Typically, a linux server is configured using the command line. However, there is another possibly more convenient access using the webmin service in ubuntu server. The best tool for managing unix systems through a web interface.
Through webmin, you can not only conveniently view logs, make changes to the configuration of installed services, but also install packages, remove them, update the system, etc. Even get access to the terminal!
Webmin - is a ready-made web server with a whole bunch of scripts. All the delights of its use can be experienced after installation.
Installing webmin
First of all, you need to add the webmin repositories to the /etc/apt/sources.list file
sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list
Add two lines to the very end of the file:
Deb http://download.webmin.com/download/repository sarge contrib deb http://webmin.mirror.somersettechsolutions.co.uk/repository sarge contrib
We save and close the file. Now let's import the keys
Wget http://www.webmin.com/jcameron-key.asc sudo apt-key add jcameron-key.asc
Update the list of package sources
Sudo apt-get update
install webmin
sudo apt-get install webmin
Start Webmin
After successfully installing the package, open the browser and go to the address
https://server-ip-address:10000/
instead of " server-ip-address” Enter either the IP address of the server or its name. If everything is done correctly, you will see an invitation to enter a username and password.
Enter your login and password to the server in the fields, after which you will be taken to the webmin main page
The first thing we will do is change the language to Russian. To do this, go to the menu item “ webmin” - “Change Language and Theme” and set the encoding Russian (RU.UTF-8)
After applying the changes, you need to refresh the page. Excellent! Now you have a fully Russified webmin
Small overview of webmin
I will not describe all the menu items, look for yourself and you will find a lot of interesting things for yourself. I focus on the most important points.
The “Webmin” section contains tools for working with the webmin module itself. Setting up users, accesses, backups, etc.
The “System” section contains tools for working with the main functionality of the server. In this section, you can find logs, perform operations with users and groups, update software, manage active processes, work with job scheduling (Cron), and much more.
The “Services” section provides links to tools for working with installed services, in my case DHCP Server, BIND DNS Server, Squid Proxy Server. You can both configure existing settings files and manage new rules and service processes.
In the “Network” section, you can configure network interfaces, as well as configure a firewall
In the “Hardware” section, you can view the hardware connected to the server, as well as view local disk partitions.
I will not describe the “Cluster” section. Did not work with clusters.
Now you can set up webmin in ubuntu server and use it from anywhere in the world.
Unix-like operating systems have many positive aspects: security, stability, and some people are attracted to free. But for novice admins, setting up the system can turn into a real hell. Digging through configuration files, constantly reading documentation, and besides, not everyone understands English, can scare away anyone, especially those who have had time to work with Windows. And even if the system is at least a hundred times secure, errors in the configuration files can lead to serious security problems.
Developed by Jamie Cameron, Webmin (http://www.webmin.com/) is a complete interface for Unix system administration, the use of which greatly simplifies the process of system management, and the use of web technologies makes it accessible from anywhere in the world and independent from the operating system used at the time of setup. It will be useful for remote system management for those administrators who do not currently have access to a computer with a Unix-like system installed, and standard Windows network tools do not shine with a special selection of necessary utilities. In this case, using any web browser that supports tables and forms (and JAVA for some modules), you can easily, in a visual form, from a local or remote computer, set up user accounts, install, remove programs, configure the Web, mail, DNS server, print server, manage databases, share files using Samba or NFS, set up a firewall, synchronize time, share Internet access, monitor service status, backup, burn CD, access files on a remote computer, including documentation and other countless administrative tasks, which are innumerable, but require certain knowledge and skills. At the same time, Webmin will save you from syntax errors, and inaccuracies, as well as it can, warn you about potentially dangerous actions. But this, however, does not mean that it is not necessary to know anything at all and that a smart utility will do everything by itself. It is still necessary to have some understanding of the structure of Unix, the meaning of certain utilities, the features of the operation of protocols and services. Experienced administrators should also not ignore the presence of such a convenient utility, because remembering all the parameters in the configuration files and the intricacies of setting up services on various systems is quite difficult.
Features of Webmin
Written in Perl version 5, Webmin has a modular structure that allows you to freely increase the required functionality or, on the contrary, remove everything you don't need. It uses its own mini web server to work, which makes it independent of the presence and use of Apache or other web servers (although you can make it work through Apache as well). Open source code has only benefited the project. While Jimi Cameron was fiddling with the main code of the system, numerous developers translated the interface into more than 30 languages (there is Russian) and created more than 270 modules that significantly expand the capabilities. Some of the modules are already included in the standard distribution, others are available for download separately.
I will focus only on security measures and convenience. It is quite possible that after registration you will see an English interface. Although English is the native language of the administrator, agree to communicate in your native language is still more pleasant. Let's go " Webmin Configuration-Language” and select the desired language from the drop-down list, confirm your choice by clicking on “ Change language". Then we return to now Configuring Webmin. By default, Webmin will accept connections from all addresses, which is not always necessary and unsafe, using the “ IP Access Control” (IP Access Control) you can restrict access only from those addresses that you trust (for example, the internal network), full access can be allowed only if you, for example, go on vacation and want to be able to get to your server. Here it is possible to set a network or subnet as a parameter at once, individual nodes by IP address or domain name. In the latter case, for insurance, check the box “ Determine IP address by name on every request". For speed, this operation can be done manually, using in the file /etc/webmin/miniserv.conf options allow= or deny=. The first contains a list of nodes and computers, separated by a space, that are allowed to connect, the second, on the contrary, access attempts from which will be ignored. After installation, with a positive answer to the question “Start Webmin at boot time”, Webmin will be loaded at system startup, another launch option would be to use xinetd for this purpose. To do this, add the line inetd=1 to the miniserv.conf file and remove session=1. After that in the file /etc/xinetd.conf(in some distributions like Slaskware, we first create it with the touch command /etc/xinetd.conf) :
service webmin
{
user = root
env=LANG=
port = 10000
socket_type = stream
protocol=tcp
wait = no
disable=no
type = UNLISTED
server=/usr/local/webmin-1.400/miniserv.pl
server_args = /etc/webmin/miniserv.conf
Then restart xinetd .
Now it is a high time to be engaged in users. Let's start with the module Authentication”, which allows you to enable an increase in the delay between unsuccessful attempts to enter a password for the same user and block access after several unsuccessful attempts for a certain time, which will make it difficult to try to guess a password on the forehead, all such actions can also be logged. For forgetful and lazy users, you can activate an option that allows you to automatically disable access after a certain period of time and here also disable the ability to remember the entered password. Next useful module “ Webmin Users” (Webmin Users) will allow you to create a user or group with certain rights to work with certain services. Here you can also convert Unix users to Webmin users with certain rights, set up user synchronization, in which newly created users automatically fall into one of the Webmin groups, set up user authentication, view logs and terminate the user session.
Webmin can log events in the standard CLF (combined log format) log file format, while it has quite flexible logging options. So going to " Configuring Webmin” — “Magazine” you can specify which IP addresses and hostnames will be logged, which module and user activity will be logged, and how often the log will be cleared. Log entries will be written to a file /var/webmin/miniserv.log . In addition, when activating the option “ Record changes made to files on each action”, detailed records of user actions will also be kept in a file /var/webmin/webmin.log. This log can be viewed and analyzed using the module “ Webmin activity log” (Webmin Actions Log).
Where is my command line?
Yes, where without it. If the capabilities of Webmin are still not enough or you miss the command line, then in the “ Other” (Others) There are several special items. “ SSH/Telnet Login” (SSH / Telnet Login), which by default tries to connect to port 23 of the telnet service, in order to change the behavior, click “Module Settings” and in the “Connection Type” line select Secure Shell, here you can set the number of lines, another node to work with and using a separate window for work. So Webmin can come in handy in order to get into your computers using SSH in places where it is not so easy to find the necessary applications (even from Internet cafes), it is enough to run it on one of your machines. Further in the tab " Other” detected and interface to the shell “ Command shell” (Command Shell) allows you to remotely execute shell commands and maintains a history of commands. The next item “User Commands” (Custom Commands) allows unprepared users to execute commands or scripts by pressing a single button. It is enough for the administrator to create a command by filling in the appropriate fields (register the command, set parameters, the user on whose behalf the command will be executed, add a description, etc.). Here, in the “Other” tab, you will also find the file manager in Fig. 4 (requires JAVA support), which will allow you to access files on a remote computer in a convenient graphical shell.
Webmin modules
The modularity of Webmin allows you to increase the functionality to the desired level, and on the other hand, remove the excess so that it does not an eyesore and does not distract from work. Some modules are available at http://www.webmin.com/third.html . First of all, I would like to note the Usermin module, also written by Jamie Cameron. Unlike Webmina, which is aimed at the administrator, Usermin is aimed at the end user, allowing you to read mail, work with GPG, have remote access to your files through a Java file manager, manage cron jobs, etc. To install, just go to the “ Setting Usermin” (Usermin Configuration) and click on the “Install Usermin” button. To work with modules (usually a file with the extension .wbm, although it is also possible to install rpm packages) go to “ Webmin modules” (Webmin Modules), where you can install a new one by specifying its location on a local disk or on the Internet, remove a module by selecting it from the list, or copy a module. Copying modules allows you to have the same module with different settings, which can be put in different groups for quick access and allow access to different users.
Of the other goodies, it should be noted the possibility of changing the appearance (in the tab of the same name), i.e. pick colors to taste and more globally change the look, including icons, colors, backgrounds and page layout can themes. Maybe to some it will seem like a toy, but when you have to simultaneously configure the operation of several nodes, then a different design allows you to be less confused.
This is how Webmin is. Easy to install and configure, useful to use, allowing administrators to focus more on the process of setting up the system, allows you to work safely and get information from those places where there is no access to the necessary utilities.
One of the challenges in migrating from Windows administration to Linux administration is learning the new tools at your disposal. As an administrator, you want to learn all the details of the operating system in order to get the most out of it. However, while you are studying, you need to get the current work done on time. In order to increase your productivity in Linux, let's install a program called webmin.
"Webmin is a web-based Unix administration interface. With it you can configure user accounts, Apache, DNS, file server, etc. using any browser that supports tables and forms (and Java for the file manager module Webmin consists of a simple web server and a set of CGI programs that directly update system files, such as /etc/inetd.conf and /etc/passwd The web server and all cgi programs are written in Perl 5 and do not use non-standard Perl modules."
webmin works on virtually all *nix platforms, including Linux, AIX, HPUX, Solaris, OS X, and more. It provides a web interface to many Linux administrative tasks. It can run on any graphical browser either locally or remotely. In order to avoid information leakage, Webmin can be additionally secured using SSL. While you are learning Linux, Webmin will save you a huge amount of time. Webmin can also help with boring and tedious tasks that you haven't automated yet.
Webmin is easily extensible. The author provides development guidance, and a number of third-party modules are also available. You can also develop your own modules so that Webmin can always be tailored to your needs.
Installing webmin
The first step in working with Webmin is to install it. Webmin is included in several distributions, but it's not a problem to download it from the Webmin site.
The correct installation method depends on the distribution you are using. If you are using Red Hat Linux or one of the UnitedLinux distributions (SuSE, Turbo, Connectiva, or Caldera), then you need to download the RPM package. If you're using some other distribution, you'll need to refer to your distribution's documentation and instructions for installing Webmin to determine the best method for you.
Consider installing with RPM.
First you need to check if Webmin is installed on your system. In a text terminal, type the following:
If Webmin is installed, you will see the version number:
If not, a message stating that Webmin is not installed:
package webmin is not installed
Even if Webmin is already installed, it is most likely an older version than the one available for download. In this case, you can update or reinstall the program with the following command:
rpm -Uvh webmin-1.090-1.noarch.rpm
Refresh in verbose mode occurs with a progress bar displayed with # signs.
Once Webmin is installed, it automatically starts. However, Webmin is installed with SSL disabled. SSL requires the installation of a Perl module called Net::SSLeay. Until it is installed, the only safe way to use Webmin is to run it locally. Using Webmin
Connect to Webmin through your favorite web browser. Two modules -- the file manager and the telnet/ssh client -- are implemented as applets and require the Java Runtime Environment to be installed in your browser. These modules are handy but not critical. There are no special requirements for all other modules.
To use Webmin, connect your browser to port 10000 on your system. If you are using a browser on your local system, you should use http://localhost.localdomain :10000/. This link will take you to the Webmin login page.
Webmin users are separate from operating system users. This allows you to set up users for administration with Webmin outside of the standard Unix identity scheme. However, if you have users on your system that you want to allow to use Webmin, you can add them to the Webmin user list and Webmin will authorize them through the standard Unix mechanisms, rather than through an internal authentication scheme. Access to various Webmin modules can be configured for each user. For example, Helpdesk employees will only need access to manage passwords, while all other employees can have access to all modules.
The root user is created automatically during installation with the system password for the root user. Webmin keeps track of user actions by their login, so on a system that is administered by several people, it is better to create an administrator group with root rights and create users for everyone who works in the system. Your first login must be as root.
Webmin sections
The first page you will see is the Webmin Configuration Section. Here you can configure Webmin users, modules and view activity logs (logs). The top row of icons allows you to switch between different sections of Webmin. All modules are customizable, you can rearrange them according to your needs.
The System section is associated with the general settings of the operating system. Here you can configure file systems, users, groups, and system boot behavior. You can manage the services running on the system and control whether they are started automatically by the Bootup and Shutdown icons. These services are configured in the Servers section. Of particular interest is the "Software Packages" utility. It allows you to easily view the packages installed on your system, and also provides interfaces to the distribution's update repository and to rpmfind.net, the public RPM repository on the Internet.
The Servers section contains configuration modules for various services that can be run on your system. Utilities for configuring BIND and DHCP are very handy. It's also very easy to use the Samba setup utility for file and print servers for Windows and other clients. Webmin also takes the hassle out of setting up the Sendmail SMTP server, which is notorious for its complicated configuration file.
The Networking section allows you to configure network equipment, as well as a number of complex network management functions, such as firewalling (internet). All utilities work with standard configuration files, so everything you do in Webmin will show up on the command line.
The Hardware section is for configuring physical devices, mainly printers and storage devices. The Logical Volume Management (LVM) utility is especially interesting because it allows you to visually manage dynamic volumes on your Linux system.
The Cluster section contains utilities that you can use if you are clustering a system. In this context, a cluster is a set of related systems for which you want to synchronize their settings. Systems can synchronize users, groups, packages, and more with tracking system failures. These utilities allow you to set up powerful fault-tolerant systems, as well as systems where synchronization is important. Clustering is a fairly complex topic and may require installation of packages not included in your distribution.
The Others section contains a variety of utilities that you may find useful. "SSH/Telnet Login" and "File Manager" are implemented as applets and cannot be launched unless the browser has JRE installed. The "Perl Modules" utility will be useful for maintaining Perl modules, and allows you to connect directly to CPAN in . "File Manager" provides access to the server's file system with an Explorer-like interface and allows you to move and copy files without moving them through your workstation's memory (if you work remotely). "SSH/Telnet Login" is a utility that allows you to access the console of a remote machine through your browser.
Summary
Webmin is a web application written in Perl for administration purposes. Webmin is extensible and available outside of Linux and other *nix-like operating systems. Once Webmin is installed, it can be accessed on a special port (usually 10000), either locally or by a remote browser. It provides a point-and-click interface to a variety of Linux administrative tasks, including user management, network firewall management, and network device configuration.
Webmin is free (both to install and use) and is great for managing a running Linux environment while you move from the Windows graphical utilities. Webmin modules are a front-end to the console utilities, so the configuration process is the same and administration can be safely done by both sets of utilities.
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Using the "Terminal" is not always convenient even for professionals. Therefore, graphical interfaces are increasingly used today - even for those tasks where the use of text commands leads to faster results. A separate topic is the installation of Webmin Ubuntu - this is the ability to use a graphical web interface to manage the server.
Installing Webmin is required to work in graphical interfaces instead of the terminal.
Why is this so relevant? Among technical specialists, the speed of systems is valued very highly. Working with solutions that would slow down the server is unacceptable. Especially if the available resources are not so great. That is why such complexes as Webmin are especially valued. Thanks to them, you can access server resources anywhere you have a computer, Internet access, and a browser to work with.
Webmin is a web-based interface that is designed to manage servers based on Unix-based systems. It is one of the simplest and most convenient solutions for solving problems of this kind. Here are its benefits:
- Helps save time on server management.
- Allows you to configure networks, as well as firewalls for them.
- Supports data backup.
- Allows you to fine-tune the OS.
- And it has many other useful features.
Technically, Webmin consists of a simple web server, as well as numerous scripts that make working with it flexible and fast. Files with program settings can be changed both manually and using the "Webmin Configuration" block - in the graphical interface.
If you want to install Webmin for Ubuntu for commercial use, you can do it for free. The program is distributed under the BSD license.
Let's move on to installation
First you need to make changes to the “sources.list” file:
"sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list"
Insert the following lines at the end of the file:
"deb http://download.webmin.com/download/repository sarge contrib
deb http://webmin.mirror.somersettechsolutions.co.uk/repository sarge contrib"
"wget http://www.webmin.com/jcameron-key.asc
sudo apt-key add jcameron-key.asc"
Made? Now update the list of data sources to load:
"sudo apt-get update"
Now on Ubuntu Server, installing Webmin becomes a matter of two seconds. Run the command:
"sudo apt-get install webmin"
launch
To launch Webmin, you need to enter “https://(domain name or server IP):10000” in the address bar of your browser. It remains only to enter your login and password when entering the server. You need to do this with administrator rights. Everything!
Finally
It is not always convenient to configure the system through the terminal. Many administrators prefer a graphical interface to a 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 often used for configuration.
With the help of the web interface, you can access the web server settings from anywhere where there is Internet access and you only need a browser. One such open source web interface is webmin. It is very popular among Linux users due to its simplicity and great functionality.
In most cases, to administer the server, you can do without the command line, but simply perform all the actions through the web interface. Let's take a look at what features Webmin supports:
- Creating and deleting user accounts;
- Setting up services and services using special modules, such as Apache or DNS;
- Creation of user mailboxes;
- View system usage statistics.
By default, Webmin contains more than 500 scripts that implement the connection between the web interface options and the system command shell. And additional modules can be added to all this to further expand the functionality of the program. Webmin is written entirely in Perl and, as I said, is available for free. In this article, we'll walk you through installing Webmin on Ubuntu Server 16.04.
Installing Webmin on Ubuntu Server
Before moving on to installing Webmin on Ubuntu, you need to add the official program repository to the application sources. To do this, open the /etc/apt/sources.list file 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 repository's GPG key:
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 using the firewall. To do this, run:
sudo ufw allow 10000
Setting up Webmin on Ubuntu 16.04
You can access the Webmin interface simply by typing your server address and port 10000 into your browser's address bar. By default, Webmin uses https, so you will need to use this 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-CA, the browser cannot trust it. 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 authority:
This is what the main page will look like:
The first page shows general information about the system, which will help you understand which system you are currently dealing with. It will also show Webmin updates if there are any.
On the left side of the screen you will find a navigation menu that will allow you to access various Webmin modules and manage the server. The Webmin section contains the settings of 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 complete and now you can configure your system remotely. This can be very useful when you can't or don't want to use the terminal. If you have any questions, ask in the comments!