How To Install Webmin on Ubuntu 22.04

Webmin is a powerful web-based interface for system administration for Unix. Using any modern web browser, you can set up user accounts, Apache, DNS, file sharing, and much more. This guide will walk you through the steps to install and configure Webmin on Ubuntu 22.04. This guide assumes you have root access.

Step 1: Deploying a Cloud Instance on Shape.host

Log in to Shape.host Dashboard:

Navigate to the Shape.host website and log in to your account.

Create a New Instance:

Click on the “Create” button located at the top right corner of the dashboard.
From the dropdown menu, select “Instances”.

Shape.host Resources dashboard showing the Create menu and instance rebuild controls.

Select Instance Location:

Choose the desired location for your server. For this tutorial, we’ll select “New York, USA”.

Shape.host Create New Instance form with the available data center locations.

Choose a Plan:

Select a plan that fits your requirements. For example, you might choose a plan with 2 cores CPU, 2 GB Memory, and 50 GB SSD disk space.

Select an Operating System:

Scroll down to the “Choose an image” section and select “Ubuntu 22.04”.

Shape.host instance form with a server plan and Ubuntu image selected.

Configure Additional Options:

(Optional) You can configure additional options like User Data Configuration and IPv6 Networking.
Enter a hostname for your instance, e.g., “Tutorial Ubuntu”.
Click on the “Create instance” button to deploy the instance.

Shape.host instance form showing hostname, instance count and the Create Instance button.

Step 2: Connecting to Your Instance

Retrieve SSH Credentials:

Note the IP address of your newly created instance from the Shape.host dashboard.

Connect via SSH:

Open a terminal on your local machine.
Use the following command to connect to your instance:
ssh root@your_instance_ip
Replace your_instance_ip with the actual IP address of your instance.

Before you begin, ensure that you have:

An Ubuntu 22.04 server instance
Root access to the server

Step 3: Update Your System

First, ensure that your system is up to date. Open your terminal and run the following command:

apt update && apt upgrade -y

Terminal showing APT package management commands and output.

This command updates the package index and upgrades any outdated packages on your system.

Step 4: Install Required Dependencies

Webmin requires some additional packages to be installed. Install them by running:

apt install software-properties-common apt-transport-https wget -y

These packages help manage software properties, transport over HTTP, and download files from the web.

Step 5: Add the Webmin Repository

Next, add the Webmin repository to your system’s software repository list. Start by importing the Webmin GPG key:

curl -o setup-repos.sh https://raw.githubusercontent.com/webmin/webmin/master/setup-repos.sh
sh setup-repos.sh

Terminal showing curl commands or output during Add the Webmin Repository.

Step 6: Install Webmin

With the repository added, you need to update the package list again:

apt update

Now, you can install Webmin:

apt install webmin -y

This command will install Webmin and all necessary dependencies.

Step 7: Install Apache2

If you do not have a web server already installed, it’s recommended to install Apache2. This will ensure that Webmin can integrate smoothly with your server’s web services.

Install Apache2

apt install apache2 -y

Start and enable Apache2 to run on boot:

systemctl start apache2
systemctl enable apache2

Terminal showing systemd service management commands or output.

Verify that Apache2 is running:

systemctl status apache2

Step 8: Configure the Firewall

If you have a firewall running, you need to allow Webmin through it. By default, Webmin listens on port 10000. Allow this port using the following command:

ufw allow 10000

Terminal showing firewall configuration commands and rules.

Additionally, allow HTTP (port 80) and HTTPS (port 443) traffic:

ufw allow 80
ufw allow 443
ufw reload
ufw allow ssh

You can verify that the rules were added successfully by running:

ufw status

You should see entries allowing traffic on ports 80, 443, and 10000.

Step 9: Access Webmin

Webmin should now be installed and running on your server. To access it, open your web browser and navigate to:

https://your_server_ip:10000

Replace your_server_ip with the actual IP address of your server.

You will see a warning about an insecure connection. This is because Webmin uses a self-signed SSL certificate by default. You can safely ignore this warning for now and proceed to the login page.

Step 10: Log In to Webmin

On the Webmin login page, enter your root username and password to log in. If you’re using a different administrative user, use that username and password instead.

Step 11: Secure Webmin

Although Webmin is now accessible, it’s a good practice to secure your installation. You can do this by setting up an SSL certificate from a trusted certificate authority or using Let’s Encrypt.

Example: Using Let’s Encrypt

First, install Certbot, the tool for obtaining Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates:

apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache -y

Then, generate the SSL certificate for your domain:

certbot --apache -d tutorials.shape.host

Terminal showing Certbot certificate commands and messages.

Follow the prompts to complete the setup. Certbot will automatically configure your Apache to use the new SSL certificate.

Configure Webmin to Use Let’s Encrypt Certificate

To configure Webmin to use the Let’s Encrypt SSL certificate, open the Webmin configuration file:

nano /etc/webmin/miniserv.conf

Terminal showing nano commands or output during Configure Webmin to Use Lets Encrypt Certificate.

Update the keyfile and certfile lines to point to the Let’s Encrypt certificate:

ssl=1
keyfile=/etc/letsencrypt/live/tutorials.shape.host/privkey.pem
certfile=/etc/letsencrypt/live/tutorials.shape.host/fullchain.pem

Terminal showing the GNU nano editor and configuration text.

Restart Webmin to apply the changes:

systemctl restart webmin

Troubleshooting SSL Issues

If Certbot fails to verify your domain, ensure that:

The DNS settings for tutorials.shape.host point to your server’s IP address.
Your firewall allows traffic on ports 80 and 443.
No other web server (like Apache or Nginx) is blocking the verification process.

Check the Certbot logs for more details:

less /var/log/letsencrypt/letsencrypt.log

By following these steps, you have successfully installed and configured Webmin on your Ubuntu 22.04 server. Webmin provides a powerful and user-friendly interface to manage your server, making administration tasks much easier.

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