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Domain Management Refactor + Ideas


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we have talked about this subject so many times  ago and we think is the time to talk about it now . i have made a plan to make something special for my need and provide it to the cmmunity , but i have stack with some limitation and some lock of professional advanced skill and lock of time . so what i have do , first i have decided to make the domain manager as a module , and add the registrar as a components inside the module .

 

the registrar wil have a :

- json file to identify the name ,description, version ect ...

- folder for API class

- module.php (that file has the fields that will be used in the addrow in module + the rules validation )

- manager.php (that file will have the available functions for this registrar )

- package.php (that file will include the fields that will be shown in the package creation )

- maybe we can add more files for other uses .

 

 

in the module manager , we add registrar as  a row (addrow) , in the add row , it list all the registrar exist in components folder as a list , when we select a registrar it load the returned fields in module.php .

in the package creation , when we select domain manager , it list the available registrar , when selecting the chosed registrar it can load the required fields by package.php (optional ) .

 

in the client/admin side , we will have a standard function like , name-server, contacts, dns, forwarding , emails ... ect ... the tabs has a relation with the actions available in the registrar or simply if not available show a message of unavailability .

 

so the idea is simple 

 

clients/admins tabs --- communicate with the module , the module forward the call to the registrar module . the registrar module return the response , the module show the response (success or errors) .

 

with this way we have a centralized domain management, and we can maintain 1 module rather than multiple modules .we can add the registrars as we want and we can improves them without touching the module it self .

 

the logic is nearly the same used in the gateways , we laod the gateway class inside the gateway model  .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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i put the fallowing questions :

 

1 - domain pricing  ? every TLD,CCtld  for a package ?

2 - what if we want different price for renewals , and price for transfer ?

3 - how to handle the transfer process ?

4 - if you have sub resellers, so i different price or percentage discount is needed .

5 - push domain to another account , IS NOT TRANSFER DOMAIN .

6 - lookup domain in order form , still will be from the module ?

7 - sync domain in blesta from domain registrar account ?

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1 - domain pricing  ? every TLD,CCtld  for a package ?

Both work and that's up-to you.

 

2 - what if we want different price for renewals , and price for transfer ?

You can't until the new revamp for domains because you will get a table with three sections.

 

3 - how to handle the transfer process ?

Transfer is already done via the API's with the EPP Code.

 

4 - if you have sub resellers, so i different price or percentage discount is needed.

Don't think that will come fast since it's not as easy as it sounds. I spoke to Eric and Mujahed and I believe it's really hard to do that but mine was about a custom non domain module.

 

5 - push domain to another account , IS NOT TRANSFER DOMAIN.

You can do it via the database and soon to be move service under User Actions.

 

6 - lookup domain in order form , still will be from the module ?

Has to be a domain module but you can if you use the Domain and Other order form.

 

7 - sync domain in blesta from domain registrar account ?

Dowt that will ever come unless it's easy because not every registrar offers the API for it.

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i put the fallowing questions :

 

1 - domain pricing  ? every TLD,CCtld  for a package ?

2 - what if we want different price for renewals , and price for transfer ?

3 - how to handle the transfer process ?

4 - if you have sub resellers, so i different price or percentage discount is needed .

5 - push domain to another account , IS NOT TRANSFER DOMAIN .

6 - lookup domain in order form , still will be from the module ?

7 - sync domain in blesta from domain registrar account ?

 

 

all of this points should be adressed in the new domain manager . but from my point of view  4-5-7 we can live without them :) , the rest absolutely should be exist in the new domain manager .

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no idea if easier or not,

 

but why do not use universal module with one package by domain extension, this way it's can ever work by now, and it's granular by allowing price by extension. I know it's take time to create package that way, but granularity is in my opinion the best, maybe a tool could automatize bulk domain package creation from a csv file.

 

and in adition to that, just create a missing domain DNS editor that will be using given Registrar function

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no idea if easier or not,

 

but why do not use universal module with one package by domain extension, this way it's can ever work by now, and it's granular by allowing price by extension. I know it's take time to create package that way, but granularity is in my opinion the best, maybe a tool could automatize bulk domain package creation from a csv file.

 

and in adition to that, just create a missing domain DNS editor that will be using given Registrar function

 

 

the actual package system will not support price per extention , and price per action (registrer, transfer, renew ) , that was one of the obstacle that i have fronted .

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My live Blesta do not play with domain as DNS editor is missing, so I still use whmcs on an other website for domain related product.

 

but on my test with Blesta, if you do one package for each extension (using registrar module), it's was working fine and it's very flexible regarding change of price by extension, it's was the sense of what I said above, I was wrong about universal module.

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My live Blesta do not play with domain as DNS editor is missing, so I still use whmcs on an other website for domain related product.

 

but on my test with Blesta, if you do one package for each extension (using registrar module), it's was working fine and it's very flexible regarding change of price by extension, it's was the sense of what I said above, I was wrong about universal module.

 

 

package per extension , yes , you can have control of price of every extension .

 

but can you set a different price for renew , transfer , registration ? you can't .

can you offer free domain (extention) + hosting ? and the same extention is paid when it is alone (no hosting)

 

nowadays a lot of new extension in the market , so for me a package per extension can lead to more than 100 package .... so that is a lot for maintain the package under control .

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  • 2 months later...

There are a few things that I see missing and I hope are incorporated.

 

One thing is a place to enter the EPP code if an admin creates the order for the customer and sends them an invoice. There are times when a client has the EPP code and asks the company to create the order for them. I know some here would say that's what the front end ordering system is for but I know that I'm not going to turn away business over something simple like this. If the customer wants the extra customer service, I'll give it to them.

 

Also, I don't know if this is logicboxes specific or not but the additional features such as domain privacy and DNS management should be controllable through the API. Right now, I have to login to the reseller site and manually process a domain privacy or DNS Management option. It's ok to do a few that way but when you're dealing with 20+ renewals / registrations at a time, it would be a lot easier to have this automated.

 

The different pricing levels have been talked about so I don't need to re iterate that but it's important.

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  • 4 weeks later...

I have customers asking about DNS Management feature too. Using Logicboxes module, but it doesn't have control over DNS records, private whois and domain lock/unlock functions. Is there any news about the new domain manager?

 

Thanks.

It's coming in 4.1 there's no date set as the guys are still working on 4.0.

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I have customers asking about DNS Management feature too. Using Logicboxes module, but it doesn't have control over DNS records, private whois and domain lock/unlock functions. Is there any news about the new domain manager?

 

Thanks.

I did read that ModulesMatic is ready to create an Extended version of Logicboxes but I think he'll wait until 4.1 is released to see what change Blesta makes to the core.

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I did read that ModulesMatic is ready to create an Extended version of Logicboxes but I think he'll wait until 4.1 is released to see what change Blesta makes to the core.

 

 

my point of view .

 

the probleme is not the DNS management, as the actual modules can handle the DNS management , it need just a couple of lines code to add the DNS management as a new tab .

 

my request or let say feature request in the new refactor , is to make the DNS/EMAIL forwarding/web forwarding as extention/plugins of module manager , why ?

 

let say i have domain with logicbox or enom or ... , and i want to manage the DNS with other platform like (cPanel & cPanel DNSOnly ,DynDNS , SimpleDNS , PowerDNS ...ect ) , so i want  a system that allow me to add the DNS MANAGEMENT to any registrar i want to use is with it or use the default dns manager included with the registrar .

 

i hope the idea is clear .

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Think also at internal vs external domains, the last case is when you offer DNS hosting for external domains (so not registered through you).

 

Having one single blesta's DNS editor interface is better than having 2 types of DNS editor interfaces (internal / external domain), I found billing systems offering different DNS editors (native one + plugin/extension for external domains), are so bad, because they are completely different at look/design, so when customers have internal & external domains at same time in their account, the interface is very different depending of given domain, so all of this came from a bad system architecture, why the interface should be different when it's still for just for edit DNS records?  

 

So from a same/unique DNS editor interface, developer should just be able to use available functions to create automation with given platform (DNS only, powerdns, etc), and domain registration (at registrar) should not be mandatory for a DNS editor, but see as Zone creation only, as zone creation is not about registrar or not, it's just about DNS management, and it's common for both case (internal or external domain).

 

Regarding URL forwarding, it's not a  DNS records, but just better to manage it at same place as DNS records.

 

Admin should be able to tick/untick what type of DNS records can be edited by customers for a given context (like registrar, extension, customer group, etc)

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I have customers asking about DNS Management feature too. Using Logicboxes module, but it doesn't have control over DNS records, private whois and domain lock/unlock functions. Is there any news about the new domain manager?

 

Thanks.

I have the LogicBoxes Reloaded module and it gives the customer the ability to update namservers, lock/unlock and get the EPP code. http://www.blesta.com/forums/index.php?/topic/2678-logicboxes-reloaded-extra-feature/?hl=logicboxes

 

I did have to add domain privacy and DNS management as configurable options. I have to manually apply the privacy protection if they sign up for it.

 

I can't remember but I think my configurable option for DNS is what allows the customers to manage nameservers. I could be wrong on that though.

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