How to install next to cPanel?

I have a VPS running CentOS 5 and cPanel/WHM. But I would like to try using Virtualmin GPL, as I think it will be a better fit for my needs. I do already have a reseller account and domains setup through cPanel/WHM.

So I decided to take my chances running the gpl install.sh script. I got dependency errors. I’m not sure if that’s directly related to the fact that domains have been configured, or that cPanel is installed, or what, but I’m attaching my log file below.

Can someone please help me figure out what actually went wrong? Also, is there some way to install this (perhaps manually) so that it doesn’t conflict with cPanel? I still want to keep cPanel/WHM on there until I know I’ve got this all setup and working correctly. Or will they conflict anyway?

I could really use some help, I’m anxious to get away from cPanel’s clunky way of doing things, and Virtualmin seems like just the thing.

It might be tricky to run cPanel and Virtualmin on the same system, they’ll likely both try to do things a bit differently, and could cause some trouble.

You might consider setting up a Virtual Machine somewhere, perhaps using the free version of VMware on your desktop, and give Virtualmin a try there.

The easiest way to get Virtualmin to be able to manage your current setup is to set it up on a new server, and import the cPanel backup for all of your domains.

The Virtualmin installer (install.sh) works best on a fresh server, it won’t work properly on an existing system with live domains.

If you wanted to try and finagle Virtualmin onto your current system, you may be able to coax it by performing a manual install, as described here:

http://www.virtualmin.com/documentation/installation/manual

But again, if at all possible, you’ll probably want to try and start with a fresh server, and migrate to Virtualmin by importing the backups of your existing domains.

-Eric

Running cPanel/WHM alongside Virtualmin is definitely not going to work.

I just answered a very similar query via email about whether Virtualmin can run alongside Plesk. Different control panel, but the facts are roughly the same with cPanel/WHM. Since I’d mostly be repeating myself, I’ll just copy/paste that here:

No. Plesk replaces significant portions of the OS with their own versions. I seem to recall that their Apache, Postfix, and other packages, are in odd locations and have odd defaults, and so would not be easy to make work with Virtualmin.

And that doesn’t even begin to address the fact that both Virtualmin and Plesk have their own incompatible meta-data (things like user and database permissions and quotas and mail settings and such) and very different ways of configuring services. While Virtualmin respects almost all configuration done outside of the control of Virtualmin, Plesk does not…and so anything ever done with Plesk would clobber Virtualmin configuration.

Most hosting providers offer an OS re-image service to revert a system to its pristine state. Removing Plesk will probably save your client some money on the monthly fee, as well, since most hosts charge >$15/month for Plesk.

In short, you can’t realistically do what you’re asking. The two control panels will conflict in serious ways, and there is no way to safely use them simultaneously.