Linux.com Article DB: Building a Server Appliance with Trustix Secure Linux and Webmin

By default, Webmin accepts plain HTTP connections on port 10000, but the port can be changed, and it can be configured to work with HTTPS so that your sessions are encrypted. I strongly recommend this, especially if you are going to connect to your server over the Internet. But it's good to do so even if you're only connecting over a LAN; Insiders compromise most cracked systems. To enable HTTPS connections, you need to install the Net::SSLeay Perl module, which can be downloaded from CPAN and installed from within Webmin itself.

In tune with my security concerns, you can restrict access to specific hosts and users. Further, Webmin can be configured to run in the background, waiting for connections, or setup so that you need to manually start it from the command line. Even if you have the Webmin server running, it uses far fewer system resources than the X Window System, so there's much less of an adverse performance impact.

Webmin allows you to perform many common system administration tasks, including adding and removing users and groups, configuring NFS and NIS, monitoring disk quotas, configuring bootup and shutdown, viewing logs, scheduling cron jobs, and even includes a Java-based file manager and text editor. Webmin links to these and more are visible in this screen shot:

The main point of entry to the configuration pages for Apache, BIND and other daemons is the Servers tab:

As you can see, combining Trustix with Webmin allows us to create a secure server appliance that provides many needed network services, which allows secure remote administration through a GUI, and from any platform with a Web browser. This gives us a system which is ideal for small to medium sized business and managed service providers, and doesn't require Linux gurus for daily administration, although some Linux knowledge is required to get it initially set up. Kudos go to the developers of Trustix and Webmin for putting out such useful tools.

The author is a Field Systems Engineer for a broadband ISP in southeastern Pennsylvania, and was bitten by the Linux bug (penguin?) about three years ago. Before becoming a full-time geek, he was a practicing lawyer, but is feeling much better. The author has his own Linux-related Web site at www.Building-Tux.com. This is his second article for Linux.com.

Originally Published: Sunday, 15 July 2001	Author: Dave Markowitz
Published to: enhance_articles_sysadmin/Sysadmin	Page: 4/4 - [Printable]
Building a Server Appliance with Trustix Secure Linux and Webmin To command by line or GUI, that is the question. Or, hey, does it really matter? Linux.com contributor Dave Markowitz says it does if we want to get Windows admins using Linux. This week Markowitz takes us through an open-source server appliance installation that is secure, powerful and controlled from the GUI.

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By default, Webmin accepts plain HTTP connections on port 10000, but the port can be changed, and it can be configured to work with HTTPS so that your sessions are encrypted. I strongly recommend this, especially if you are going to connect to your server over the Internet. But it's good to do so even if you're only connecting over a LAN; Insiders compromise most cracked systems. To enable HTTPS connections, you need to install the `Net::SSLeay` Perl module, which can be downloaded from CPAN and installed from within Webmin itself. In tune with my security concerns, you can restrict access to specific hosts and users. Further, Webmin can be configured to run in the background, waiting for connections, or setup so that you need to manually start it from the command line. Even if you have the Webmin server running, it uses far fewer system resources than the X Window System, so there's much less of an adverse performance impact. Webmin allows you to perform many common system administration tasks, including adding and removing users and groups, configuring NFS and NIS, monitoring disk quotas, configuring bootup and shutdown, viewing logs, scheduling `cron` jobs, and even includes a Java-based file manager and text editor. Webmin links to these and more are visible in this screen shot: The main point of entry to the configuration pages for Apache, BIND and other daemons is the Servers tab: As you can see, combining Trustix with Webmin allows us to create a secure server appliance that provides many needed network services, which allows secure remote administration through a GUI, and from any platform with a Web browser. This gives us a system which is ideal for small to medium sized business and managed service providers, and doesn't require Linux gurus for daily administration, although some Linux knowledge is required to get it initially set up. Kudos go to the developers of Trustix and Webmin for putting out such useful tools. The author is a Field Systems Engineer for a broadband ISP in southeastern Pennsylvania, and was bitten by the Linux bug (penguin?) about three years ago. Before becoming a full-time geek, he was a practicing lawyer, but is feeling much better. The author has his own Linux-related Web site at www.Building-Tux.com. This is his second article for Linux.com. Copyright (c) 2001 Dave Markowitz dave@davemarkowitz.com
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