Chapter 2. Logging In

Logging into Webmin is easy. Open a web browser, like Netscape or Internet Explorer, on any machine that has network access to the server that you wish to login on. Browse to port 10000 on the IP or hostname of the server, like so:

Webmin will then respond with an authentication window where you can enter the adminstrator user name (usually "root") and password. After successful authentication, you will be greeted with the Webmin index page.

Many systems are configured with Webmin running in SSL encrypted mode. On these systems, you will log in using a URL beginning with https:// rather than http://. Also, at least one Linux distribution that includes Webmin--Caldera--installs it on port 1000 rather than 10000. This is theoretically a more secure arrangement, however, be aware that some firewalls will prevent you from accessing your Webmin-enabled server from outside of the local network, if Webmin runs on a port below 1024.

Webmin is divided into a number of modules that each allow you to administer a single aspect of your system. Modules exist for most common, and many uncommon, system administration tasks. The standard modules provide a graphical interface for: Apache, Squid, Bind, NFS, man pages, Sendmail, Postfix, Samba, and much more. There also exist a wide array of third party modules that provide even more extensive functionality. This book will focus on the standard modules but may expand to encompass other modules in time.