Webmin, install this tool on Ubuntu 20.04

In the following article we are going to take a look at how we can install Webmin on Ubuntu 20.04. This is one web-based tool that allows sysadmins manage systems similar to Gnu / Linux and Unix, especially servers. Webmin allows you to manage user accounts, update packages, system log files, configure firewalls, email, database, postfix, etc.

Webmin is written in Perl and runs as its own web server and process. By default it communicates via TCP through port 10000 and can be configured to use SSL, if OpenSSL is installed with Perl modules.

Thanks to this tool the difficulty of configuring our own server is relegated to the background and Webmin takes care of all the technical part, leaving only decision-making for the user. This way they won't have to waste time researching the details of how to implement the options they want to have available.

Installing Webmin on Ubuntu 20.04

Before starting the installation of a program, it is always a good idea first update the packages available from the repositories. We can do this by opening a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) and executing the commands:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Next we will have to install the necessary dependencies using command:

sudo apt install software-properties-common apt-transport-https

Enable the Webmin repository

At this point, we must enable the Webmin repository as this is not yet available in Ubuntu 20.04 LTS.

First of all, let's add the Webmin GPG key as it's shown in the following:

sudo wget -q http://www.webmin.com/jcameron-key.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

After the previous command, we can manually add Webmin repository with the command:

sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=amd64] http://download.webmin.com/download/repository sarge contrib"

Install Webmin

So far, we have updated the system, installed the Webmin GPG key, and manually added the required repository. The next thing we will do is install webmin executing in a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) the command:

sudo apt install webmin

After the installation, we will be able to check status details running the command:

sudo systemctl status webmin

As shown in the above screenshot, Webmin is already running correctly. Now for check the installed version, we will only have to use the following command:

dpkg -l | grep webmin

In the previous output we will see that we install Webmin version 1.941. With the tool installed and running, we can now access the control panel using the web browser.

Configure the firewall

By default, this tool listens on TCP port 10000. To access our server externally, we must open the port in the firewall. To do this, we will execute the command in a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T):

sudo ufw allow 10000/tcp

Now we will reload the firewall for the changes to take place:

sudo ufw reload

To check the status of the firewall, we will execute:

sudo ufw status

Log In

To log in to Webmin, we will only have to open the browser and go to the IP of our server:

https://IP-del-servidor:10000/

Initially, we are going to look at the following web page which indicates that there is a potential risk ahead. This is not worrisome as it happens because Webmin generates its own self-assigned SSL certificate that the browser does not consider secure.

To get around this obstacle, we will simply click on the '' tabAdvanced'and then in'Accept the risk and continue'.

Now we can log in with our system user. In addition, when this application is installed, it creates a superuser to manage the application with the root name and the password that our root user has on the machine. If you do not have the root account activated, you may need to change the password of the Webmin root user. This can be done by opening a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) and typing the command:

sudo /usr/share/webmin/changepass.pl /etc/webmin root nueva-clave

Finally we are going to get to the screen where we log in.

At this point we can go ahead and configure our Ubuntu 20.04 system according to its specifications.

To update our installation, after each launch there will be no more to execute the following commands in a terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T):

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

uninstall

For delete repository, in the terminal (Ctrl + Alt + T) we will have to execute the command:

sudo add-apt-repository --remove "deb https://download.webmin.com/download/repository sarge contrib"

Then we can remove tool using command:

sudo apt remove webmin; sudo apt autoremove

For more information about this software, you can consult the project website and documentation that they offer us to users there.