHulk's advanced settings by clicking the Configure Advanced Settings checkbox.
Using the advanced settings you can:

  • Specify the number of minutes you would like to block the IP address of a potentially malicious user (in the IP Based Brute Force Protection Period in minutes field).
  • Specify the number of minutes to lock an account in the Brute Force Protection Period in minutes field.
  • Specify the maximum number of failed authentication attempts allowed by an account in the Maximum Failures By Account field.
  • Specify the maximum number of failed authentication attempts allowed by a particular IP address in the Maximum Failures Per IP field.
  • Specify the number of failed authentication attempts before an IP is blocked for 2 weeks in the Maximum Failures Per IP before IP is blocked for two week period field.

4. Click Save & Go to Step 6.

  • You may go back to Step 4 by clicking the Go Back button.


Step 6: Set Up Quotas

This is the final stage of the Initial Setup process. You will need to select whether you would like to track disk usage on your server. This is generally a good idea if you plan to lease server space to individual users. However, if you do not plan to host individual accounts on your server, you may not need to enable quotas.

To set up quotas:

  • Select Use file system quotas.
  •  Remember: This is a good idea if you plan to host individual accounts on your server.

To disable quotas:

  • Select Do not use file system quotas.
  •  Remember: This is not a good idea if you plan to host individual accounts on your server.

Once you have finished, click the Finish Setup Wizard button. You will then be taken to the WHM homepage.

  • You may go back to Step 5 by clicking the Go Back button.

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