Hidden Linux : Sexy server administration
A while back I recycled
an old 386 PC and for use as an Ubuntu-based home file server.
The elderly beast hasn't missed a beat since the day it was booted but
I've been administering it via the command line over ssh. I
actually like
using the command line -- probably a reflection of my early training as
an assembler programmer -- but I know it's not everyone's cup of tea.
So here's a quick guide to adding Webmin
to your server.What's Webmin? Well if you followed the preceeding link you'd know that ...
Webmin is a web-based interface
for system administration for Unix.
Using any modern web browser, you can setup user accounts, Apache, DNS,
file sharing and much more. Webmin removes the need to manually edit
Unix configuration files... and lets you manage
a system from the console or remotely.
In short, it gives you a sexy admim GUI. And that's not to be sneezed at!
First off you need to download the appropriate package from Webmin HQ. Because my server is running Ubuntu LTS Server Edition, I chose the Debian package.
(If you're really clever you'll have used wget to download it straight to the server. If you're not, you'll need to move the file there first.)
Now connect to the server as usual (typically via ssh), cd to wherever you dumped the download, and -- if if your server's Ubuntu-based -- enter the command
sudo dpkg -i webmin_version_no.deb
At this point you may get messages about missing packages on your server. If you do, just execute
sudo apt-get install -f
to fix'em up.
And that's it! On completion you'll be given a message to the effect that you can now access the server through any client browser with the command
https://server_name:10000/
Before you start howling that doesn't actually work, you should make sure the server name is actually in your client's /etc/hosts file. If it's not, and you can't be bothered adding it, you'll have to connect with the more prosaic
https://IP_address:10000/
Firefox users will almost certainly get a message that saying the secure connection failed. The reason for this is that "the default SSL certificate that is generated by webmin is not issued by a recognized certificate authority." Just choose to add an exception -- or if you're interested in getting a proper SSL certificate, check out the FAQ.
After that you'll be prompted to login to Webmin, and from that point on it's all just point'n'click!
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Comments
Webmin is great and works fine on Mac OS X. You can use Fink or MacPorts to select and install a lot of your favourite unix apps on your mac.
Or you can install it all by hand: http://www.webmin.com/osx.html
I had webmin running on an old bondi iMac that sat in the corner as a file and webserver.
Cheers,
Grev
Posted by: Greville Whittle | March 19, 2009 8:02 PM
Also for JohnMc, for manage files or simple stuff, I think Gnome's Nautilus are very capable and conveninent. Basically you can just menupulate remote files in ssh server just as local files.
Except in Linux, I don't know any software can have such a simple solution in either Windows or Mac, anyone know such one, pleas let me know.
Posted by: Peng | March 17, 2009 2:54 PM
Webmin sounds like a neat idea, I am about to build myself a file server as well and will definitely tried it out.
Also, not sure what Webmin capable of, but for a 386, even LXDE seems not light enough, isn't it?
Posted by: Peng | March 17, 2009 2:47 PM
WebMin, love it, use it.
But there are a lot of times I only need to manage some files or do some other simple stuff. For that I go a different route.
A) Load XFCE, LXDE, OpenBox or other lightweight X base.
B) Use ssh with the -X option to forward X.
The footprint is relatively small. I can fire up apps like Thunar, Synaptic, Mousepad, etc right from the server for presentation on the desktop.
Posted by: JohnMc | March 16, 2009 7:31 AM