WebMin
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WebMin is web-based application, offered as solution for host or server administration, completely created and developed in Perl, for system services administration. It appears on separate web port 10000 and can be accessed with any web browser at the url form http://DOMAIN_NAME:10000 or if IP address assigned to node which runs WebMin at url like http://IP_ADDRESS:10000 Once accessed, log-in page will appear. Since it's developed as system administration service, it's accessible only as root with root's password, thus unavailable for shared based hosting accounts.
Menu sections
After successful log-in, main web page will appear with basic system informations like ram available, total disk space, used disk space etc. At the left side of page the main menu is placed with following sections :
Webmin
System
Servers
Others
Networking
Hardware
Cluster
Un-used Modules
Only System and Servers will be described as an important sections, when it comes to hosting accounts. Other sections are rather dedicated to the system.
System->Users and Groups
At this subsection, system accounts management interface is enabled. New users can be created here, existing ones altered for all their details, or even removed.
System->Servers
All installed services, like email, web and database ones can be managed from here. Although there are other services listed here, three above will be described.
Email services
Two email related applications are installed by default, thus displayed here.
Postfix and SendMail, of which only Postfix comes as fully configured and operational SMTP service.
SendMail SMTP is here for users that prefer this smtp over Postfix but has to be configured though.
At Postfix SMTP services section are many details and configurations offered for maintenance. It's by default already done, so only few sections are interesting.
First one is Aliases, where user can define new or maintain existing email aliases.
Mail Queue provides information, at any time, number of emails waiting to be delivered, from or to certain email accounts.
Account's inboxes can be accessed from within this section, and also composing new ones is enabled, although there's webmail for easier access to email services of certain account.
No new account can be added here, that's for System-Users and Groups as described above.
Apache Webserver
It's set as default web service and responds to all web requests toward IP address or domain name of hosting account at default port 80.
Service comes as fully configured. At this section additional features like virtual domains can be defined, configured and started up.
Only one, default one, virtual domain is defined. There is no separate section for this because Apache, configured like this acts as web service for default virtual domain and that is local-host assigned to hosting account itself.
If additional virtual domains are needed, this section provides easy-to-use interface for it.
By accessing sub-section, Create virtual host, new page will appear with some settings needed to be set.
First, virtual domain has to be assigned to an domain name, that's Server name details for, where any, valid domain name can be defined.
Second, Document root, where files for web site of virtual domain exists, has to be set up correctly.
Other sections are not relevant to basic setup so these can be left as they are.
Once everything is set, Apache needs a restart which can be done from main Apache server page, at the top-right corner.
Apache web server comes with PHP included, which configuration can be managed from section Others->PHP Configuration if needed.
MySql Database server
Basic operations, like starting, stopping, database creating, backups, access and users permissions can be done from this section, although phpMyAdmin is powerful and offers more features.
UserMin
Since WebMin is for system administration, existing users can access another service, user oriented, UserMin, at port 20000. There, basic operations, dedicated to user account are manageable. Email inbox can be accessed from within this interface. User can also reset their own password.
These services are not enabled by default and can be easily installed and started up from WerbMins's section Un-used Modules.
From this section, Un-used Modules, several other alternative services can be enabled, like additional FTP server, ProFTPd, additional database engine PostGreSQL, SureWall firewall, Webalizer log analyzer etc.
