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What Is SolusVM?

SolusVM (Virtual Manager) is a virtual private server (VPS) management system designed to work with VPS hosting packages. It has a web-based customizable UI for managing VPSs, integrates with popular billing systems, and supports several of the most widely used virtualization technologies. These features make it an exceptional choice for resellers.

Why Should I Choose SolusVM Hosting?

If you’re interested in providing cloud-based hosting plans as a reseller, Solus Virtual Manager (SolusVM) is a good place to start. In addition to allowing you to build and manage your own Virtual Private Servers (VPS) on your hosted Web server, SolusVM allows you to provide Linix-driven VPS, Cloud, and Reseller hosting packages to your own clients.

A complete VPS management solution, SolusVM allows you total control over as many VPS accounts as your hardware and resources can support. You can easily create, suspend, reboot, reinstall, upgrade, back up, or track the bandwidth and storage usage of all your servers from the administrator panel.

Fully automated backups for all your servers, along with rebuild and reinstall options from a variety of media (including templates, disk images, and network storage) mean plenty of peace of mind for both you and your clients should problems arise. Clients also have access to an optional recovery console that grants access to their server even in the event of a network configuration error.

Features of SolusVM

Need to tweak your user experience? You can customize the interface to match your branding, and a range of fully developed Application Program Interfaces (APIs) means SolusVM is extremely developer-friendly as well. Plus, you can grant your clients as much (or as little) management control on their servers as you like. Here is a brief overview of SolusVM’s features:

Support for several virtualization technologies

• OpenVZ
• Xen Paravirtualization
• Xen HVM
• Linux KVM.

Web-based VPS management interface

• Change server status
• Change VPS hostname
• Change root password
• Enable API access
• Check usage statistics
• Manage PTR/Reverse DNS records
• View SolusVM log.

Integration with client billing and support systems

• WHMCS
• AWBS
• Blesta
• Hostbill
• Ubersmith.

Backup and database repair

• Automated VPS backup
• Offsite VPS backup
• Database backup
• Database repair.

Custom UIs and OS templates

• Customizable client area templates
• Custom client pages
• Multi-language support.

One of the most attractive features of SolusVM is its support for several of the most widely used virtualization technologies. All of these technologies provide the features required for virtualization, but they vary in terms of platform support and approach. This makes SolusVM a good choice for a wide range of virtualization needs.

Which Virtualization Technology Should I Choose?

SolusVM supports a wide range of virtualization technologies. The question is: which one is right for you. Here is some information that should help you compare options and make a choice.

OpenVZ is built on top of Linux for x86, x86_64, and IA64 platforms. It virtualizes the operating environment instead of the hardware, so there is only one instance of an OS (Linux) on which multiple programs run in isolation. Using OpenVZ therefore restricts you to an all-Linux virtual environment with only Linux-compatible software. On the other hand, OpenVM supports mass management (a single script can update all VPSs in the system) and, because of the way it does virtualization, it is especially good at providing dynamic resource sharing. This results in better utilization of the server’s resources. OpenVZ’s virtualization approach makes it suitable for databases and email servers.

Xen is built for x86, x86-64, Itanium, and PowerPC platforms. Unlike OpenVZ, an Xen system using Paravirtualization virtualizes at the hardware level. It uses one privileged operating system to control the hardware, and multiple guest operating systems to control the software. The privileged OS must be a Unix-based one like Linux or FreeBSD, but the guest OSs can be Windows, Linux, Solaris, and various versions of BSD. Xen’s approach maximizes full virtualization and full separation of the VPSs and supports the widest range of operating systems. Xen is an excellent choice if you run CPU-intensive software and is suitable for VoIP, proxy, and VPN servers.

Linux KVM is a virtualization technology for Linux running on x86 platforms that contain the Intel-VT or AMD-V virtualization extensions. Linux KVM uses the same approach as Xen with a privileged OS running on Linux and guest OSs running on Linux or Windows.

Do I Need SolusVM if I’m Not a Reseller?

If you are not a reseller but are using VPS hosting to operate a website and run applications, you probably do not need SolusVM. Although SolusVM has the management features you need, its management UI and integration with billing systems make it particularly useful for a reseller’s client management and support needs. For your needs, a tool such as cPanel is probably sufficient.

How Do I Install SolusVM?

Some VPS hosting packages come with SolusVM already installed. Talk to your provider to see if SolusVM is installed and, if yes, how to access it.

If your provider does not offer SolusVM, you can purchase a license on the SolusVM website or through a distributor. Pricing depends on whether you want a master license or a slave only license. The site also offers a 15-day trial. All licenses are instantly activated. Before purchasing a license, however, look for a hosting provider with a reseller package that includes SolusVM licensing. If you do purchase a license yourself, consult your hosting provider about requirements and any compatibility issues before you go ahead with the install.

SolusVM Requirements

Supported Hosting Operating Systems

• CentOS 5/6
• RHEL 5/6 (RHEL 7 is in testing stage)
• Scientific Linux 5/6.

Partitioning

Xen PV/HVM Host: / 80GB+ (XEN templates and iso’s will be stored in /home/solusvm/xen); SWAP 4GB max (Virtual servers won’t use the host swap); Logical Volume Group (LVM) remaining space (Logical Volume Group Only, SolusVM will create the logical volumes for the virtual servers inside this group)

KVM Host: / 80GB+ (KVM templates and iso’s will be stored in /home/solusvm/kvm); SWAP 4GB+ (Virtual servers may use host swap if there is a real memory shortage); Logical Volume Group (LVM) remaining space (Logical Volume Group Only, SolusVM will create the logical volumes for the virtual servers inside this group)

OpenVZ Host: / 10GB; SWAP 2 times RAM (if RAM ⇐2GB otherwise RAM + 2GB is plenty); /vz remaining space (templates & virtual servers will be stored here)

What are some alternatives to SolusVM for managing VPS hosting?

If SolusVM is not available from your hosting provider out of the box with your hosting solution, a license can be purchased for a very affordable monthly rate. That said, there are a wide variety of alternatives on the market for managing VPS hosting.

There are six commonly recommended open source alternatives to SolusVM. They include highly popular platforms like Proxmox Virtual Environment and Archipel to less frequently suggested solutions like Xen Orchestra, OpenNode Cloud Platform, HyperVM and WebVirtMgr.

On the commercial side, there are really only two major players to consider: VirtKick and VirtPanel.

The Verdict

SolusVM is useful to anyone with a VPS hosting package who wants to manage and monitor their VPSs, including developers, webmasters, and anyone who runs a resource-intensive site. Its simple and customizable VPS management interface and integration with popular billing systems make it is an exceptionally smart choice for resellers.