How can we improve WHMCS?

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Colo/Dedicated Server Management Addon

  • Anonymous shared this idea 12 years ago
  • Integrations
  • 79 Comments


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While WHMCS does in fact allow us to manage the sale and
billing for Dedicated Servers, we do not have the ability to actually
manage them from within our billing platform. This would be ideal for
allowing us to have a single point of access for Client, Tickets, and
Inventory management. Some of the below entries are suggestions for
overall functionality:

Asset tracking / Server inventory
- I keep track of server serial numbers anyways, it would be nice to
keep a table of server details that are linked back to the serial
numbers. The serial number details might have more information on
specs, notes, location (see below), etc. You could see which customers
have had that serial number. It could show if it's currently assigned
to an active customer, terminated, decommissioned, or available. The
nice thing would be is if we had some older out-of-date servers it would
be a nice way to allow customers to see inventory and order them at a
discount. Once the order comes in it wouldn't be available and not show
up as orderable.
The accounting ramifications could be nice as well, I'm not an
accountant but I'm sure they'd like to see more details as far as when
it was ordered, PO #, cost, vendor. You could run a report showing
costs and revenues of equipment as well. When equipment is
decommissioned you know you made X amount back on the initial
investment, or how long equipment is lasting.
Who knows, maybe a batch of servers comes in with faulty hardware and
you see a pattern, you could see which customers are on servers from the
same PO # and email them about preventative maintenance.
Location Mapping
-
While it doesn't need to be complex on day 1, it'd be nice to also
group serial numbers by location. room : row : cabinet : U
Then you could drill down to the cabinet and see what is in it. To add
complexity you can see capacity (u) and other infrastructure (switches /
pdu). Keep in mind that the asset tracking knows sold/unsold so you
could pull up a row or cabinet and know what is available
rDNS/IP management
- Keep track of IP management, allow customers to set their own rDNS for IPs assigned to them. (PowerDNS)
Network Control
control / disable / label / switch VLAN on switch ports
- disabling a switch port for a server that is suspended / enable on un-suspension
- relabel / change VLAN on the switch port when assigning it to a server

80 Comments

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Hello,

This would be great I think this feature should be added plus allow ESXI VMWARE support for this to give customers control over the servers and also add RPD and PUTTY into the control panels as well so the customers can log in via the WHMCS control panel and reboot the servers from the control panels.
WHMCS is a billing platform, not a DCIM/IPAM. If you need this, use Netbox. It has a full/robust API thats easily integrated with.

I would much rather see WHMCS improve on billing features than spend thousands of hours re-inventing the wheel.
This would be great as long as they pay attention to it after release. How long has it been since the Project Management module has had an update? Or Live Chat?
This would be great to see integrated into WHMCS - we have had to custom build our modules for dedicated server customers but if WHMCS had it built in then that would be amazing!
I think there are the 3rd modules that allow integrating WHMCS with Server/Data Center management systems such as DCImanager or NOC-PS, aren't there? Some of them might allow management from WHMCS interface as requested.
Hi Peter,

There is indeed third party modules that allow this, however I personally think it would be great if it was built into WHMCS. Also not to mention that allot of these third part modules require you to use there product, which adds another control panel, software and server required to use the module.
Since Device Manager for WHMCS can control Cisco Switch port you may switch on or off the port based in WHMCS confiugration or manual process. You can easily create a product name called "Cross Connect" and add this to a Device Manager for WHCMS for inventory tracking and, if desirable, do bandwidth billing based in transfer (egress, ingress or total).
Cross connect tracking would also be an important addition. Ubersmith does this currently but there are many of us in the Datacenter World that would like to leave them for another platform. If WHMCS did device tracking for cabinets, servers, switches, and cross-connects it would be a real game changer for us.
Hello,

Here is a suitable solution for what you require: http://www.hostingmodules.com/devicemanager.php

This WHMCS Module manages Cisco switches enabling service management, automation and bandwidth tracking.

General Features:

  • Automation of suspension and unsuspension of dedicated servers and colocation .
  • Dedicated server and colocation inventory list.
  • Bandwidth Graphs for Admin Area and Client Area.
Altomarketing wrote:Please !! whmcs is not for Datacenters !! , use Hostbill for that..
Whats next ? ask Cpanel to register domains and SSL ? ... I use Hostbill for my datacenter / colo , AND whmcs for hosting and webdesign..
Hi Altomarketing,

Im thinking of moving to hostbill as well to manage my dedicated servers, but i want to keep whmcs for teamspeak.

How can i use both programs like whmcs for teamspeak and dedi boxes on hostbill? How would the login work? which whould the clicnt login into hostbill or whmcs backend? Can you pls guide me in right direction to get hostbill as well as whmcs working at same time..

thx
Jon
skype: chemical_og
email: [email protected]
So, May you give me a trial to test your apps before I decide for purchase ?

my email: [email protected]

Thanks.
Yes +1.
highload wrote:Yes! +1
I left a post about a little but very important mod for us... No luck for now...

We're running small dedicated server leasing company and were looking for a easy-going system to run our biz...WHMCS is just great, almost everyhing we need is here just right out of the box!BUT, there's some things is not applicable for dealing with a database of used hardware.Here is an example:We have 100+ servers with tons of different hardware parts, needed to be stored in VDS/VPS product group. So it's clear to use configurable options as a specific parts of a server - one for CPU, another for amount of RAM, type of a chassis and so on... But here comes a problem! If we need to save HDD config - there's no way to do it, with a combinations of 2x500Gb+5x2Tb+6x3Tb... Only way to deal with it is creating EVERY type of HDD (15 sizes, not saying about vendors!) as a separate configurable option! Here comes problem with order forms (needed to hide 0 valued options)!So the VERY useful thing is a combination of a dropdown type of an option and then, in addition - quantity for this item, and the best thing - quantities for multiple selected items!I think it would be very handy to many WHMCS users, not just us!Can anybody help? Ready to pay for such an option!P.S. You can watch the principle of how it's working on our site config calc here, try choosing some options in HDD/SSD array:http://highload.biz/en/calculator/
That is a great idea. Please do this WHMCS!
Yes! +1
I left a post about a little but very important mod for us... No luck for now...

We're running small dedicated server leasing company and were looking for a easy-going system to run our biz...WHMCS is just great, almost everyhing we need is here just right out of the box!BUT, there's some things is not applicable for dealing with a database of used hardware.Here is an example:We have 100+ servers with tons of different hardware parts, needed to be stored in VDS/VPS product group. So it's clear to use configurable options as a specific parts of a server - one for CPU, another for amount of RAM, type of a chassis and so on... But here comes a problem! If we need to save HDD config - there's no way to do it, with a combinations of 2x500Gb+5x2Tb+6x3Tb... Only way to deal with it is creating EVERY type of HDD (15 sizes, not saying about vendors!) as a separate configurable option! Here comes problem with order forms (needed to hide 0 valued options)!So the VERY useful thing is a combination of a dropdown type of an option and then, in addition - quantity for this item, and the best thing - quantities for multiple selected items!I think it would be very handy to many WHMCS users, not just us!Can anybody help? Ready to pay for such an option!P.S. You can watch the principle of how it's working on our site config calc here, try choosing some options in HDD/SSD array:http://highload.biz/en/calculator/
It sounds like a lot of these features would be covered by the Easy DCIM platform that modules garden is working on integrating into WHMCS http://www.easydcim.com/
Altomarketing wrote:I dont agree. whmcs is no for that. You should use H0stBi|| for that .. This is like asking cpanel to manage a cluster cloud..
Why is WHMCS not for that? It is a management en billing tool isnt it?
You do not do accounting with it, but managing servers etc.. is what it does, so this needs to be in there.
Do you even know what whmcs is for?