Server management via web interface using webmin in Ubuntu Server. Correct installation of Webmin Ubuntu Server Installing and configuring webmin ubuntu

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Webmin is a web-based system administration tool for Unix-like systems. This simple and convenient alternative to command line administration can be used to manage various aspects of the system (such as users and services) through Webmin modules. Webmin is ideal for users who prefer to maintain their own virtual dedicated server, but do not want to work with the command line.

This tutorial will walk you through the process of installing the Webmin tool and SSL using apt-get on Ubuntu 14.04.

Requirements

Root privileges are required to install Webmin. It is recommended that you create a user with sudo elevated privileges (see instructions), which you will also need to log into the Webmin interface. In addition, Webmin will be able to use its credentials to manage the server.

note: when using Webmin, password-based authorization is assumed.

Log in to the server as New user(or root) via SSH using the command:

ssh username @ server IP

Enter your password when prompted.

Installing Webmin

Before proceeding to install Webmin using apt-get, you need to add the Webmin repository to your sources.list file.

Open your sources.list file at virtual server v text editor(v this manual this is nano):

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

Enter your password. Then press Ctrl-W and Ctrl-V to go to the end of the file and add the following lines:

deb http://download.webmin.com/download/repository sarge contrib
deb http://webmin.mirror.somersettechsolutions.co.uk/repository sarge contrib

When you're done editing, save the file by pressing Ctrl-X and then Y.

Then add the Webmin GPG key to apt so that the system can trust the added repository. To do this, use:

wget -q http://www.webmin.com/jcameron-key.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

Now we need to update the list of apt-get packages:

sudo apt-get update

You can start installing Webmin; to do this, run the command:

sudo apt-get install webmin

Confirm the start of the installation.

After the installation is complete, the Webmin service will start automatically.

Login to Webmin

Open the Webmin login page using a web browser; to do this, specify the external IP and port 10000. By default, Webmin supports SSL / TLS, so you need to use HTTPS to connect. So, open the following link in your browser:

https: // Server_IP_address: 10000

At this stage, the warning "Server's SSL certificate is not trusted" will appear, which indicates that the browser cannot trust the server's SSL certificate. The fact is that during installation, Webmin automatically generates and installs an SSL certificate, but this SSL certificate has not been verified by a certification authority that the server can trust. Although the computer cannot verify the validity of the certificate, you can rest assured that it is safe.

Tell the browser that the certificate can be trusted. For example, in Chrome, you need to do the following:

• Click the Advanced link;
• Then click the link “Proceed to IP address(unsafe) ".

In Firefox you need:

• Click I Understand the Risks;
• Then click the Add Exception… button;
• And then Confirm Security Exception.

At this point, the Webmin login screen will appear.

Enter the same credentials that were used for the SSH connection at the very beginning. Remember, this user must have sudo or root privileges.

Ready! The Webmin tool is successfully installed and ready to go.

Note: The security of this user 's credentials requires special attention, because, thanks to his privileges, the Webmin application has full access to the server.

Using Webmin

When you start Webmin for the first time, the System Information page appears with an overview of system resources and other useful information. This page also shows all available Webmin updates.

On the left, you can see a navigation menu that you can use to manage the server and access the various Webmin modules. The navigation menu is categorized and each individual category has its own set of modules. Special attention deserves the Webmin category as it contains modules for configuring the Webmin application, while the other categories are used to perform various system administration tasks.

Browse the navigation menu, check out the available modules.

User creation (optional)

The main task of system administration (in Webmin in particular) is user management. In this section, we will focus on creating a new user using the Users and Groups module.

Enter the username in Username, and fill in any other required user details. Then click the Create button.

After that, a user with the specified data will appear on the server.

The Users and Groups module can also be used to perform other user management tasks such as deleting or disabling users and groups.

Installing Apache (optional)

Webmin comes with many modules for managing packages of various software. This section demonstrates how to install a web server using the Apache Webserver module.

In the navigation menu, select the Un-used Modules category and find the Apache Webserver module.

If Apache has not been installed on the server before, the module will inform you about it and suggest a way to install the web server.

After finishing Apache installations the standard web server will start.

After that, the Apache Webserver module will be moved to the Servers category and can be used to manage the Apache server settings.

Conclusion

Now that Webmin is installed and ready to go, this tool can be used to perform basic system administration tasks.

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The previous article considered the use of a graphical shell to optimize work with a server under Linux management... But what to do if its use for one reason or another is not advisable? Do the work in the console?

Fortunately for Linux, there is another alternative - the web interface.

The Webmin application has been developed specifically for Linux administration. It is a simple web server and a set of Perl scripts that provide the functionality of the web interface.

InstallationWebmin

Initially, there is no information about the repository for installing Webmin on the system. Therefore, you must first add it.

To do this, open the /etc/apt/sources.list file and add the following line at the end:

deb http://download.webmin.com/download/repository sarge contrib

Now you can start the Webmin installation using the command:

apt-get install webmin

apt - get install webmin

After installation, Webmin starts automatically. The login page is available at the server address on port 10000 ( server_address: 10000)

Logging into the system is performed using the credentials of a local user who has administrative privileges.

Work withWebmin

After logging in, we get to the Webmin start page.

This page contains brief information system information (Webmin version, processor type, memory used, disk space used, etc.) and main menu (located on the left).

Webmin is complex enough software with a lot of modules and functions, and, even with all the desire, it is impossible to fully describe the work with it within the framework of one article. Therefore, we will briefly dwell only on the main details.

The main menu consists of several sections:

• Webmin
  Settings directly Webmin;
• System
  System information and system settings(user, processes, services, etc.);
• Servers
  Control installed servers(web servers, database servers, etc.)
• Others
  Administration tools not included in other sections (file manager, console window, etc.);
• Networking
  Network settings;
• Hardware
  Hardware management (system time, disk management, printers, etc.);
• Cluster
  Management of multiple servers combined into a cluster. Webmin is installed on only one of them. Work with the rest is carried out via the RPC protocol;
• Un-usedmodules
  Unused Webmin modules. Modules that have been installed, but the required components are missing on the server for their operation. If these components are subsequently installed to connect the required modules, you need to update the modules ("Refresh Modules");
• Search
  Internal Webmin search;
• ViewModule 'sLogs
  Change logs for Webmin modules;
• SystemInformation
  Brief information about the system. Is an start page th at login.
• RefreshModules
  Updating Webmin modules. Changes will take effect only after logging out and logging back in;
• Logout
  Sign Out.

On opening file manager the root directory of the file system is displayed. Using hyperlinks, you can go into certain folders and open or download files to your computer.

The screenshot below shows the Documents directory in the home directory of one of the users.

This file manager allows you to perform only the simplest operations. Create directories and text files, editing text files, creating archives, unpacking archives (if available, for example, unzip), uploading files from a computer to a server and vice versa.

It is also worth noting the ability to change the owners of files and folders and access rights to them using the file manager interface.

This is especially true when you consider that files and folders are created with the default owner root: root and permissions 755 and 644, respectively.

Of course, from a security point of view, you should not give full access to everyone. However, using the default owner can also cause various problems. For example, in the absence of web server permissions to write, in the directory with the site, many web applications may work incorrectly or not work at all.

Therefore, the access strategy to file system must be properly thought out.

Working with the console

To work with the console, use the "Text Login" page in the "Others" section.

The black box exactly simulates the operation of the Linux console. Therefore, if you need access to a regular console, Webmin provides this option.

Using the "Open in separate window ..." button, you can open the "console" in a separate browser window.

Work with

The module for working with Apache is available in the "Servers" section of the main menu under the link "Apache Webserver".

On the start page of the module, you can see a list of all available virtual hosts.

Clicking on the icon next to the host name will open its settings page.

In fact, this is nothing more than a web interface for working with host configuration files. With its help, you can configure all its parameters, including redirects (redirects), error tracking, resource limits (well known to users of shared hosting), etc.

If desired, you can also manually edit the host configuration file ("Edit Directives").

The "Create virtual host" tab is used to create a new virtual host and contains basic settings.

After creating a virtual host, it will be displayed in the general list on home page module and it will be possible to perform its finer tuning.

The "Global configuration" tab contains General settings Apache.

In particular, you can edit the server configuration files ("Edit Config Files"), change the name and user group that are used to run Apache ("User and Group"), enable or disable additional Apache modules ("Configure Apache Modules").

Work with MySQL

The module for working with Apache is available in the "Servers" section of the main menu under the link "MySQL Database Server".

The module interface is intuitive.

On the main page, you can configure general MySQL parameters or create or delete a database.

When you click on the database icon, a page with a list of its elements will open.

Built in visual editor allows you to create tables and views.

If necessary, you can also perform an arbitrary SQL query(button "Execute SQL").

The query can be written manually, or can be loaded from a SQL script. This allows you to easily restore the database from a backup.

The ability to create backups is also supported.

The backup copy is saved in the SQL script, but the file name together with the extension must be specified explicitly.

In general, the module for working with MySQL in its capabilities is not much inferior to phpMyAdmin. Therefore, working with Webmin in most cases, you can even abandon this application.

Webmin

If necessary, Webmin can be easily translated into Russian.

In order to change the interface language in Webmin, follow the "Change Language and Theme" link. Then set the "Webmin UI language" switch to the "Personal choice" position and select "Russian (RU.UTF-8)" from the drop-down list.

After clicking the "Make changes" button, the changes will take effect, but visually they will be displayed only after full reboot pages.

It is also worth noting that not all components have Russian language support. At least complete.

For example, the module for working with MySQL is only partially Russified.

Summary

Webmin not only allows you to perform general administration tasks for Linux servers, but also replaces a variety of programs.

However, its functionality is significantly limited by the capabilities of those modules that are installed in the system.

In addition, Webmin is significantly inferior to conventional graphical shells, not only in terms of extensibility, but also functionality. Still, the web interface remains the web interface. But, if in the case of a graphical shell for remote administration it is necessary to install an additional VNC or RDP server and the corresponding client on the administrator's computer, then Webmin does not require anything except a browser.

Thanks to this, coupled with its functionality and ease of installation, the Webmin application has gained wide popularity.

Webmin is not an exclusive alternative to graphical shells and can even work in parallel with them. The choice of a specific environment for working with the server is more a matter of convenience and specific working circumstances.

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Webmin is a modern web-based console for managing Linux machines. Webmin allows you to quickly change the settings of the main packages.

This guide will help you install and configure Webmin for Ubuntu server, protect the console with Let’s Encrypt certificate, add a new one via Webmin account and update server packages.

Requirements

• Ubuntu 16.04 server.
• Sudo access.
• Configured firewall (you can find out about this).
• Apache web server (installation instructions can be found).
• FQDN and A record pointing to the server's IP address.

Step 1 - Installing Webmin

Add the Webmin repository, which you can use to install and update the console. It needs to be added to the /etc/apt/sources.list file.

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

Add a new repository to the end of the file:

. . .
deb http://download.webmin.com/download/repository sarge contrib

Save and close the file.

Add the Webmin PGP key to let the system know that the new repository can be trusted.

wget http://www.webmin.com/jcameron-key.asc
sudo apt-key add jcameron-key.asc

Update the package index to add the Webmin repository to it.

sudo apt-get update

Install Webmin:

sudo apt-get install webmin

After the installation is complete, you will see:

Webmin install complete. You can now login to

https: // your_server_ip: 10000 as root with your
root password, or as any user who can use `sudo`.

Copy this information, you will need it in further work.

Note: If you have configured the ufw firewall as required, on this moment it blocks the Webmin port. To unblock it, use the command:

sudo ufw allow 10000

To provide additional security you can configure access to this port only from specific ranges of IP addresses.

2: Add Let’s Encrypt Trusted Certificate

Webmin already supports HTTPS, but so far the console is using a self-signed certificate. Replace it with a trusted certificate from the Let’s Encrypt service.

In your browser open:

https: // your_domain: 10000

Replace your_domain with your domain name.

Note: The first time you click on this link, you will see an "Invalid SSL" error. This is because the server uses a self-signed certificate. Add it to the list of exclusions to continue.

An authentication screen will appear. Open a user account with sudo access (not root).

Once authenticated, you will see the Webmin dashboard. Before adding a trusted certificate, you need to set the hostname of the server. Find the System hostname field and open the link specified in it.

This will open the Hostname and DNS Client page. Find the Hostname field and enter the FQDN in it. Click Save.

Click Webmin in the left navigation pane, then click Webmin Configuration.

Select SSL Encryption from the list, and then click the Let’s Encrypt tab. You will see the Options for new SSL certificate screen.

From this page, Webmin can obtain and install a trusted certificate and update it in a timely manner. Let’s Encrypt certificates are valid for 3 months. Webmin supports automatic update certificates; you can configure the console to renew the Let’s Encrypt certificate monthly. The Let’s Encrypt service looks for a validation file on the server, so the Webmin console must place such a file in the / var / www / html directory (this is the default Apache web server root directory). To set up a certificate, follow these steps:

• Enter your FQDN in the Hostnames for certificate field.
• In the Website root directory for validation file line, click the Other Directory button and specify / var / www / html.
• In the line Months between automatic renewal, deselect Only renew manually and enter 1 in the input field. Then click the button to the left of the input field.
• Click Request Certificate. You will receive a confirmation screen within a few seconds.

Restart Webmin to access the new certificate. To do this, click the back arrow in your browser and the Restart Webmin button. Wait 30 seconds, refresh the page and enter the control panel. The browser will now report that the server is using a trusted certificate.

3 - Using Webmin

Webmin offers many modules with which you can manage your server and perform almost any operation, from setting up BIND DNS servers before adding users to the system. Try to create a new user and update the system packages using Webmin.

User and group management

Click the System tab and click the Users and Groups button. In the window that appears, you can manage users and groups of the system.

Create a new user (for example, deploy) with which you can deploy the application. Click Create a new user at the top of the page. This will open the Create User screen; provide username, password, group and other information about the user.

• In Username, enter a name: deploy.
• Select Automatic in the User ID field.
• In Real Name, enter a description for the user (for example, Deployment user).
• In the Home Directory, select Automatic.
• From the Shell dropdown, select / bin / bash.
• In the Password field, select Normal Password and enter the password.
• In Primary Group, select New group with same name as user.
• In the Secondary Group, select sudo from the All groups list. Then click the → button to add the group to the in groups list.
• Click Create.

As you can see, Webmin allows you to customize the user's shell, support for home directories, and more.

Updating packages

Webmin can update all packages on the system. To do this, go to the Dashboard link and find the Package updates field. If the console detects available updates, you will see the number of updates and a link to them in this field.

Conclusion

Now you have a convenient server management console protected by a trusted certificate. Intuitively clear interface Webmin provides many useful functions and modules.

Check out the Webmin features yourself. More useful information can be found in

For the first time in a long time I decided to install Webmin, I got used to just putty. Had seen new interface and not very crooked localization and decided to unsubscribe here.

This is an unforgettable graphic web interface to manage your Linux server... That is, with its help, you can easily and without special knowledge manage a Linux server remotely, no longer in a disgusting interface via a web browser.

The possibilities are really impressive:

• Full control over the operating system
• Visual monitoring all processes
• user management and groups and their rights
• Network configuration including firewall
• Management of all installed servers(Apache, IMAP / POP3)
• Possibility Reserve copy , and many more functions.

Installing Webmin on Ubuntu 16.04

We are waiting for a few minutes and voila, you can open the panel at: https: // IP: 10000. As data for authorization, you can use login and password of any user systems including root. Ignore the security warning, it is associated with a self-signed certificate.

* Recently there were problems on Amazon EC2 servers, to solve it, before opening the port, use the following command:

Sudo apt-get --fix-broken install

Some other commands you might need:

# create a webmin user sudo useradd -g sudo webmin # sudo passwd webmin password

Setting the Webmin language

The first thing you want to change is the language. In the webmin tab, select " Change Language and Theme"(https: // IP: 10000 / change-user /), poke there" Personal choice"and select Russian from the list and apply the changes. Also change the language to" Webmin Configuration"through the button" Language"(https: // IP: 10000 / webmin / edit_lang.cgi).

Using Webmin

Webmin works on a modular basis, that is, when you install which package it supports, the corresponding control module is activated. If the panel did not activate the module on its own, you can help it by clicking the "Refresh Modules" button.

It is not always convenient to configure the system through the terminal. Many administrators prefer graphical interface terminal for simple tasks. It is not customary to use a full-fledged graphical interface on servers so as not to waste valuable computing resources, but web interfaces are very often used for configuration.

Using the web interface, you can access the web server configuration from anywhere where there is Internet access and you only need a browser. One of these web interfaces with an open source code- webmin. He is very popular with Linux users because of its simplicity and great functionality.

In most cases, you can do without the command line to administer the server, but simply perform all the actions through the web interface. Let's take a look at what features Webmin supports:

• Creation and deletion of user accounts;
• Configuring services and services using special modules, for example, Apache or DNS;
• Creation mailboxes users;
• View system usage statistics.

The default distribution Webmin contains more than 500 scripts that implement the connection between the options of the web interface and the command shell of the system. And to all this additional modules can be added to further expand the functionality of the program. Webmin is completely written in Perl and, as I said, is available for free. In this article, we will walk you through the installation of Webmin on Ubuntu Server 16.04.

Installing Webmin on Ubuntu Server

Before proceeding with installing Webmin on Ubuntu, you need to add the official program repository to the application sources. To do this, open the file /etc/apt/sources.list and add the lines there:

sudo vi /etc/apt/sources.list

deb http://download.webmin.com/download/repository sarge contrib
deb http://webmin.mirror.somersettechsolutions.co.uk/repository sarge contrib

Then add the GPG key for the repository:

sudo wget http://www.webmin.com/jcameron-key.asc
$ sudo apt-key add jcameron-key.asc

It remains to update the package lists:

sudo apt-get update

Only now the installation of webmin ubuntu 16.04 can be done:

sudo apt-get install webmin

When the installation is complete, to allow access to the web interface from the outside, you need to open port 10000 with a firewall. To do this, run:

sudo ufw allow 10000

Configuring Webmin on Ubuntu 16.04

You can access the Webmin interface simply by typing your server address and port 10000 in the address bar of your browser. Webmin uses https by default, so you will need to apply that protocol too. The address will look like this:

https: // ip_address: 10000

The browser will warn you that the SSL certificate is not trusted, this is because webmin automatically generates its own certificate after installation. And since this certificate was issued by a non-certification authority, the browser cannot consider it to be trusted. But we know that this is our server, so we can continue.

On the next screen, you will need to enter your username and password on the server to enter the web interface. This user must have superuser permissions:

This is how the home page will look like:

The first page shows general information about the system to help you understand which system you are currently dealing with. It will also show Webmin updates, if any.

On the left side of the screen, you will find a navigation menu through which you can access the various Webmin modules and manage your server. The Webmin section contains settings for the Webmin program itself, other sections are responsible for other system services or parameters.

conclusions

That's it, the installation of Webmin on Ubuntu Server 16.04 is now complete and you can now configure your system remotely. This can be very useful when you can't or don't want to use the terminal. If you still have questions, ask in the comments!