Looking for a way to install Webmin on Ubuntu? We’ll help you.

Installation of Webmin also includes tasks like configuring a valid SSL certificate for the hostname and creating users and groups.

As a part of our Server Management Services, we help our Customers to install Webmin on Ubuntu.

Let us today discuss the steps to perform this tasks.

How to install Webmin on ubuntu?

Webmin is a web control panel that helps us to manage user accounts, configure DNS settings, and change settings for common packages through a browser-based interface.

Today we will discuss the steps to be followed to install Webmin on Ubuntu here in this write-up. This process includes the following subtasks:

1. Installing Webmin
2. Adding a Valid Certificate with Let’s Encrypt
3. Managing Users and Groups

Now, let us discuss the steps involved in each task.

Installing Webmin

Prior to installing Webmin, we need to update the server’s package index. In Ubuntu, we can perform this with the update command below.

$ sudo apt update

Now as the update is complete, we need to add the Webmin repository to the /etc/apt/sources.list file. This helps to install and update Webmin using the package manager.

For this, we need to add the following line to the bottom of the “/etc/apt/sources.list” file.

deb http://download.webmin.com/download/repository sarge contrib

Next,for the system to trust the new repository,  add the Webmin PGP key. For that, we need to install the gnupg1 package.

After installing the package, download the Webmin PGP key with wget and add it to your system’s list of keys:

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

Now to include the Webmin repository, we need to update the list of packages again with the update command that we used earlier.

Finally, to install Webmin use the command below:

$ sudo apt install webmin

Once the installation finishes, you will be presented with the following output:

~~
Output
. . .
Webmin install complete. You can now login to
https://your_server:10000 as root with your
root password, or as any user who can use sudo.
~~

Note: If ufw is installed and enabled, you need to run the following command in order to allow Webmin through the firewall:

$ sudo ufw allow 10000/tcp

Adding a Valid Certificate with Let’s Encrypt

Webmin by default uses a self-signed, untrusted certificate and it uses HTTPS. Let us replace it with a valid certificate from Let’s Encrypt.

First, navigate to https://your_domain:10000 in your web browse (replace your_domain with the actual one) and sign in with a non-root user login.

Further, in the Webmin dashboard that appears set the server’s hostname. Look for the System hostname field and click on the link to the right.

This will take us to the Hostname and DNS Client page. Enter the Fully-Qualified Domain Name in the Hostname field and save the changes to apply the setting.

Now, click on the Webmin configuration from the Webmin dropdown menu in the left-hand navigation bar. From here click on the Let’s Encrypt tab after selecting SSL Encryption from the list of icons.

As Let’s Encrypt certificates expire after 3 months we need to instruct Webmin to automatically attempt to renew every month. Let’s Encrypt looks for a verification file on the server, so we will configure Webmin to place the verification file inside the folder /var/www/your_domain, which is the folder that the Apache webserver uses.

Steps to set up your certificate:

1. Fill in Hostnames for certificate with your FQDN.
2. For Website root directory for validation file, select the Other Directory button and enter your website’s document root.
3. For Months between automatic renewal section, deselect the Only renew manually option by typing 1 into the input box, and select the radio button to the left of the input box.

Click the Request Certificate button. After a few seconds, a confirmation screen appears.

To use the new certificate, click the Return to Webmin configuration button on the confirmation screen. From that page, scroll down and click the Restart Webmin button. Wait around 30 seconds, and then reload the page and log in again.

Managing Users and Groups

Webmin has many different modules that can control everything from the BIND DNS Server to adding users to the system.

To manage users, first, click the System dropdown menu in the left-hand sidebar, and then click the link for Users and Groups.

We can add and manage users and groups here.

To add a user, click Create a new user, which is located at the top of the users table. This displays the Create User screen, where you can supply the username, password, groups, and other options. Follow these instructions to create the user:

1. Fill in Username with the preferred name.
2. Select Automatic for User ID.
3. Fill in Real Name with a descriptive name like Deployment user.
4. For Home Directory, select Automatic.
5. For Shell, select /bin/bash from the dropdown list.
6. For Password, select Normal Password and type in a password of your choice.
7. Jump down to Primary Group and select New group with the same name as user.
8. For Secondary Group, select sudo from the All groups list. This should automatically be added to the In groups list. If it is not, press the -> button to add it.

After making those selections, press Create. This will create the user in short order.

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Conclusion

In short, Webmin gives you access to many things you normally need to access through the console. Today, we saw how our Support Engineers install Webmin on Ubuntu.