How to Set Up and Utilize Webmin on Ubuntu 22.04

VPS / November 9, 2023 / RKBarnwal / 0

Introduction to Webmin

Webmin is an open-source, web-based control panel that empowers you to efficiently manage your Linux server directly from your web browser. It provides a modern, flexible dashboard with a wide array of options for handling the inner workings of your Linux server, including user accounts, disk quotas, DNS, package settings, services, web servers, and much more. If you’re utilizing a LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) stack on your server, Webmin enables you to configure your Apache web server, MySQL server, PHP applications, and even other technologies like PostgreSQL and Python. Furthermore, it allows you to manage your server remotely from any web browser.

In this tutorial, we’ll guide you through the process of installing Webmin on an Ubuntu 22.04 server and show you how to perform fundamental system administration tasks. These tasks include monitoring the system, creating new users with varying permissions, installing, updating, and upgrading packages, running software on your server, and executing commands.

Prerequisites

Before you begin, ensure you have the following:
– An Ubuntu 22.04 server with root access or a sudo user. If you don’t have one, you can obtain it from our website. Additionally, you can follow our “Connecting to your VPS with SSH and improving security” guide to set up an SSH connection to your server and create a sudo user.

Get Best VPS for you: Click Here

Step 1: Updating the Package Cache
Start by refreshing the package manager’s cache to ensure you have access to the latest available package versions. Execute the following command:

sudo apt update

Step 2: Adding the Webmin Repository and Installing Webmin
To install the Webmin control panel, you’ll need to add the Webmin repository, which allows you to install and update Webmin packages using `apt`. To ensure the trustworthiness of this new repository and confirm that it’s provided by Webmin developers, follow these steps:

Obtaining the PGP Key

Fetch the PGP key provided by Webmin developers to verify package authenticity and convert it into a format that `apt` can use:

wget -qO- https://download.webmin.com/jcameron-key.asc | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/webmin.gpg

This command downloads Webmin’s PGP key and utilizes the `gpg` command-line tool to convert it into a file suitable for `apt`.

Adding the Webmin Repository

Open the `/etc/apt/sources.list` file:

sudo nano /etc/apt/sources.list

Add the Webmin repository at the end of the file:

deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/webmin.gpg] http://download.webmin.com/download/repository sarge contrib

To save changes and exit, press `CTRL+X`, then `Y`, and `ENTER`.

Update the package index to include the newly added Webmin repository:

sudo apt update

Once the update is complete, install Webmin with this command:

sudo apt install webmin

After the installation is finished, check the status of the Webmin service to ensure it’s running correctly:

sudo systemctl status webmin

You should see output similar to the following:

● webmin.service - Webmin server daemon
Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/webmin.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
Active: active (running) since Sun 2022-08-28 17:23:29 UTC; 53s ago
Process: 7432 ExecStart=/usr/share/webmin/miniserv.pl /etc/webmin/miniserv.conf (code=ex>
Main PID: 7433 (miniserv.pl)
Tasks: 1 (limit: 19072)
Memory: 28.8M
CPU: 638ms
CGroup: /system.slice/webmin.service
└─7433 /usr/bin/perl /usr/share/webmin/miniserv.pl /etc/webmin/miniserv.conf

Aug 28 17:23:27 lamptest systemd[1]: Starting Webmin server daemon...
Aug 28 17:23:27 lamptest perl[7432]: pam_unix(webmin:auth): authentication failure; logname=>
Aug 28 17:23:29 lamptest webmin[7432]: Webmin starting
Aug 28 17:23:29 lamptest systemd[1]: Started Webmin server daemon.

Please note that Webmin is accessible via TCP port 10000. If your system has a firewall enabled, ensure that it allows traffic on this port:

sudo ufw allow 10000

Warning

Exercise caution with your security practices. It’s advisable to allow only trusted IP addresses or ranges to access your Webmin control panel. Additionally, always use strong passwords for your Unix users and restrict their permissions. Webmin is a powerful tool, and anyone with access to it will have full control over your system.

With Webmin installed, access it via your browser by visiting the following URL, replacing `your_ip_address_or_domain` with your server’s IP address or domain name:

https://your_ip_address_or_domain:10000

If you haven’t set up an SSL certificate from a Certificate Authority like Let’s Encrypt, you may receive a “Not Secure” or “Connection is not private” error in your browser. This occurs because Webmin uses a self-signed certificate that is not recognized by your browser as a trusted certificate authority. You can proceed despite the error by clicking “Advanced” or “More Information” in your browser.

Configuring Webmin

Login to Webmin using the Unix username and password you’ve set up on the server or use your server’s root account.

You’ll be greeted by the Webmin dashboard, which displays system information, including CPU, memory, and disk usage. Additionally, you’ll find a menu on the left side, providing access to various options for controlling your system’s functionality, such as system tools, networking, hardware, and more.

Reader Alert
If you find the technical instructions in this tutorial time-consuming or beyond your expertise, you have a convenient and practical solution available. SSD Nodes offers a fully tested, ready-made solution. Visit our website, select the server specifications that suit your needs, and choose Webmin from the 1-Click Applications dropdown menu during checkout. In just a few minutes, our algorithms will take care of all the technical aspects for you. It’s a smoother and hassle-free approach!

With Webmin installed and configured, you’re now ready to manage your server efficiently.