Windows hosting control panel for IIS, mail, DNS and databases

What StackRegent is: a Windows hosting control panel built around IIS#

StackRegent turns a Windows Server into a hosting platform you can sell from or run your own projects on. You create a subscription once, and the panel builds everything that belongs to it: the IIS site and application pool, a dedicated Windows user, the webspace with its NTFS permissions, the DNS zone in Microsoft DNS Server, the MailEnable post office and the database logins. Later changes happen in the panel instead of in IIS Manager, DNS Manager and the MailEnable console.

It runs on Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022 and 2025, including Server Core, where IIS Manager and the tray app are not available. The panel is a single stackregent.exe written in Go with its interface embedded, served over HTTPS on port 9443. Three Windows services do the work: StackRegent serves the panel, StackRegentTask runs queued jobs, and StackRegentGuard watches failed logins. The panel keeps its own data in a private MariaDB instance bound to 127.0.0.1:8306, separate from customer databases, and encrypts the secrets it has to reuse with Windows DPAPI.

What it hosts:

• IIS 10 websites with HTTP/2 on every supported version, plus TLS 1.3 and optional HTTP/3 on Windows Server 2022 and 2025
• ASP.NET 4.x, the ASP.NET Core Hosting Bundle, several PHP 8.x versions side by side, and Node.js through iisnode
• MailEnable Standard with Roundcube webmail on webmail.<domain>
• Microsoft SQL Server Express and MariaDB, local or on remote servers
• Microsoft DNS Server zones and the Microsoft FTP Service with FTPS

The full list is on the features overview.

Who StackRegent is for#

Windows hosting providers who sell shared or reseller hosting on IIS and want an account-based license instead of a domain count. Customers can add as many domains, mailboxes and databases as their service plan allows without moving you into a more expensive license.

Resellers and agencies who look after dozens of client sites. Each client gets a separate login that shows only their own subscriptions, while the agency keeps one view of everything and can open any client's panel to help.

Companies running their own Windows servers for ASP.NET line-of-business sites or a few public websites. The Power User view hides customers, resellers and service plans, leaving a panel for managing your own sites.

Providers leaving Plesk for Windows who want to keep the same structure of customers, subscriptions and service plans and move accounts without rebuilding them by hand. The migration tools are described further down this page.

Administrator, reseller and customer panels in one product#

All three levels use the same login page at https://SERVER:9443/ and the same interface, with menus that match each role.

Administrator#

The administrator manages the server and every account on it. Tools & Settings holds server-wide configuration: Server Components, PHP and ASP.NET settings, the firewall, the Web Application Firewall, mail server settings, DNS and FTP templates, the Backup Manager, the Migration & Transfer Manager, updates and the license. The Home dashboard shows CPU, memory, disk, services that should be running, certificates that expire within 30 days and subscriptions over their limits. Additional administrator accounts give support staff their own logins.

Reseller#

A reseller works inside a reseller plan that sets totals for customers, subscriptions, disk space, traffic, domains, mailboxes and databases. Within those totals the reseller creates customers, builds their own service plans and add-ons, puts their own title, logo and favicon on the panel their customers see, logs in to a customer's panel, and creates API keys for a billing system. With overselling off, the panel refuses a plan that would push the reseller past their totals. With overselling on, the administrator gets a notice, at most once a month per limit, when real usage goes over.

Customer#

A customer sees Home, Websites & Domains, WordPress, Users and Account. Inside a subscription they get File Manager, FTP access, mail, databases with a SQL console, scheduled tasks, backups, statistics, resource usage and the website tools. Customers can add their own panel users with the roles Domain Administrator, WebMaster, Application User, Accountant and Mail User, or up to 50 custom roles. A Mail User sees only My Mailbox, where they change their password, forwarding and auto-reply.

What every license includes#

StackRegent has one feature set. A Solo license and an Unlimited license run the same code with the same tools; the only difference is how many subscriptions the server may host. That includes the parts other panels split into editions or sell as add-ons:

• the reseller panel with branding and overselling controls
• the WordPress Toolkit across every site on the server: plugins, themes, security hardening, backups, staging and copies
• one-click Joomla, Drupal, phpBB and DNN, plus Git deployment, PHP Composer and a Laravel toolkit
• the Backup Manager with schedules and remote storage on FTP, FTPS, SFTP or S3-compatible services
• the ModSecurity Web Application Firewall with the OWASP Core Rule Set 4
• IP address banning for Remote Desktop, the panel, FTP, mail, SQL Server and MariaDB
• Monitoring with per-minute graphs and email alerts, the Advisor and Diagnose & Repair
• the REST API with an OpenAPI 3 description and keys for administrators, resellers and customers
• the Migration & Transfer Manager for Plesk for Windows and other StackRegent servers
• language packs, themes and custom buttons

For comparison, Plesk's 2026 customer licensing guide describes three editions: Web Admin for up to 10 domains with WP Toolkit Lite and no customer or reseller management, Web Pro for up to 30 domains, and Web Host with unlimited domains and reseller management. The same guide lists feature packs (such as Power Pack, Developer Pack and Server Security Pack), additional language packs and add-ons such as Backup to Cloud Pro as items bought separately. Check which of those your Windows servers use today before you compare costs.

Isolation and resource limits for every subscription#

Every StackRegent subscription runs under its own Windows user, in its own IIS application pool, inside a webspace that only that user, SYSTEM and Administrators can open. PHP runs through FastCGI as the same user, with uploads, temp files and sessions kept in the subscription's own tmp folder.

On top of isolation, the panel places each subscription's processes (websites, PHP and scheduled tasks) in a Windows job object that caps CPU, memory, disk read and write speed, disk operations and process count, much like CloudLinux LVE does on Linux. A Limit reached counter shows how many minutes in the last 24 hours an account hit a cap. The Account Isolation page runs seven tests per subscription, including a test that runs as the subscription user and tries to open another account's files, and repairs what fails with one click. Details are on resource limits and isolation.

Security of the server and the panel#

The security tools sit in one group under Tools & Settings:

• Firewall manages Windows Defender Firewall per service. Every change must be confirmed within 60 seconds, or the previous rules come back, so a wrong rule cannot lock you out of a remote server. Panic mode blocks everything except the panel and Remote Desktop.
• IP Address Banning bans addresses that keep failing to log in to RDP, the panel, FTP, SMTP, POP3, IMAP, protected folders, SQL Server or MariaDB.
• Web Application Firewall runs ModSecurity with the OWASP Core Rule Set in off, detection-only or blocking mode, per server or per website.
• Security Policy sets password rules, whether FTPS is required, and the TLS versions and ciphers the panel accepts. TLS 1.0 and 1.1 are never offered.
• Two-factor authentication for administrators, IP restriction of administrator logins and session idle time.
• Microsoft Defender scans website folders and mail, with database files excluded so scans do not slow down queries.

The security features page explains each tool.

Moving from Plesk for Windows#

The Migration & Transfer Manager connects to a Plesk for Windows server over HTTPS through a small migration agent or the StackRegent Migrator Plesk extension. Neither changes anything in Plesk. It moves customers, resellers, service plans, domains, website files, databases with their users, mailboxes with their messages, FTP accounts and scheduled tasks, one subscription at a time. The agent reads the passwords Plesk stored encrypted, so customers keep their logins. Shortly before the DNS switch you run the transfer again to copy the latest files, databases and mail.

When the two servers cannot reach each other, upload a Plesk backup instead: Windows .xml.zip and Linux .tar backups both restore. Another StackRegent server can be the source too, using an API key. The migration page walks through the steps, and for a planned move you can ask about migration help.

Licensing, signed updates and what happens if a license lapses#

A license key (format SR-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX) covers one server and is bound to its Windows machine ID. The panel checks it every 24 hours with the license server; if a check fails, it retries after an hour and then every 6 hours. If the license server cannot be reached, the panel keeps working through a grace period and shows a banner with the date it works until.

If a license lapses, the panel enters restricted mode: administrators see only the License Information page and cannot add accounts or install updates. Websites, mail, DNS, databases and the customer and reseller panels keep working, so a billing problem never takes customer sites offline.

Updates are free while the server is licensed. They come only from the license server, and before a package is installed the panel checks its size, its SHA-256 checksum and its signature against the StackRegent release key built into the panel. You can install updates by hand, let them install at night after the daily check, or get an email when a release appears. What changed in each version is in the release notes. Moving to new hardware is a reissue in the client area, after which the next check binds the key to the new machine. More on licensing and updates.

How StackRegent pricing works#

Plans count hosting accounts, which the panel calls subscriptions. Every plan has every feature. Domains, mailboxes and databases inside a subscription are limited only by the service plans you create, not by the license. You choose monthly or yearly billing. Current plans and prices are listed below and on the pricing page.

How to start with a free trial and the one-line installer#

The trial runs for 10 days with 3 subscriptions and the full feature set, and it does not ask for a card. Use a fresh Windows Server 2016, 2019, 2022 or 2025 machine with internet access.

Step 1: Order the trial license#

Order the free trial in the StackRegent store. The license key is in the welcome email and on the service page in the client area.

Step 2: Run the installer in an elevated PowerShell window#

Open PowerShell with Run as administrator and run this line with your own key:

[Net.ServicePointManager]::SecurityProtocol='Tls12'; & ([scriptblock]::Create((New-Object Net.WebClient).DownloadString('https://panel.stackregent.com/get/stackregent.ps1'))) -LicenseKey SR-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

The script activates the license, downloads the newest stable release, checks its size, checksum and signature, and installs IIS, the panel and the default components: URL Rewrite, DNS, FTP, Web Deploy, PHP, MailEnable, Roundcube, MariaDB and phpMyAdmin. Nothing is installed if a check fails.

Step 3: Log in and secure the panel#

Open https://SERVER:9443/ and log in as admin with the password the installer printed. Change the password, turn on two-factor authentication, then enter a panel host name and secure the panel with Let's Encrypt under Tools & Settings › SSL/TLS Certificates.

Step 4: Create a service plan and the first subscription#

Add SQL Server Express, ModSecurity or other components from Server Components if you need them, build a service plan, and create a subscription to test a real site. The installation guide covers requirements, the zip installer and its options.

Plesk and cPanel are trademarks of WebPros International GmbH; other names belong to their owners.