Set up the basic settings in WHM on your VPS or dedicated server

What is WHM?

WHM stands for Web Host Manager. It is a control panel for the whole server. Think of it as the main office of a building. Each hosting account is one room inside. The room owners use cPanel. You, the server owner, use WHM.

You need root access for this guide. Root is the main administrator login of the server. Your welcome email has the server details.

Steps

1. Open your browser. Type your server address, then a colon and 2087. For example, https://your-server-ip:2087.
2. If the browser warns about the certificate, continue. This is normal on a new server.
3. Log in with the user name root and your root password.
4. Follow the setup wizard if WHM shows one. It asks the same questions listed below.
5. In the left search box, type Basic WebHost Manager Setup. Open it.
6. Enter your contact email address. WHM sends alerts there, so use one you read often.
7. Fill in the main server name (hostname). A hostname is the name of your server, like server.example.com. It should be a name you control.
8. Set the nameservers. Nameservers tell the internet where your domain's records live. Use the ones from your welcome email, or see the private nameserver guide.
9. Choose the main network device (the network card) if WHM asks.
10. Set the server time zone with Server Time in the search box.
11. Click Save Changes at the bottom.

Other settings worth a look

• Tweak Settings: general options such as mail and PHP limits.
• Change Root Password: set a long, strong password.
• Initial Quota Setup: turns on disk limits for accounts, if it is not on.
• Configure cPanel Cron Jobs and Backup Configuration: check that backups run.

Need help? Open a ticket at https://secure.hostvento.com/submitticket.php.

Quick recap

• WHM is the server-wide control panel. It runs on port 2087.
• Log in as root.
• Set your contact email, hostname, nameservers and time zone.
• Use a strong root password and check that backups run.