I saw a thread (I forget where on here) relating to Domain Registration API's and Virtualmin...
I am an authorised seller for SRSPlus (Network Solutions).
Would it be of interest if I attempted to see if I could get Virtualmin (or at least parts of it) to work with the SRSPlus external API (specifically designed to allow third-party plugins)?
If I can get some level of the framework to work within Virtualmin, I would be happy to let (trusted) Virtualmin developers to work with me and use my account to help develop this area, at least using the access I have...
Just a friendly query, trying to help.
Hey Simon,
This came up a couple of months ago, and not much ever came of it because it seemed like more of a billing problem than a virtual host administration problem, and we're not planning to tackle the billing can of worms (we've got our hands full with the virtual host administration can of worms). We have been working with a couple of billing companies already (AgileCo, and AWBS, both of which have products that are working with Virtualmin now or will be very soon) because it's clearly an important area.
But perhaps you have something less billing and more administrative in mind? i.e. perhaps this SRSPlus handles the billing, and Virtualmin would just have to issue the request for a new domain? I don't know what it entails...so I can't really guess how to go about it. But if it involves billing, we're not gonna touch it. ;-)
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We go through cheekydomains.com (they've been pretty good to us) and I *think* they have a remote API. Once I get everything else settled I was going to start up on that issue. The problem with domain registration, as Joe points out, is that it turns into a billing issue even more than a technical issue. So...yeah.
We use Freeside here, and once I'm done tying Freeside and Virtualmin together, I'll look at whether or not it makes sense to tie virtualmin into Cheeky Domains, or just have Freeside handle it.
Hey Tony,
I've heard good things about Freeside, though it always seemed a little more ISP-focused than hosting. How's it work for you, and are you a hosting-only operation or ISP-plus-hosting?
And if you need any assistance figuring out the Virtualmin API, let us know.
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Oh, yeah, I should also say that anything you want to develop we will back you 100%. We'll answer every question, add API functions, whatever it takes to make your job easier. We are taking third party development extremely seriously (take the existence of two billing apps that have some degree of integration as evidence--and we're talking to new people whenever the chance arises). Don't take my first response of "we don't do billing" to be an order for <i>you</i> to not do billing. Have at it! We'll help in any way we can.
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Well, if it helps, my attitude towards billing was this:
Currently, at least for me, Virtualmin has *nothing* to do with my accounting and billing, and, I had no intention of changing that. That just strikes me as a messy proposition that I have no desire to go near.
I can't say for other Registrar's, but the way SRSPlus works is that whatever I buy is automatically deducted from my balance, and how/why/when I bill my customers is my problem.
Strikes me as a nice direction for an add-in.
I won't be able to focus a ton on this immediately, but I will start tinkering with it, and if it looks like something I can churn out, I will, and if not, but I think I can lend a hand, I'll explain where I ran into a wall, and go from there.
http://www.agilebill.com/Sales/Overview?v=wyq
This page is specific to the domain registration topic:
http://www.AgileBill.com/Sales/Registrar?v=z06
It lists OpenSRS as currently supported, but I don't see SRSPlus. If you are interested in using this product, as opposed to developing your own, you may want to ask about it in their[A HRef="http://Forum.AgileCo.com/">forums</A>, specifically the[A HRef="http://Forum.AgileCo.com/forumdisplay.php?f=21">Registrar Plugins</A> forum. It may be easier to add an SRSPlus plugin to AgileBill than to write a whole domain registration interface from scratch.
It's ISP-oriented, but it can be set up to provision anything, just give it a script and it will do what you tell it to do. :)
That, and it's ugly by default, but aside from that...not too shabby. The learning curve is a bit steep though.
Hi Simon,
AWBS does opensrs but not sure about plus. I personally stayed out of the Domain API business. It's enough to take care of hosting without taking on the headaches of domains, API changes and dropped connections, let alone the billing.
I opted for a bulk reseller account and let the registrar handle the headaches and chargebacks, etc. I can still use transparent links and no one really knows any better.
Let's keep VM hosting, Joe and Jamie are champs at this.