In case you want to administer the server remotely, i.e. without using the console (monitor, keyboard and mouse) physically connected to the machine, you will need to resort to remote control solutions such as VNC, which are very expensive in terms of bandwidth requirements and generally more difficult to configure and use.
A solution that combines flexibility and ease of use is offered by web-based administration interfaces. These are applications specifically designed to automate various administration tasks, from user management to the installation of new services, with a web interface, and therefore accessible through a common browser.
One of the most famous web-based administration interfaces is Webmin, first released in 1997. Webmin has a modular architecture and this allows you to customize your installation according to the services installed on the server. In addition, this feature has guaranteed certain longevity to the project, allowing the addition of new modules or updating of existing modules without ever changing the core of the system.
How To Install Webmin on FreeBSD
So how to install it?
First of all, you should update your FreeBSD package index by typing:
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# pkg update |
After all the updates being installed on your system it’s time to proceed with Webmin installation. Depending on what kind of software you have already installed on your system it should take around 200mb of disk space.
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# pkg install webmin |
Next, you will be prompted whether you would like to confirm or not. Press Y and continue. Once the installation will be complete you need to configure Webmin. Run this command:
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# /usr/local/lib/webmin/setup.sh |
Things you need to set up here are:
- Set up config file directory
- Set up log file directory
- Web server port, by default it is 10000
- Login
- Password. Use something complex and case-sensitive!
- Enable SSL.
Everything is pretty straightforward so don’t worry if you miss something.
So what’s next?
Let’s launch it!
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# service webmin start |
In order not to write this command each time let’s make it auto-launch itself after each boot:
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# sysrc webmin_enable="YES" |
As with any control panel you can access it by typing your IP + port number to access it. In the case of Webmin, it would be https://192.168.1.1:10000/. Just insert your IP address.
Conclusion
There you have it! Once again BlueVPS is offering pre-installed control panels with its VPS including DirectAdmin, cPanel, VestaCP, or ISPmanager. Feel free to contact our team if you have any problems regarding the installation process. We’re here to help!
