Aruba S.p.A. vs ISPConfig

What Aruba S.p.A. is

Aruba S.p.A. is an Italian domains, hosting, cloud and trust-services provider; this record focuses on Linux shared hosting. The Italian page advertises Basic from €9.90 plus VAT for the first year and renewal from €34.99 plus VAT per year. Basic combines one domain, DV SSL, five 1 GB mailboxes, Apache hosting, best-effort 2 Gbit/s bandwidth and unlimited-labelled web space and traffic; database and backup details vary by tier and option. Extension choice changes the annual total, and customers should export content before expiry or transfer because recovery after non-renewal is not guaranteed.

What ISPConfig is

ISPConfig is a free, BSD-licensed control panel for administering Linux web, mail, DNS, database, FTP, shell and cron services. One panel can manage a single server, multiple servers or mirrored configurations, with separate administrator, reseller, client and email-user access levels. The core software has no license fee, but servers, administration, monitoring, backups and incident response remain the operator's responsibility. Optional materials and extensions use separate commercial terms: the current billing module is €59 excluding VAT per master panel and includes 12 months of updates.

What Aruba S.p.A. is built to do

Linux shared hosting

Runs sites on Apache with current HTTP support, caching and plan-specific databases.

Domain bundle

Includes one eligible domain at purchase and renewal, with pricing dependent on extension group.

SSL and mail

Includes a preinstalled DV certificate, webmail, antivirus/antispam and tiered mailboxes.

Application installer

Uses Softaculous to deploy supported CMS and web applications from the control panel.

What ISPConfig is built to do

Multi-server control

Administers one or more Linux servers from a central browser-based panel.

Hosting service management

Controls Apache or nginx sites, Postfix and Dovecot mail, DNS, FTP, databases, shell users and cron jobs.

Role-based portals

Separates administrator, reseller, customer and email-user workflows.

Remote API

Supports automation through the project's documented remote API and example clients.

Choose Aruba S.p.A. if

• Small PHP or CMS sites that fit shared best-effort infrastructure
• Customers wanting domain, SSL and email bundled with an annual hosting plan
• Buyers who validate the domain-extension group and budget at renewal price

Skip Aruba S.p.A. if

• The workload requires dedicated CPU/RAM, root access or a guaranteed bandwidth rate
• The database and backup needed by the application are not included in the selected tier
• The team has no independent export before transfer, cancellation or non-renewal

Choose ISPConfig if

• Self-managed Debian or Ubuntu hosting estates with experienced Linux operators
• Hosting providers needing reseller and client delegation across several servers
• Teams prepared to automate backups and test service-by-service restoration

Skip ISPConfig if

• You need a fully managed SaaS control plane with infrastructure and recovery included
• No one owns OS patching, mail reputation, DNS, TLS, monitoring and incident response
• A proprietary billing add-on or paid support is assumed to be included with the free panel

Aruba S.p.A.: pros & cons

• Transparent renewal floor: The Italian product page shows both first-year promotion and standard annual renewal.
• Integrated starter package: Domain, SSL, email, DNS and Linux web space cover a conventional small-site launch.
• Linux plan range: Basic, Easy, Advanced and Hyper tiers provide different database, mailbox and performance profiles.
• Published extension pricing: The price list exposes how domain choice changes the hosting-package total.
• Promotion-to-renewal jump: The Basic first-year price is materially below its ongoing annual amount.
• Unlimited is not dedicated capacity: Bandwidth is labelled best effort and shared-hosting resources are not isolated.
• Features differ by tier: MySQL databases and their backups can be optional or capacity-limited on lower plans.
• Expiry recovery is not assured: Official conditions tell customers to copy content before transfer or non-renewal.

ISPConfig: pros & cons

• Open and inspectable: The core panel is distributed under the permissive BSD license.
• Multi-service administration: Web, mail, DNS, databases, users, quotas and monitoring are managed from one interface.
• Multi-server support: A single control plane can administer multiple servers and mirrored configurations.
• Role separation: Administrator, reseller, client and email-user levels support hosting-provider workflows.
• Self-hosted responsibility: Installation, OS hardening, patching, capacity, backups and recovery belong to the operator.
• A panel is not isolation: Secure tenant boundaries still depend on the underlying Linux services and configuration.
• Commercial extras differ: Billing, manuals and professional installation or update support are not part of the free core license.
• Migration needs proof: Existing sites, mailboxes, DNS zones and databases require service-specific validation and rollback.