Introduction

WHMCS is the ultimate web hosting reseller solution. Combined with cPanel, it becomes even more potent, as cPanel is widely considered the world's most powerful web hosting panel. This tutorial will cover the process of adding a cPanel server in WHMCS and all the necessary steps to establish communication between them.

Without further ado, let's get into the guide!

Getting Started

This tutorial assumes you have gone over the WHMCS initial setup and your WHMCS is ready to receive orders. To get to the cPanel server setup page, please log inside your WHMCS admin area. Once logged in, please point your attention to the top right corner. 

There you will see the wrench icon. Please click on it, and then click on the "System Settings" option from the revealed icons. This action will redirect you to the "System Settings" page, where you will see all the available WHMCS settings. Once there, please use the search bar on the top left side and type in "Servers". 

Doing so will filter out all the settings you initially saw in the beginning and will display the "Servers" option. Please click on the revealed "Servers" option. 

Doing so will redirect you to the WHMCS “Servers” page. On the top, you will see a table section with all the available servers, and above it, you will see two buttons. 

To add a new server, please click on the "+ Add New Server" button located on the top left side of the table section. 

Performing this action will redirect you to the "Add New Server" page, where you can start the process of configuring a brand new cPanel server to WHMCS.

Basic Mode

This page may seem a little plain initially because it will have only a few available settings. Once you fill in all the fields, you will be redirected to "Advanced Mode", where you will type in the rest of the required information for the cPanel server you want to add. 

Before that, let's take a look at the available options:

• Module - Please use this drop-down menu to select the control panel module you want. In this case, please choose cPanel, as we are going over the process of adding a cPanel server.
• Hostname or IP - Please use this text field to add your cPanel server's IP address or hostname.
• Username - Please use this text field to add your cPanel server's username. This username can be your reseller account's username or the root username (as long as you have root credentials).
• Password - Please use this text field to add your cPanel server's password. This password can be your reseller account's password or the root password (as long as you have root credentials). This text field is not mandatory if you use the API Token method.
• API Token - Please use this text field to add a cPanel API Token. This method allows you to connect WHMCS with a cPanel server without requiring a password. We highly recommend using this option, as it is more robust in terms of security than the password method.

Once you have added all the necessary information, please click on the blue "Test Connection >>" button underneath the API Token text field.

Doing so will redirect you to the "Advanced Mode" page, which you can manually navigate before going through the Basic mode. If you want to do so, please click on the “Go to Advanced Mode” button above the module selection drop-down menu.

Advanced Mode

The "Advanced Mode" view has a lot more configuration options. Let's go through each one individually so you can understand them plainly:

• Name - Please use this text field to enter the server's name. Typically it would be best to use something related to the hostname so you can easily remember it. By default, WHMCS will fetch the current hostname and add a name derived from it. For example, if the hostname is "server1.hostarmada.com", then the "Name" text field will default to "server1"
• Hostname - Please use this text field to type in the server's hostname. If you entered the IP address in the "Basic Mode", this field will be auto-filled with the correct hostname by WHMCS.
• IP address - Please use this text field to type in the server's IP address. If you entered the hostname in the "Basic Mode", this field will be auto-filled with the correct IP address by WHMCS.
• Assigned IP Addresses (One per line) - Please use this content box to assign more IP addresses to the server. Typically, you have one or two IP addresses reserved for the DNS(nameservers), and the others are usually dedicated IPs you added for some of your customers.
• Monthly Cost - Please use this text field to type in the server's monthly cost. You can add only the server's price or the cost for all expenses for it. Not a mandatory field.
• Datacenter/NOC - Please use this text field to add the name of the Datacenter/NOC provider you purchased the server from. If you use many service providers for your infrastructure, writing them down may be a good idea so you don't get confused. Not a mandatory field.
• Maximum No. of Accounts - Please use this text field to type in the maximum number of accounts you want to have on the cPanel server. This count will vary based on the server's resources and your estimate of how many users the server can handle. The default 200 is an excellent value to revolve around.
• Server Status Address - Please use this text field to write down the server status page URL for the cPanel server. If you have set up a server monitoring page, you can type it inside this text field. Not a mandatory field.
• Enable/Disable - Please use this checkbox to enable/disable the server. When the server is disabled, WHMCS will not create cPanel accounts for customers on it.
• Primary Nameserver/IP Address - Please use these two text fields to set the server's primary nameserver and the IP address associated with it.
• Secondary Nameserver/IP Address - Please use these two text fields to set the server's secondary nameserver and the IP address associated with it.
• Third Nameserver/IP Address - Please use these two text fields to set the server's third nameserver and the IP address associated with it. Typically, two nameservers are sufficient, and it is optional to add more. You should consider doing so if there are specific requirements from your registrar or third-party vendors you are using.
• Fourth Nameserver/IP Address - Please use these two text fields to set the server's fourth nameserver and the IP address associated with it. Typically, two nameservers are sufficient, and it is optional to add more. You should consider doing so if there are specific requirements from your registrar or third-party vendors you are using.
• Fifth Nameserver/IP Address - Please use these two text fields to set the server's fifth nameserver and the IP address associated with it. Typically, two nameservers are sufficient, and it is optional to add more. You should consider doing so if there are specific requirements from your registrar or third-party vendors you are using.
• Module - Please use this drop-down menu to select the control panel module you want. If you have gone through the "Basic Mode", this would default to the module you selected. In our case, it should be the cPanel module.
• Username - Please use this text field to add your server's username. As mentioned earlier in the tutorial and, more specifically, in the "Basic Mode" overview, this can be either the root username or your reseller account's username. If you have gone through it, this will be auto-filled with the username you selected during the “Basic Mode” setup.
• Password - Please use this text field to add your server's password. As mentioned earlier in the tutorial and, more specifically, in the "Basic Mode" overview, this can be either the root password or your reseller account's password. If you have gone through it, this will be auto-filled with the selected password during the “Basic Mode” setup.
• API Token - Please use this text field to add your server's API Token. As mentioned earlier in the tutorial and, more specifically, in the "Basic Mode" overview, the API Token allows WHMCS to connect to the server without a password. This method is a more secure way of connecting than using a password. If you have gone through it, this will be auto-filled with the inserted API Token during the “Basic Mode” setup.
• Secure - Please use this checkbox to use SSL mode for establishing a connection with the added cPanel server.
• Port - The default WHM port is 2087. However, you can use the tickbox here and unlock the text field to set a custom port if needed.
• Access Control - Please use this radio button to select the Single Sign-On (SSO) access control method. It can be unrestricted, which will allow all admins to connect, or restricted, allowing access to specific admin role groups or users. 

When you have entered all the information about your new cPanel server, please click on the blue "Save Changes" button at the bottom of the screen.

Doing so will redirect you to the initial "Servers" page, where you will see the familiar table section with the new server added inside. An additional confirmation that the process was completed properly will be the yellow bar located on the top of the page with the message “Server Added Successfully”.

Conclusion

There you have it! A straightforward tutorial that taught you how to add a cPanel server to your WHMCS installation in no time! If you found this tutorial helpful, be sure to check the rest of our WHMCS tutorials, where we go over various functionalities and give tips on how you can make the best out of the application.