What’s New in DirectAdmin 1.668

DirectAdmin has rolled out version 1.668, featuring notable enhancements, improvements, and necessary removals. This version builds on the previous updates to offer a refined experience for server administrators. In this article, we explore the key updates and their practical benefits.

1. New Features

Server TLS Upload Page (Evolution Skin)
A significant addition is the Server TLS Upload Page in the Evolution skin. This can be accessed at the admin level via Server Manager -> Server TLS Certificate -> Change Certificate. This new feature simplifies the process of uploading server TLS certificates.

2. Improvements

Server TLS Status Page Actions
The Server TLS page now shows if the web interface is using HTTPS and the status of automatic certificate management. Quick action buttons have been added to enable both features effortlessly.

Unified Widgets Dashboard

All Evolution skin layouts now display widgets in a unified manner. This change allows widgets to show more content and consistent information across all skin layouts.

Simpler Widgets Customization
Customizing widgets has become easier and more consistent. The widgets customization page (Admin Tools > Customize Evolution Skin > Widgets) allows admins and resellers to hide and reorder widgets. These customizations will be inherited by owned user accounts.

Email-Only Feature Set
Users with the email-only feature set can now use the email-config action to download mail configuration for iOS devices, enhancing usability.

Fix File Path Encoding in Apache Integration with PHP-FPM
The latest Apache webserver update changed the file name encoding passed to PHP-FPM, causing issues with scripts having spaces or non-ASCII characters in their paths. DirectAdmin’s update fixes this by conditionally applying the correct encoding for affected Apache versions.

Detect Old Local libcurl
CustomBuild can now detect old versions of libcurl in the /usr/local directory and provides commands to remove or restore it.

syslogd Option for Split Log Types
When use_syslogd=1 is set, DirectAdmin will now split logs into the appropriate log types:

• error.log and errortaskq.log as LOG_ERR
• system.log as LOG_NOTICE
• security.log as LOG_CRIT
• login.log as LOG_INFO

DNS Providers GUI
Enhanced DNS Providers GUI is now available in the Enhanced skin, making it accessible for Users, Resellers, and Admins to manage their domains’ DNS providers.

Software Version Changes in CustomBuild

• Composer: Updated from 2.7.8 to 2.7.9
• Litespeed: Updated from 6.3.1-0 to 6.3.1-1
• ModSecurity3: Updated from 3.0.12 to 3.0.13
• Snuffleupagus: Updated from 0.10.0 to 0.11.0
• Unit: Updated from 1.32.1 to 1.33.0

Language Override in Headers
A new feature allows APIs to override the user’s language by passing an extra header X-Language-Override: en, ensuring consistent language use across API calls.

Host Name in Two-Factor Authentication
When generating a two-factor authentication secret, the key name will now correctly use the server hostname instead of a static value.

3. Bug Fixes

Server TLS Upload Page (Evolution Skin)
Introduced a page for uploading server TLS certificates in the Evolution skin, accessible at admin level -> Server Manager -> Server TLS Certificate -> Change Certificate.

4. Removals and Changes

System Skin Deprecation
The system skin will always use the Evolution skin in future releases, and admins with non-Evolution system skins will be notified about this change.

Deprecated Options and Features:

• userdir_access from CustomBuild.
• http_methods from CustomBuild.
• Legacy translation files system.
• suphp and ruid2 webserver integration modes.
• PHP safe_mode flag.
• Two-step authentication scratch code expiry.

These removals streamline the interface and prepare for future improvements.

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Conclusion

DirectAdmin 1.668 brings valuable new features, several improvements, and crucial removals, enhancing the server management experience. We recommend updating to this version to enjoy these benefits and stay ahead with the latest functionality.

For a detailed list of all changes, please refer to the official DirectAdmin changelog: Version 1.668 | Directadmin Docs