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

Using the web interface, you can access the web server settings from anywhere you have access to the Internet and you only need a browser. One such open source web interface is webmin. He is very popular among Linux users because of its simplicity and enormous functionality.

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

• Creating and deleting user accounts;
• Configuring services using special modules eg Apache or DNS;
• Creation mailboxes users;
• 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 to all this, additional modules can be added 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 will look at how to install Webmin on Ubuntu Server 16.04.

Installing Webmin on Ubuntu Server

Before you proceed to install 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 GPG repository key:

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

All that remains is to update the package lists:

sudo apt-get update

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

sudo apt-get install webmin

When the installation is complete, to allow access to the web interface from 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 by simply typing your server address and port 10000 into address bar browser. By default, Webmin uses https, so you will need to use this protocol as well. 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 not issued by a certificate authority, the browser cannot consider it reliable. 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 log into the web interface. This user must have superuser privileges:

This is what the main page will look like:

The first page shows general information about a system that will help you understand what system you are currently dealing with. Webmin updates will also be shown here if there are any.

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

conclusions

That's all, the installation of Webmin on Ubuntu Server 16.04 is 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 have any questions, ask in the comments!

There are many web server control panels, both specialized for hosting and general purpose. Today I will install one of these panels - Webmin on a CentOS 7 server. In my opinion, this is one of the most popular tools remote control server via browser.

If you have a desire to learn how to work with Mikrotik routers and become a specialist in this field, I recommend following a program based on information from the official course MikroTik Certified Network Associate. The course is worthwhile, read the link for all the details. There are free courses.

Webmin is a web panel for administering a Unix server. It is cross-platform and can be installed on various Unix distributions. I described one of its uses a long time ago in an article about it on freebsd. Using webmin you can perform almost all popular administrative actions on the server, such as:

• Set up network connections
• Add users
• Mount partitions
• Set up firewall
• Shut down or restart the server
• Update packages

and much more. There are modules for various software that can be controlled via webmin. For example, Samba, or a web server, mysql server and many other packages. The list of modules is extensive; you can see the list of third-party modules on the official website custom modules, or in the panel itself after installation there is a list of official modules. Through webmin you can access the server console, upload or download files from the server. Sometimes this is convenient.

I myself almost never use this panel, there is no need, I’m used to configuring everything in the console. But I know people who actively administrated servers using webmin. These were not very advanced administrators in Linux, but nevertheless, this panel allowed them to normally manage the server without the proper knowledge and skills.

I almost always use webmin on mail servers. It’s convenient for me to analyze and search for something in huge email logs using the log viewer module. I haven’t come across anything simpler and more convenient. For example, you have a daily log of 100-300 megabytes, dozens of events are recorded in it every second. You have a letter id. You can enter the email id in the search bar and see all the log lines in which it appears. It is very comfortable. A regular search is not enough in such a situation. You can, of course, grab the output of cat, or come up with something else, but this is less convenient. Especially if you need to compare values ​​from different log files. You just open different logs in two browser windows and analyze them.

Let's start installing Webmin on a server running CentOS 7. The process is described on the official website in the corresponding section. There is nothing complicated. You need to add the webmin repository, and then install the package itself and dependencies.

Add a repository:

# mcedit /etc/yum.repos.d/webmin.repo name=Webmin Distribution Neutral #baseurl=http://download.webmin.com/download/yum mirrorlist=http://download.webmin.com/download/yum /mirrorlist enabled=1

Import the GPG key:

# rpm --import http://www.webmin.com/jcameron-key.asc

Install Webmin:

# yum install -y webmin

After installation, it will launch automatically. All we have to do is add it to startup:

# chkconfig webmin on

We go to the webmin web interface using the link https://192.168.56.10:10000 , where 192.168.56.10 is the ip address of the server. Be sure to specify the https protocol, you won’t be able to log in without it. Enter your username and password root. The webmin main page opens:

I won’t describe all the possibilities; you can browse the menu on the left yourself and see what can be configured via webmin. I draw attention to several important points. There is an opinion that webmin is not secure and the server can be hacked through it. I don’t know how justified these fears are, but just in case, it’s better to limit access to the server.

If you log in from static addresses, then limit access only to these addresses. This is done right there, in the next setting IP Access Control. I recommend this setting. Personally, I would not open the world of webmin unless absolutely necessary.

If you want to see a panel with Russian language, then there is no problem. You can select it in the section Language. The translation is generally fine, everything is clear. But it’s better, of course, to get used to English, without it there’s nowhere in system administration. But if you don’t understand it, you can also use Russian. In the end, webmin is most useful to those who do not understand servers, but need to administrate something. After changing the language, you need to forcefully refresh the browser page so that the entire interface becomes Russian.

That’s all, you can figure out the rest of the features and settings yourself; there’s nothing complicated about Webmin.

Online course Linux Security

• Apply the best global practices and information security standards (Debian, RedHat, MitRE);
• Use tools to detect and exploit vulnerabilities in the Linux OS;
• Install and configure network attack detection and prevention systems;
• Work with monitoring and containerization systems based on Docker;

Original text on the official Webmin page.

• I think I found a bug in Webmin!

  First, check if your Webmin is updated to the latest version. Many bugs in older versions have already been fixed in newer ones.
  Second, check the Webmin updates page, which hosts bug fixes for the current version. The easiest way to install everything latest updates- use the second and third forms in the Webmin Modules window on the Webmin Configuration module page.
  If you really found new error, go to the bug tracking system page and post information about it.

• How can I change my Webmin password if I have forgotten it?

  The changepass.pl program included in the Webmin distribution will help solve this problem. By default, Webmin is installed in /usr/libexec/webmin and you can change the admin user's password to foo by running:

  /usr/libexec/webmin/changepass.pl /etc/webmin admin foo

  That is, now you can log into Webmin using a pair of login - admin, password - foo. Instead of the value foo there can be any value and it will become current password at admin. Exactly the same actions can be done with any user.
  Note from the site : In the case of FreeBSD, if Webmin is installed in the default directory, the command to change the password is as follows:

  /usr/local/lib/webmin/changepass.pl /usr/local/etc/webmin admin foo

• What changes will happen to the existing OS configuration files after installing Webmin on it?

  A simple installation of Wemin does not in any way affect the operating system configuration files. Only when you start using the program, changes will be made to configuration files according to your actions in Webmin, regarding a specific module. For example, using the Apache Webserver module will not affect your Sendmail settings.

• My browser says "The page cannot be displayed" when I try to log into Wemin via SSL

  If you are using SSL, check that the URL is written correctly. It should look like this http s://ip-address:10000/ instead of http://ip-address:10000. Without https, your browser does not use SSL mode and is reporting an error.

• How do I run setup.sh?

  After extracting the Webmin tar archive, go to the directory (cd) webmin-1.430 and write ./setup.sh . The setup.sh file must be executable. Since the root user on most systems does not have a specific directory, a simple setup.sh will not work.
  Note from the site: If Webmin is installed by default, go to the directory /usr/local/lib/webmin and run setup.sh by simply typing setup.sh into the command line. Sometimes you may need another launch option: sh setup.sh.

• Where can I get the Perl MD5 module?

  Webmin module "Users and Groups" supports MD5 password encryption, if your system supports it. It depends on the Perl MD5 module, which can be downloaded from http://www.cpan.org/modules/by-module/MD5/MD5-1.7.tar.gz. Once downloaded, enter the following commands to install the module:

  gunzip MD5-1.7.tar.gz
  tar xvf MD5-1.7.tar
  cd MD5-1.7
  perl Makefile.PL
  make
  make install
  

  If you are using Webmin 0.83 or higher earlier version, the simplest solution would be to install the MD5 module from CPAN.

• How can I install new modules?

  Download new module- a file with the extension .wbm, open Webmin -> Webmin configuration and select Webmin Modules. Then, using the form on the page that opens, you can install the module from the local file system, where the Webmin server is running or upload through your browser on the client machine.
  Note from the site: Module installation example wbmtranslator you can see .

• Can I run Webmin or Usermin under Apache?

  Yes, but it will require some changes to the configuration files. See details for running Webmin under Apache, or for running Usermin.
  You can also run Webmin from the Zeus webserver. See instructions.

• Why am I getting the error "ERROR: Perl crypt function does not work under Slackware"?

  On some systems with Slackware installed, the Perl crypt() function does not work because the descrypt.tgz package is not installed. To solve this problem, install the required package from the Slackware CD or FTP.

• How can I install Perl on a system that does not have it installed by default?

  You need to download the source code file or port and build latest version Perl from http://www.cpan.org/src/stable.tar.gz. Or if you have Solaris or HPUX you can download pre-built packages that you don't have to compile yourself.

• Is there a log of Webmin operations?

  By default, partial logging is enabled in Webmin. To enable recording of all events and actions, go to the Webmin configuration module ( Webmin Configuration module), click on the icon Logging and enable the option to record all actions and changes( Log changes made to files by each action). This will record all file changes and commands launched by Webmin. Once the option is enabled, all actions performed from that moment can be viewed in the Webmin operation log module( Webmin Actions Log module).

• When I downloaded the .tar.gz version of Webmin, why do I receive a .tar file? Or why is the file size much larger than what is indicated on the download page?

  Your browser will automatically unzip the file for you. Simply rename it to webmin-1.430.tar (if not already done) and skip the gunzip step during installation.

• My browser does not accept the Webmin certificate in SSL mode.

  This happened because the default SSL certificate generated by Webmin is not recognized by browsers as a trusted certificate. From a security perspective, this makes the certificate less secure because an attacker (hacker) could theoretically redirect traffic from your server to another machine without your knowledge, which is usually not possible using a strong SSL certificate. Network traffic is still encrypted, so you are protected from attackers simply listening to your network connection.

  If you really want to be sure that only you are connecting to the Webmin server, buy a certificate from a company that issues certificates, for example, VeriSign (by the way, they have trial versions for free testing). The resulting certificate will be associated with your domain name and will be recognized by web browsers. The certificate should be placed in the /etc/webmin/miniserv.pem file. It should contain the following data: Certificate + key.

  To download the resulting certificate, you must follow several steps:

  • Run the command openssl genrsa -out key.pem 1024 . This will create a key.pem file which will be your private key.
  • The following command is openssl req -new -key key.pem -out req.pem . When asked for a common name, be sure to enter the full domain name of your server used in the URL, for example www.yourserver.com. This command will create a req.pem file, which is a certificate signing request (CSR).
  • Send this request (CSR) to the certificate agency of your choice in any way convenient for them. They should respond to you with a certificate file. Starting at the line in this file -----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----, copy the contents into the cert.pem file.
  • Connect the key and certificate files with the command cat key.pem cert.pem >/etc/webmin/miniserv.pem.
  • Restart Webmin (check if SSL mode is enabled) to use the new key.
• What variables does Webmin use?module Users and Groups?
  • $USERADMIN_ACTION - Can take values: CREATE_USER, MODIFY_USER, DELETE_USER, CREATE_GROUP, MODIFY_GROUP or DELETE_GROUP depending on which action was performed last.
  • $USERADMIN_USER - The last name of the Unix user with whom actions were performed - creation, modification or deletion.
  • $USERADMIN_UID - Unix user UID.
  • $USERADMIN_REAL - Real Unix username.
  • $USERADMIN_SHELL - Shell used by the Unix user.
  • $USERADMIN_HOME - The user's Unix home directory.
  • $USERADMIN_PASS - Unix user password.
  • $USERADMIN_GROUP - The name of the group that was last created, modified, or deleted.
• When I install Webmin RPM (from RPM packages), I get the error "Unable to identify operating system"

  This happens if Webmin cannot identify your OS automatically from the information in the /etc/issue file. Perhaps because it (this file) has been modified. The best option- install the .tar.gz version of Webmin, which asks about the user's operating system, requiring manual input from him.

• How can I create a Webmin user that would only have rights to configure the Apache virtual server or DNS service (DNS domain)?

  In the module Webmin Servers create a new user and give him access only to the module Apache Webserver. After saving, click on Apache Webserver then select the name of this user in the Webmin user list and use the form that allows you to deny him access to other modules except Apache virtual server.

  With the remaining modules, the actions are similar to those described above, i.e. issuing rights only to a specific module, for example, DNS domains, Unix users or mail aliases.

• Is there a version of Webmin for Windows?

  Yes, download the Webmin ZIP archive and install it on Windows using the included setup.pl script. However, this is an alpha version and only a few modules are more or less working. For example, Squid, Sendmail and some others that are missing on Windows. In addition, the system Windows security quite different from Unix. In general, nothing special if something suddenly doesn’t work.

• How can I change the list of allowed IP addresses to access Webmin from the shell?

  You need to change the /etc/webmin/miniserv.conf file, in part allow= or deny=. If part allow= exists, it contains a list of all addresses and networks that are allowed access to Webmin. Exactly the same block deny= contains addresses that are denied access to Webmin. After making changes, restart the Webmin server. That is, stop and restart /etc/webmin/stop ; /etc/webmin/start . Typically this file can only be modified by the root user.

• After logging into Webmin, I receive an error message - You do not have access to Webmin modules( You do not have access to any Webmin modules)

  We are not sure what is causing this error, but if you follow these steps, this issue will go away:

  • Connect to your server via telnet as root.
  • Open the /etc/webmin/webmin.acl file and make sure there is a line that starts with root: or admin:. It should look something like this:
    admin: acl
  • Login to Webmin again, and go into the Webmin Users module, which will be the only one you have access to.
  • Click on your username in the list, grant yourself access to all the modules, and click Save.
• Is it possible to run Webmin using inetd?

  Certainly. True, with some changes in the configuration files. Your actions:

  • Open /etc/services and add a line like:
    webmin 10000 /tcp
  • Open /etc/inetd.conf and add the following:
    webmin stream tcp nowait root /usr/libexec/webmin/miniserv.pl miniserv.pl /etc/webmin/miniserv.conf
    
  • Restart inetd to apply the changes. Connect to Webmin as usual on port 10000.
  • Using the module Bootup and Shutdown, check that inetd is configured to start at boot and Webmin is not.

  If you are using xinetd instead of inetd, follow these steps:

  • Stop Webmin with /etc/webmin/stop
  • Add the line inetd=1 to /etc/webmin/miniserv.conf
  • Remove the line session=1 from /etc/webmin/miniserv.conf
  • Open /etc/xinetd.conf and add the following:

  service webmin
  {
  user = root
  env=LANG=
  port = 10000
  socket_type = stream
  protocol = tcp
  wait = no
  disable = no
  type = UNLISTED
  server = /usr/libexec/webmin/miniserv.pl
  server_args = /etc/webmin/miniserv.conf
  }

  • If you have Webmin installed somewhere else, then you also need to change /usr/libexec/webmin in the part where the paths are written.
  • Restart xinetd to apply the changes. Connect to Webmin as usual on port 10000.
  • Using the Bootup and Shutdown module, check that xinetd is configured to start at boot and Webmin is not.

  To run Usermin from inetd or xinetd, follow the steps above, but replace /etc/webmin with /etc/usermin and change the port to 20000.

• How can I make sure that users gain access to Webmin using their operating system login/password?

  This is done in several steps:

  • In the Users module( Webmin Users) click on the user for whom you want synchronization to be performed with his login credentials to the operating system and set the field Password to the value Unix authorization( Unix Authentication).

  If PAM is not used on your operating system, feel free to skip the first two steps. Webmin automatically reads /etc/passwd or /etc/shadow files directly to authorize users who use the mode Unix Authentication.

• How to remove Webmin?

  Simply by running /etc/webmin/uninstall.sh .
  If you have an RPM version of Webmin, then run the command rpm -e webmin, or if you have a version for Solaris, then use the following command pkgrm WSwebmin.

• How to allow access to any Unix user to authorize (log in) to Webmin?

  Follow these steps:

  • In the Perl Modules in Webmin, install Authen::PAM from CPAN.
  • In the PAM Authentication module, add a new PAM service called webmin that uses Unix authentication.
  • In the module Webmin Users, create a new user and give him a custom name, for example, unixer, with access to the modules you want him to have access to.
  • In each of the modules in which the user unixer has access, change the rights of your users so that they can only change their account information. For example, in the Change Passwords module( Change Passwords) you should select the option Only for this user( Only this user) for the item Users whose passwords can be changed( Users whose passwords can be changed). Therefore, Unix users, after authorization, will only be able to change their own passwords.
  • Click on Configure Unix User Authentication( Configure Unix user authentication), select the list of all Webmin users and click Allow any Unix user to log in with user rights( Allow any Unix user to login with permissions of user) unixer.
  • Any Unix user can now log in to Webmin.
  • If PAM is not used on your operating system, feel free to skip the first two steps. Webmin automatically reads /etc/passwd or /etc/shadow files directly to authenticate users who use Unix Authentication mode.

  Another way is to install Usermin, which allows all Unix users to log in and have access to the settings they are allowed to change using a Webmin-like interface.

• How can I download a file via File Manager?

  Usually, by double-clicking on a file on the right side of the list, it is displayed in a separate window. However, if you also press Shift when double-clicking, your file manager should prompt you to save the file to disk.

  In Webmin versions 0.966 and older, you can also download the file by selecting the file and clicking on the button Save in the upper left corner of the file manager.

• How can I update Webmin on Solaris?

  By default, Solaris does not allow packages to be updated. However, you can change this by opening the file /var/sadm/install/admin/default and replacing the line instance= with instance=overwrite. By updating we mean installing a new Webmin .pkg file.

• How can I configure the From field for users in the Read Mail module?in Usermin's if I have several virtual domains (hosts)?

  By default, when the user composes an email, the From field contains username@systemhostname. You can change this by following these steps:

  • Login to Webmin and run the Usermin Configuration module( Usermin Configuration).
  • Select Usermin Module Configuration.
  • Then click Read Mail.
  • In field Default hostname for From: addresses, enter the domain name or host name that will be appended after the @ sign in the From address field.
  • If you want to prevent users from changing the From (From) address field, set the Allow changing the (From) field( Allow editing of From: address) to No( No).
  • If you have several virtual domains and different users you need to install different domains, you should create a Map file that contains the combination Username - Virtual domain name. Then into the field From: address mapping file indicate the path to this file. The file might have something like this structure:
    usernamefromaddress
    Part username in each line this is the user login to access Unix system, A fromaddress this is the address for the From field for that specific user. Field username may also contain full form postal address, For example, [email protected] .
• How can I restrict database access rights for users in Usermin's MySQL Database module?

  By default, the module shows all databases of your operating system on home page, even if some of them are not available to some users. To change this, follow these instructions:

  • Login to Webmin and run the module Usermin Configuration.
  • Select Usermin Module Configuration.
  • Select MySQL Database on the list.
  • In the Database Access List field( Database access control list) remove the line *: *. Instead, enter the names of the users and, separated by a colon, the databases they have access to. One entry per line. For example:

  jcameron: database1
  fred: database2 database3
  joe: *

  The * sign means all databases are displayed. While the * sign in the user field implies any user not previously entered.

  • Click the Save button to apply the restrictions.
• Why do reports for different logs generated by the Webalizer module turn out the same?

  This is common on Redhat Linux due to a bug in the default Webalizer configuration. You can fix this as follows:

  • Open /etc/webalizer.conf.
  • Change the line starting with HistoryName to HistoryName webalizer.hist.
  • Change the line starting with IncrementalName to IncrementalName webalizer.current.
  • Make the same changes in all .conf files located in the /etc/webmin/webalizer directory.
  • Regenerate all reports.
• Why do I get an error when I try to download something through Webmin, although other programs like wget work fine?

  If you have a firewall configured to transparently allow HTTP requests (e.g. Sonicwall), this may be causing requests made through Webmin to time out. Without going into details of the protocol, my research showed that Sonicwall makes an incorrect assumption about the number of IP packets in the HTTP request, and therefore the error appears.

  It is verified that turning off the option Enforce Host Tag Search The error stops appearing in the firewall.

Unix-like operating systems a lot of positive aspects: security, stability, some are attracted by freeness. But for novice administrators, setting up the system can turn into real hell. Digging through configuration files, constantly reading documentation, which is not in English for everyone, can scare away anyone, especially those who have had time to work with Windows. And even if the system is protected at least a hundred times, errors in configuration files can lead to serious security problems.

Developed by Jamie Cameron, Webmin (http://www.webmin.com/) is a complete interface for system Unix administration, the use of which significantly simplifies the process of system management, and the use of web technologies makes it accessible from anywhere in the world and independent of the operating system setup used at the time. It will be useful for remote system management for those administrators who currently do not have access to a computer with a Unix-like system installed, but standard network Windows 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, set up user accounts from a local or remote computer, install, remove programs, configure Web, mail, DNS server, print server, manage databases, organize sharing files using Samba or NFS, configure a firewall, synchronize time, organize shared Internet access, monitor the status of services, implement backup, burn a CD, access files on a remote computer, including documentation and other countless administration tasks that are countless, but require certain knowledge and skills. At the same time, Webmin will save you from syntax errors and inaccuracies, as best it can, and warn you about potentially dangerous actions. But this, however, does not mean that you don’t need to know anything at all and the smart utility will do everything itself. It is still necessary to have some understanding of the structure of Unix, the meaning of certain utilities, and the peculiarities of the operation of protocols and services. Experienced administrators should also not ignore the presence of such a convenient utility, because remember all the parameters in the configuration files and the subtleties of setting up services on various systems, you must agree, it’s quite difficult.

Webmin features

Written in version 5 of Perl, Webmin has a modular structure that allows you to freely expand the required functionality or, conversely, remove everything unnecessary. 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). Open source only benefited the project. While Jimi Cameron was tinkering with the main code of the system, numerous developers translated the interface into more than 30 languages ​​(Russian is included) and created more than 270 modules that significantly expand the capabilities. Some of the modules are already included in the standard package, others are available for download separately.

I will only focus on safety measures and convenience. It is quite possible that after registration you will see an English interface. Though English language and is the administrator’s native language, but you will agree that communicating 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" After which we return to now Setting up 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 limit access only from those addresses that you trust (for example, an internal network), full access can be allowed only if, for example, you are going on vacation and want to be able to access your server. Here it is possible to set as a parameter a network or subnet, individual nodes by IP address or domain name. In the latter case, to be on the safe side, check the box “ Determine IP address by name on every request" To make it faster, this operation can be done manually by using in the file /etc/webmin/miniserv.conf options allow= or deny=. The first contains a list of hosts 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, if the answer to the question “Start Webmin at boot time” is positive, Webmin will be loaded when the system starts; another startup 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 to 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 we restart xinetd.

Now is the time to focus on users. To begin with, we use 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 blocking access after several unsuccessful attempts for a certain time, which will complicate attempts to guess the password directly; all such actions can also be logged. For forgetful and lazy users, you can activate the 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. The 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 into Webmin users with specific rights, configure user synchronization, in which newly created users are automatically assigned to one of the Webmin groups, configure user authentication, view logs, and terminate the user session.

Webmin can log events in the standard CLF (combined log format) log file format, and it has quite flexible logging options. So going into “ Setting up Webmin” — “Magazine” you can specify which IP addresses and host names will be logged, actions with which modules and which users 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 “ Log changes made to files with 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 “ Webmin Activity Log” (Webmin Actions Log).

Where is my command line?

Where would we be without her? If Webmin’s capabilities are still not enough or you miss command line, then in the “ Other” (Others) there are several special items. “ Login via SSH/Telnet” (SSH/Telnet Login) which by default tries to connect to port 23 of the telnet service, 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 be useful in order to get onto your computers using SSH in places where it is not so easy to find the necessary applications (even from an Internet cafe), all you need to do is run it on one of your machines. Next in the tab “ Others"discovers and interfaces to the command interpreter" Command shell” (Command Shell) allows you to remotely execute shell commands and maintains command history. The next item, “Custom Commands,” allows untrained users to execute commands or scripts with the click of a single button. The administrator just needs to create a command by filling in the appropriate fields (register the command, set the 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 Fig. 4 (requires JAVA support), which will allow you to access files on a remote computer in a convenient graphical shell.

Webmin modules

Webmin's modularity allows you to expand functionality to the required level, and on the other hand, remove the excess so that it does not become 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 mention 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 via Java file manager, manage cron jobs, etc. To install, just go to the “ Setting up Usermin” (Usermin Configuration) and click on the “Install Usermin” button. To work with modules (usually a file with the extension .wbm, although it is possible to install rpm packages) go to “ Webmin modules” (Webmin Modules), where you can install a new one by specifying its location on local disk or on the Internet, remove the module by selecting it from the list or copy the module. Copying modules allows you to have the same module with different settings, which can be put into different groups for quick access and allow access to different users.

Among other goodies, it should be noted the possibility of changing appearance(in the tab of the same name) i.e. themes can choose colors to suit your taste and change the look more globally, including icons, colors, background and page layout. It may seem like a toy to some, but when you have to simultaneously configure the operation of several nodes, different designs make it less confusing.

This is what Webmin is like. Easy to install and configure, useful in operation, allowing administrators to focus more on the process of setting up the system, making it possible to work safely and obtain information from places where the necessary utilities do not have access.

Webmin is a graphical web interface for managing a server based on Unix-like operating systems. A very convenient thing for administration Linux servers. Makes life easier for beginners and experts, and saves Linux administration time. MUST HAVE!!!

Possibilities.

• Full OS management (boot, processes, status, log files);
• Manage users and groups and their rights;
• Manage all servers (Apache, FTP, SSH, Samba);
• Network setup including Firewall;
• Perform backups, and much more;

Let's move on to the installation.

Adding the WEBMIN repository

Sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

Insert the line at the end of the file (shift+ctrl+v)

Deb https://download.webmin.com/download/repository sarge contrib

Save (ctrl+o) and input.

Installing the keys

Wget https://www.webmin.com/jcameron-key.asc sudo apt-key add jcameron-key.asc

Adding the necessary modules

Sudo apt-get install perl libnet-ssleay-perl openssl libauthen-pam-perl libpam-runtime libio-pty-perl libdigest-md5-perl

Let's update.

Sudo apt-get update

Set WEBMIN

Sudo apt-get install webmin

PROFIT!!!

Go to the browser and open webmin. Please note that the protocol HTTPS(a window will appear with an invalid certificate, accept it and add it to the exceptions).

Https://ip server address:10000