Newest KB Articles in HC Control Panel

Automated SSL Renewal in HC10 Control Panel

Tue, 04 Feb 2025 04:20:15 GMT

Overview: HC10 Control Panel includes a built-in mechanism to automatically renew SSL certificates from Let's Encrypt. This process ensures that SSL certificates are kept up to date without requiring manual intervention.

Automated SSL Renewal Process: HC10 utilizes Windows Task Scheduler to manage SSL certificate renewals. A task named "RenewLetsencryptSSL_0" is responsible for this operation. This scheduled task runs periodically to renew SSL certificates before they expire.

Managing SSL Renewals in HC10: Users can view and manage the automated SSL renewal settings in the HC10 Control Panel by following these steps:

Log in to the HC10 Control Panel.
Navigate to Configurations > Control Server Manager > Control Servers.
Click on Manage Advanced Operations.
Locate and verify the automated renewal settings for Let's Encrypt.

Additional Resources:

For more details on Automated SSL in HC10, visit:
Changing Website Basic Settings
To learn how to configure Let's Encrypt for Windows Websites in HC10, refer to:
How to Configure Let's Encrypt for Windows Websites

For further queries, feel free to send us an email at Support@hostingcontroller.com

How to Migrate HC10 Control Server to a New Server

Mon, 26 Aug 2024 11:18:06 GMT

Question: How to Migrate HC10 Control Server to a New Server:

Overview: This knowledge-based article provides a comprehensive guide for migrating the HC10 control server to a new server environment. Following these steps ensures a smooth transition while maintaining data integrity and system stability.

Procedure:

Update HC10 Control Panel on the Old Server:
- Download the latest build of HC10 Control Panel from [HC_x64.msi].
- Install the update on the existing HC10 control server.
Backup HC10 Old Server Database:
- Perform a full backup of the HC10 database on the old server.
- Transfer the backup file (.bak) to the new server securely.
Install Microsoft SQL on the New Server:
- Install Microsoft SQL Server on the new server.
- Ensure that the collation is set to "SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS".
- Refer to [Configuring Microsoft SQL Server for Hosting Controller v10] for detailed instructions.
Install the Latest HC10 Build on the New Server:
- Download the latest HC10 build using the link provided in Step 1.
- Install HC10 on the new server, selecting options for a new cluster and database during installation.
Restore Database Backup:
- After HC10 installation on the new server, restore the backup of the old server's database into the new SQL database server.
- Ensure data integrity by following standard database restoration procedures.
Update System and Display Name in SQL Table:
- Access the SQL database of the new HC10 installation.
- Navigate to the tblservers table.
- Update the "System" and "Display Name" fields with the Master server name and IP address of the master server respectively.
- This step ensures proper identification and configuration of the master server within the HC10 environment.

Important Note:

Ensure to install the same build of HC10 on the new server as was installed on the old server. Consistency in builds helps maintain system compatibility and functionality.

Conclusion: Following these steps will successfully migrate the HC10 control server to a new environment, ensuring minimal downtime and preserving data integrity. For further assistance or troubleshooting, please contact our support team at Support@hostingcontroller.com

How to Migrate HC10 Control Server to a New Server

Mon, 26 Aug 2024 11:13:31 GMT

Title: How to Migrate HC10 Control Server to a New Server:

Procedure:

Update HC10 Control Panel on the Old Server:
- Download the latest version (10.36) of HC10 Control Panel from [HC_x64.msi].
- Install the update on the existing HC10 control server.
Backup HC10 Old Server Database:
- Perform a full backup of the HC10 database on the old server.
- Transfer the backup file (.bak) to the new server securely.
Install Microsoft SQL on the New Server:
- Install Microsoft SQL Server on the new server.
- Ensure that the collation is set to "SQL_Latin1_General_CP1_CI_AS".
- Refer to [Configuring Microsoft SQL Server for Hosting Controller v10] for detailed instructions.
Install the Latest HC10 Build on the New Server:
- Download the latest HC10 build using the link provided in Step 1.
- Install HC10 on the new server, selecting options for a new cluster and database during installation.
Restore Database Backup:
- After HC10 installation on the new server, restore the backup of the old server's database into the new SQL database server.
- Ensure data integrity by following standard database restoration procedures.
Update System and Display Name in SQL Table:
- Access the SQL database of the new HC10 installation.
- Navigate to the tblservers table.
- Update the "System" and "Display Name" fields with the Master server name and IP address of the master server respectively.
- This step ensures proper identification and configuration of the master server within the HC10 environment.

Important Note:

Ensure to install the same build of HC10 on the new server as was installed on the old server. Consistency in builds helps maintain system compatibility and functionality.

Resolution for HC Panel loading slowly

Thu, 08 Apr 2021 06:22:51 GMT

Problem: HC10 Portal is loading slow on the server. How to resolve it?

Solution: There are several configurations that can be performed in IIS for application pools of both Hosting Controller Portal and Hosting Controller API websites for resolving this specific issue :

The steps mentioned below are valid for Windows Server 2012 and any later versions of Windows Operating Systems.

Worker process idle timeout Action

Every time an Application Pool’s idle timeout reaches (20 min is the default), IIS terminates (by default) worker process, and the first request after that termination has to go through all that initialization and compilation stuff all over again. This can be minimized by changing the setting of “Idle Time-out Action” to Suspend (instead of Terminate). This will improve the application load time for the first request after app-pool termination for being idle. Also, the value of the “Idle time-out” property of the app-pool can be increased a bit.

“Start Mode” is another property of the app-pool which improves application load time.

Application initialization module (IIS 7.5+)

This module will make the application pool perform all the heavy stuff even before the first HTTP request to the application. This will make the first HTTP request even faster because all the initializations stuff would already be performed by app-pool against any request sent by this module.

On Windows Server 2012 or any later versions, this is can be configured as follows :

Install the module from roles and features

Set “Start Mode” of application-pool to “Always running”, as already mentioned above

Set “Pre-load Enabled” to true from the website’s advanced settings in IIS

Reset IIS and wait for few seconds to let “Application Initialization” module do its job, and then browse the portal. HC10 login page will be loaded in same amount of time for every request including the first.

Note:

For HC10, make sure these settings are applied for both of HC10 websites (Hosting Controller Portal and Hosting Controller API ) and their application pools which are HCAppPool and HCAPIAppPool respectively.

If there are any ambiguities, queries or concerns regarding the above instructions, feel free to contact us at support@hostingcontroller.com

How to configure Let's Encrypt for Windows Websites?

Mon, 15 Mar 2021 07:51:59 GMT

Question: How can I configure Let's Encrypt for Windows Websites hosted on IIS WebServer, in HC panel ?

Answer:There is nothing required to be installed on Windows webserver for configuring LetsEncrypt on it with Hosting Controller control panel. Configuration steps for LetsEncrypt on Windows webserver with HC are given below :

Login into HC panel as a Global Admin user.
Open Cluster Settings by navigating to the menu Configurations >> Server Manager >> Cluster Settings and enable Name Based SSL (SNI)
From the top right corner of your screen, navigate to Configurations >> Server Manager >> Servers >> Edit WebServer.

Under Automated SSL Settings, select Automated SSL (LetsEncrypt) checkbox.
Under Account Email, specify the email address which you specified while installing certbot client on the WebServer machine. See the below screenshot for clarity :

After saving WebServer settings as mentioned above, follow the instructions to install free SSL certificate on your website using Let's Encrypt :

Navigate to the Website Dashboard from Provisioning >> Websites >> Dashboard and click on Install Automated SSL

2. Now install SSL on the website. To install specify password and click on Install button.

Note: The website must be registered and running on a live IIS Webserver prior to installing Let's Encrypt else SSL installation via Let's Encrypt will fail.

If there are still any queries or concerns regarding this kb article, feel free to contact us by sending an email to support@hostingcontroller.com

Unable to connect to Hyper-V Server in HC panel

Wed, 23 Dec 2020 06:02:50 GMT

Problem: While trying to configure the Hyper-V node, the Hosting Controller control panel throws the following error.

Error: Unable to connect to Hyper-V. Please check the log file for more details.

Reason: If HC Debug logs for Virtualization are opened on Primary Server, they reveal the error similar to the one below:

2020-12-23 06:05:34.3468|ERROR|HyperV.c4u5R8of9DCkisD2dp3|Hyper-V service could not be connected on computer "192.x.x.x". Access is denied. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x80070005 (E_ACCESSDENIED)).

To learn how to view Debug Logs, refer to this link: https://help.hostingcontroller.com/hc10/default.aspx#pageid=debugging_log

Solution: To rectify the issue, ensure that a proper username is specified in the "Admin User" field at Configurations >> Manage Servers >> Edit Hyper-V from the Global Admin level in the HC panel (refer to above screenshot).

If even after specifying the correct administrator credentials Hosting Controller throws the same error, try to connect using .\administrator in the "Admin User" field at Configurations >> Manage Servers >> Edit Hyper-V from the Global Admin level. This will resolve the issue (see above screenshot).

However, if the problem still persists, do not hesitate to contact support@hostingcontroller.com

HC10 panel is not able to connect to any machine where HC is installed on Windows Server 2019

Tue, 14 Jan 2020 12:59:06 GMT

Question : I have installed Hosting Controller on Windows Server 2019 and while adding the server in HC Panel from menu : Configurations >> Manage Servers >> Add Server, an error is thrown OR I am able to connect any server where HC10 is installed except the machines where HC10 is deployed on a Windows Server 2019 machine.

Answer : If HC10 Primary or Agent installer are deployed on Servers with Operating System version as "Windows Server 2019" then HC10 does not connect to such servers. For resolving the issue, ensure that "HC Provisioning Service" is running under Administrator or Domain\Administrator account.

Given below is the procedure on how to run the service under the Admin credentials :

Press the Win + R keys on your keyboard, to open the Run window. Then, type "services.msc" and hit Enter or press OK.
Search for service named "HC Provisioning Service".
Right click on "HC Provisioning Service" windows service and then click on Properties.
Enter Administrator user credentials under 'This Account' option.

5. After updating Admin user credentials, restart HC Provisioning Service.

This shall resolve the issue of where HC is not connecting to the Windows Server 2019 connecting via HC panel installed on Windows Server 2019.

Note: This requirement of running HC Provisioning Service under Admin credentials applies only to Windows Server 2019. All other OS versions do not require this change.

If the problem still persists , please contact support@hostingcontroller.com

What could be the reason for going into Grace Period or suspended state as soon as these are created in HC panel ?

Tue, 15 Oct 2019 06:44:42 GMT

Question : As soon as I add any user in HC Panel, it starts showing in grace period or suspended state even though client does not owe pending invoices due to which it could be marked as in grace period due to non-payment. What could be the reason for it showing under grace period ?

Answer: If all these settings (GracePeriod Time, Access Lock, Suspend Users, and Delete Users ) are set to 0 for all these 4 phases under Billing >> Configure Billing >> Users Billing Life Cycle then as soon as a Service Plan is sold, it will also set the user showing in grace period/suspend state. To avoid this from happening, specify the Standard Settings of HC Billing Life Cycle as mentioned below for each of these 4 phases of Customer Billing Life Cycle :

Grace Period Time = 30 days
Access Lock = 30 days
Suspend Users = Infinite (Specify value if client really want to suspend the clients)
Delete Users = Infinite

Specify the above mentioned settings under your Billing Configurations page after which such issues would not appear against your clients.

After updating HC10 build few of the menus are missing from HC10 Configurations section

Tue, 07 May 2019 07:31:44 GMT

Question : After installing HC10 latest build few of the menus are missing from the Configurations Section. How can this be resolved ?

Answer : This is rare scenario where Resource.xml file located at C:\Program Files\Hosting Controller\Languages\English\Resource.xml on HC Control Server is not updated after upgrading from any previous build of HC10 to the latest build of HC10. In such scenario several of the menus are randomly not shown under Configurations Section. Please see below screenshot where few menus are not listing after the upgrade to the latest build of HC10.

Resolution : To rectify the problem, follow the instructions given below.

Login to your HC10 Control Server using any remote access software.
Navigate to HC10 installation path on : C:\Program Files\Hosting Controller\Languages\English\
Remove the file Resource.xml from : C:\Program Files\Hosting Controller\Languages\English\Resource.xml (Better to take backup of HC installation folder prior to removing any file to avoid any unforeseen issue due to wrong deletion of file)
Now apply HC10 Primary latest build installer again on HC Control Server by following the instructions as mentioned in this kb article : https://portal.hostingcontroller.com/kb/a168/how-to-modify-hc-with-latest-build-.aspx

After the update , Resource.xml file will be replaced with the latest file and issue related to menus not listing will also be resolved. If the issue still persists then please open a ticket with Hosting Controller support department by sending an email to support@hostingcontroller.com