hostgator reseller plan has ssh cost

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Posted by steelcase00, 08-27-2009, 05:17 PM
First of all I have used and do use hostgator and for the most part have been happy with their service. Except... I wanted to point out on this forum as a help to others about the ssh fee. I am a reseller but also a webdeveloper. I have a number of sites that I manage for my clients. I use ssh quite frequently. What I have found with Hostgator is that for each cpanel account that I create to get ssh turned on for that account I have to request it from support and pay $10. So if I have 20 clients I have to do this for each one and pay $10 for each one. It is a one time fee and I know they have their reasons for doing this. My point is simply that it is a nuisance that I wanted to make sure others know about and are not surprised by it like I was. thanks.
Posted by IGXHost, 08-27-2009, 05:38 PM
I'm surprised to be honest, this was something that I didn't know about HostGator. Most providers will provide SSH upon request or perhaps charge a small fee but definitely not per account or per task.
Posted by -Edward-, 08-27-2009, 06:23 PM
Perhaps they have choosen todo this to prevent abuse?
Posted by donbiz, 08-27-2009, 06:28 PM
They provide free shell access to shared clients and resellers but only on the reseller's primary domain name, after the primary domain name it is $10 per domain.
Posted by 01globalnet, 08-27-2009, 08:48 PM
Yes, I remember this rule for years. I suppose they charge because there is some manual work.
Posted by Geek3, 08-27-2009, 09:01 PM
I can see both sides of the argument. I thought SSH was an option in the account creation of WHM (?) Perhaps HostGator just wants control over it. I know I just helped a client with several sites and HostGator got $30 out of them for all the work (3 SSL charges). La di da.
Posted by KMyers, 08-27-2009, 09:34 PM
Hello,
Posted by Geek3, 08-27-2009, 10:46 PM
Right... but I didn't say most hosts didn't so I don't see what you're correcting. I was just saying that it is quite an easy flip-of-the-switch to do. Just like installing SSL certs (though that requires a bit more effort). I didn't offer SSH access, but I also didn't ever charge for SSL cert installations. The point I was making was that HostGator is making up for their low cost plans by charging for miscellaneous support duties that other hosts would otherwise handle as a standard support setup task.
Posted by ldcdc, 08-28-2009, 01:47 PM
It could be that. Personally, I think that the reason for the charge is to ensure that only customers (end users) who really need SSH (and typically really know what they're doing) request and get that access.
Posted by KMyers, 08-28-2009, 01:53 PM
Yes, This is the case with us as well. The reason for this is to prevent abuse. Most people with Abusive intent have problems paying a little extra for this. It could be worse, I have been with a host in the past tha charged $2.00 per month per SSH Account.
Posted by MattyD, 08-28-2009, 01:54 PM
Ouch, thanks for pointing this out. I was looking at getting a small account in the US for the design clients I have there and the Reseller packages looked very useful. I certainly wouldn't want to pay $10 per domain for SSH.
Posted by Geek3, 08-28-2009, 09:43 PM
10 per domain PER cycle (each time each cert expires).
Posted by blong, 08-28-2009, 10:01 PM
That's insane. But I guess it does help cut down on SSH abuse if you are as big as them (so then you can't give all your resellers SSH and they mess something up).
Posted by foobic, 08-28-2009, 10:56 PM
That would be my thought also. A bit unfortunate though in cases like this where it's only the reseller / developer (who we would hope knows what he's doing) who wants SSH access to his clients' accounts in order to manage them. It's very common though, and one of the factors that drove me away from reseller accounts to VPS. I wonder how practical it would be to permit SSH access to client accounts only from localhost. Then the reseller could log into his own account (assuming that has SSH access, as many do) and hop across to his clients accounts from there.
Posted by NexDog, 08-28-2009, 11:27 PM
It's probably to deter people from using it. Even with a chroot'd shell there is a risk and the more users you have and the more visibility you have in the hjosting industry the more likely you are to be hacked. There was a local root exploit recently and it took a week for a new kernel to be released. It was possible to gain root acces from a chroot'd environment with it.
Posted by ashishy, 08-31-2009, 08:48 AM
the good thing is that they are offering it. Many providers won't give you SSH access even when you are ready to pay them.