Installatron 5.1 released (converter and free edition)

[Sumaleth]

We've just released Installatron 5.1, the auto-installer/auto-upgrader plugin for cPanel/WHM. Website here:

http://www.installatron.com

The big new feature in this release is a converter for installs originally created by Fantastico, CPAddon Scripts, and CPSkins Auto-Installer Pro. It just requires that the original auto-installer's data files still exist, and the converter can create a list of convertible installs and let you import the ones you want to use in Installatron.

The other big announcement is that a free single-domain edition of Installatron is now available. It's free to use for as long as you like, with the only restriction that it will only work on the first domain it installs to. And can be upgraded to the unlimited-domains version at any time by simply purchasing and assigning a license.

The free version takes about a minute to install, and can be run alongside any other auto-installers already on the system.

If you haven't heard about Installatron, it's a web script auto-installer and auto-upgrader plugin for cPanel/WHM, and various other control panels. It was launched in 2004, and is the only true multi-platform auto-installer system.

Rowan
Installatron.com

[markb14391]

Hi,

Congratulations on your release and your new aggressive marketing. Is there a live demo so I can see how your product compares to the competition? I'd rather not install it on one of my production servers for testing.

Thanks,

Mark

[Sumaleth]

Mark,

We just discussed your idea and decided to set up a live demo. I'll post again when it's up and running.

Rowan.

[Sumaleth]

The live demo is up:

http://installatron.com/

Bottom of the middle column.

Rowan.

[markb14391]

Thanks for your responsiveness. The demo successfully installed SugarCRM (my first test), which is an accomplishment in itself. (Great CRM system but often a challenge to install.)

I'll keep checking but so far I like what I see, except the external task window. Even though it needs to be clearly marked as an external process, I'd recommend a "look" that fits the rest of the installer better, and a wider window to minimize the need to scroll in the external task. Just my .02.

So far I am impressed, and your pricing is great too.

[markb14391]

Okay, I have to take back what I said about your pricing being great. ;-) I was talking about your VPS pricing, but then I noticed the 800 MB limit which disqualifies my cpanel VPSs. I would suggest being more lenient here, for example cPanel/WHM and many other products right now don't have limits like this...they only require that it's a VPS. So I'll need a dedicated server license, which makes your product more expensive for me than Fantastico De Luxe. If it's better and more reliable, that's fine, especially since I hear bad things about Fantastico mangling Drupal and other installations. But many people are used to Fantastico, and therefore expect it. So, to gain market share, I'd suggest more aggressive pricing than theirs, specifically eliminating the 800 MB VPS limit. They don't have it, so you're giving yourself a competitive disadvantage by forcing certain clients (like me) into dedicated server pricing when your competitor will give us VPS pricing. That's important for those of us who run multiple servers. (My cPanel installs are in VPSs, but on different boxes so there would still be multiple licenses needed.)

That's just my .02 worth. I'd like to see you succeed, and your VPS pricing limit may be a market share barrier for you.

[Sumaleth]

Mark,

Thanks for the feedback.

"VPS" pricing is cheap because VPS was traditionally used to run smaller servers, but in the last year or so it has started to be used on servers that are really the equivalent of "dedicated" servers, so we added the RAM limit to define a boundary between the two distinct types of VPS usage.

We have been considering switching to a domain-limit instead, or having it work as an "either/or" (eg. <800MB RAM or <40 domains on the VPS, or something). We'd love to know what cPanel users think about that.

The purpose of the limit, whatever method it might be, is to fence off large VPS usage, not to disadvantage anyone who would want to use the VPS pricing legitimately. We're flexible on it. If we've put the fence in the wrong spot we'll move it.

Rowan.

[markb14391]

Hi,

Thanks for being open-minded.

Of course, my suggestion would be to use the "industry standard" approach (what your competitors and other companies are doing). I think that standard is that there is no memory or domain limit...if it's a VPS, it qualifies, plain and simple.

I understand your point about how VPSs are capable of acting like dedicated servers. But that analysis isn't true in all cases. For example, I have two boxes with 500 GB of space or more each. On each box, cPanel hosting is limited to a fraction of the space, with the rest going to backup and/or VPS hosting. So, even though I will host more than 40 domains in each cPanel VPS installation, I am only using a fraction of the dedicated server for that. Yet I would still pay dedicated server pricing for your product. Sure, some people will abuse the privilege, but others (like me) might look to other products that don't charge me for a full dedi box when I'm only installing their product on a fraction of it.

I'm not trying to be difficult, and definitely not hostile. You seem to have a good thing going, and you seem to be trying to make big inroads. I'm just telling you that price will be a factor for many people, and similar products don't put the same restrictions on a VPS license. Pricing will be a factor for me as I have P&L to look at, and this business is very competitive. Sure, I'm only good for two licenses at this point (hopefully VPS licenses), but others might share my opinion.

No matter what, good luck! I am trying your product, and my decision will depend on your features, performance and...yes...pricing. I'll get off the soapbox now. I'm very impressed that Installatron was able to install SugarCRM, the latest version of which has major installation issues. And I don't think Fantastico even offers that script.

Best regards,

Mark

[Sumaleth]

We had a closer look at the stats today, and unfortunately the limit is required. But after your comments, we have changed the limit to:

Less than 900MB dedicated memory or fewer than 100 domains.

Meeting one of the limits is good enough for VPS pricing (in addition to having VPS too).

But those are not hard and fast limits, and if you (or anyone) is a bit over in either value, just contact us (https://secure.liquenox.com/tickets) and we can work something out.

Rowan.

[markb14391]

Hi,

I admire your flexibility. I think your modified policy is very fair.

Best regards,

Mark

[markb14391]

Beyond pricing, your product seems very good in my testing. Again, I would suggest modifying the graphic design to eliminate the 80s-style border around the external task window. Is that something that I could modify myself, or is it hard-coded? And if I modified it myself, would it prevent me from getting support (as a full rebrand does)?

To anyone else reading this thread, I strongly recommend looking at this product as an alternative to Fantastico, etc. It seems to have some major advantages.

Thanks,

Mark

[Sumaleth]

We like the style of the external task border -- it clearly differentiates the content of that frame from Installatron, which is important. The styling is actually hardcoded at the moment, but if you're keen to be able to restyle it we can shift the CSS to the theme file.

We're going to be adding some extra bits to that page today, so we'll probably go ahead and do that change while we're at it.

No theming or branding changes would prevent you from getting support.

Rowan.

[Sumaleth]

We just published a new build that allows theming of the external task frame. An "Installatron update" will grab it, or the next cron will automatically update to it.

For example, adding this to Personalized CSS in Theming would change one of the colors:

#i_list_extask_background { background: green; }

The full CSS ids and definitions can be seen in the source.

The "ET Complete" message, with the similar stylings, is in the locale, but it can be modified by putting something like this in Customized language entries:

_page_links_returnto=return to abercrombe</a><a style='display:none'>
_inprogress_externaltask_complete=<div style='background:blue'><div style='border:5px dotted purple'><div style='border:10px solid black;color:black;padding:10px;font-weight:bold;background:white'>The External Task is now complete. Please click the <u>External Task Complete</u> button to continue.</div></div></div>

That changes some colors too.

Rowan.

[markb14391]

Great responsiveness!

[markb14391]

I've purchaed an annual Installatron license for each of my cPanel installations, and so far I'm glad I did. It seems to be a great product backed by very responsive support. I'm impressed by your flexibility on pricing and features. You've won a customer. :-)