The End of Confixx - Why did the popular control panel disappear?

Up until the turn of the millennium, administering a Linux or Unix server practically required using written commands on the command line or manually editing text files for configuration. As tasks became more complex and the number of dedicated servers continued to grow, managing them demanded increasingly extensive expertise, sometimes requiring specialisation in areas such as IT security, setting up and optimising web servers, or managing databases.

Against this backdrop, more and more administrators, students, and IT professionals began developing a Control Panel that allowed for easy and clear server configuration through a graphical interface. One of the most popular ones in the 2000s was Confixx, which enjoyed high popularity among both businesses and private users.

A legend of the booming internet - what is Confixx?

Around the turn of the millennium, many projects for innovative software emerged, often initially driven by individual programmers with high levels of personal effort. The most famous and globally widespread example of this development is undoubtedly the Linux operating system, which was initiated in the early 1990s by the Finnish student Linus Torvald. However, due to the decentralized and sometimes semi-professional approach of such projects, numerous problems arose - two of the main issues being that many applications were not maintained or supported in the long term, or only sporadically. Furthermore, they often had serious programming errors, were inadequately optimized, or lacked emphasis on user-friendliness and intuitive operation. Among the positive exceptions in the field of web hosting and server administration was the Confixx software released under a proprietary license by the company SWsoft, which was available for free. It was one of the most popular alternatives to paid control panels like Plesk, cPanel, or DirectAdmin, thanks to its user-friendly interface and intuitive operation.

Why was the development of Confixx discontinued?

In contrast to the majority of competitors, the company responsible for the development, SWsoft, did not aggressively market the success of Confixx by introducing paid licenses with additional benefits or offering a paid premium support service for commercial customers. Furthermore, Confixx was not licensed under an open-source license, which would have been necessary for continuation and development by an interested community. The consequence of this lack of initiative and support from a market perspective resulted in poor funding, lack of equity, and inadequate business expansion during the "New Economy" boom. Due to its relatively low market value despite high distribution, it became an ideal candidate for acquisition.

Subsequently, the direct competitor, Parallels Inc., which offers the commercial Control Panel Plesk for servers and web hosting, successfully acquired the company SWsoft, initially integrating it into its own product range. Following the acquisition, Parallels Inc. continued to support the Confixx Control Panel for a limited time, transitioning its use to a paid license. However, approximately 24 months later, the parent company publicly announced that no further licenses would be sold from 2012 onwards, and the project would be discontinued upon the expiration of existing contracts. All rights to the name and source code now belong to Parallels, Inc., meaning legal development by third parties is prohibited, and Confixx must be considered definitively and permanently discontinued in its original form.

What alternatives can replace Confixx?

In comparison to some modern solutions, Confixx offered a Control Panel with an interface that largely focused on web hosting and service configuration such as FTP or email, rather than emphasising server administration through automated updates. Additionally, it lacked user group management functionalities for administrators, Resellers, and end customers with corresponding permissions, as seen in alternatives like DirectAdmin (DA), Plesk, or the combination of cPanel and WHM. Instead, Confixx as a Control Panel essentially focused on basic tasks for a functional and web hosting-optimised server with a LAMP environment: setting up email and FTP accounts, managing domains and subdomains, and administering databases in MySQL or MariaDB. Excluded were tools for server configuration or operating system settings, for example, the ability to modify PHP interpreter settings or use multiple versions concurrently.

With its focus on web hosting, Confixx pursued an exceptional approach that, while sacrificing some server configuration options, provided a very clear interface with an easily understandable, intuitive interface. Currently, there is no Control Panel with an identical focus. A somewhat similar option, albeit more complex in structure and functionality, is offered by Webmin, developed for server management and released as open source under a BSD license. Paid alternatives like cPanel alternatives and Plesk alternatives also offer the full functionality of Confixx but present much more extensive Control Panels that are more aligned with the needs of businesses in commercial web hosting and are priced accordingly for their target audience.

Image credit: Gerd Altmann on Pixabay