So you’ve loaded up a copy of Ubuntu Server 14.04 (Trusy Tahr) on your VM, and because you don’t feel like doing everything via the command line, you now want the ease of use that Webmin supplies.
No problem, grabbing it and installing Webmin on an Ubuntu Server remains a relatively simple thing to do.
First, log into your server and edit the sources file:
sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list
Add this line:
deb http://download.webmin.com/download/repository sarge contrib
Save the file and exit the nano editor. Next we need to grab and install the PGP key:
With that all done, now it is a simple matter to install the latest version of Webmin as you would any other Ubuntu package:
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install webmin
Once the install has completed, you should be able to access the webmin console by logging in to either https://localhost:10000/ or https://yourIPaddress:10000/ (Note the HTTPS requirement).
Remember, you need to log in with a user account that has sudo rights and of course a password (i.e., don’t log in with the root user).
Webmin is a user-friendly web-based interface for Linux server system administration. Previously installing Webmin on your Ubuntu server required a few workarounds thanks to its reliance on deprecated perl libraries, but nowadays you can actually do a full install via the standard APT mechanism.
First, edit your sources file to add the Webmin repository:
sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list
Add the following two 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
Next, add the necessary key to ensure smooth access:
cd ~
wget http://www.webmin.com/jcameron-key.asc
sudo apt-key add jcameron-key.asc
Now that we’re all set up, time to do the actual download and install:
Done. You should now be able to login to Webmin at the URL http://localhost:10000/. Or if accessing it remotely, replace localhost with your system’s IP address. You can login in with any user account that has sudo powers.
Nifty.
Related Link: Related Link: http://www.webmin.com/index.html
There is nothing more daunting than being given an Ubuntu Server to manage if you have never ever delved into the world of command line (or should that be terminal line) Linux. Thankfully though, someone saw it fit to lend a helping hand to these hapless system administrators, resulting in the very useful Webmin package.
Basically Webmin is nothing more than a web-based interface for system administration in Unix. Using any browser that supports tables and forms (and Java for the File Manager module), you can setup user accounts, Apache, DNS, file sharing, you can restart and shutdown, and so on and so forth.
Webmin consists of a simple web server, and a number of Perl CGI programs which directly update system files like /etc/inetd.conf and /etc/passwd.
Once installed on a machine (which may sometimes prove a bit tricky mind you), all a system administrator needs to do is hit that Server on port 10000 in a web browser and he’ll be good to go, now able to effortlessly control all sorts of behaviour using the nice and reasonably friendly web interface.
Installing Webmin in Ubuntu is not exactly a quick win thanks to Webmin’s reliance on a deprecated PERL package (an MD5 wrapper to be exact) that Ubuntu and the like just don’t want to include any more, but never fear, following these steps one by one will have you up and running in absolutely no time!
All done. You should now be able to run the webmin web manager from another PC by hitting http://10.0.0.6:10000/ (using your server’s IP address of course!)
