Last time we ended with a completed Ubuntu 8.10 Server install at the login prompt.  Now that we have a server to work with we can start setting up all the software we are going to need.

First things first.  We need to install Webmin to make the rest of the setup go faster.  If you are an experienced linux user you will disagree with me on this point because you are a command line pro.  WHY ARE YOU HERE :P  Just kidding, but even you must agree Webmin is handy.

From the Webmin web site:

Webmin is a web-based interface for system administration for Unix. Using any modern web browser, you can setup user accounts, Apache, DNS, file sharing and much more. Webmin removes the need to manually edit Unix configuration files like /etc/passwd, and lets you manage a system from the console or remotely.

Sounds good to me so lets get started!

Log in to your Ubuntu server with the username and password we set up in part one.  What?  You’ve already forgotten it?  Delete everything and start over with part one now.  As for the rest of us, lets continue.

Now that we have a command prompt, lets add some packages that are required to install Webmin.  Type:

sudo aptitude install perl libnet-ssleay-perl openssl libauthen-pam-perl libpam-runtime libio-pty-perl libmd5-perl

(there is no space between libpam- and runtime on the line above)

Hit enter and enter your password.  After it connects to the internet and scans the repositories it will ask you if you are sure you want to install.  Select Y to continue.

Now download the latest Webmin using the following command:

wget http://garr.dl.sourceforge.net/sourceforge/webadmin/webmin_1.441_all.deb

After it downloads we need to install it.  Type:

sudo dpkg -i webmin_1.441_all.deb

It will install and give you instructions on how to login to the web console.

It is showing my address as https://ubuntu:10000/ but if you named your server something different in part one it will show that instead.  So lets login to Webmin!

Go here (or type your address in a new browser window instead):

https://ubuntu:10000

If you get a security certificate error that is okay.  We just need to add an exception to your browser.  Click on “Or you can add an exception…”

Click “Add Exception”

Now click “Get Certificate”

And then click “Confirm Security Exception”

Ok, we should finally be at the Webmin login prompt now.  Enter your ubuntu username and password here.

You should now be seeing the awesomely useful Webmin home page.

Now we need a static IP for our server.  Pulling one from DHCP is great and all but what good is a web server that is constantly jumping around?  We can accomplish this with Webmin in a few easy steps.

On the left sidebar under “Networking” go to “Network Configuration” and click on “Network Interfaces”

Now click on “eth0″

Notice the Netmask, IP Address and Broadcast addresses.  Write them down.

Now click “Return to network interfaces” and then click on “Activated at Boot”

Click on “eth0″

Change “Address Source” from “From DHCP” to “Static configuration” and fill in the Netmask and Broadcast address you wrote down earlier.

For the IP Address we do not want to put the same one in but something else that will probably not be served by the DHCP server.  The first three parts (192.168.1 in my case) will stay the same but the last number (.113) is what I am going to change.  Since there are very few computers on my network and it assigned .113 to my Ubuntu system it is safe to assume that the DHCP server begins assigning addresses at .100 and goes up from there.  Keeping that in mind I am going to select 192.168.1.95 as my IP address.  If you want to double check your selected address to make sure there is not another computer already using it, simply go back to your ubuntu console and type:

ping -c 1 192.168.1.95

Of course replace “192.168.1.95″ with whatever address you are wanting to test.  You should get some output like this:

Notice where it says “Destination Host Unreachable”.  This means we are good to go!

Here is something like what you should end up with:

Now Click “Save” and you should be back on this screen with the updated information:

Click on “Return to network configuration” and then click on “Routing and Gateways”.

On this screen we are going to fill in our Gateway address so we can still get on the internet with Ubuntu after we reboot.

First we need to get the current gateway address.  We can accomplish this by returning again to the Ubuntu console and typing:

netstat -rn

You should get some output like this:

In the “Gateway” column the second number down is what we are after.  In my case it was 192.168.1.1

So lets take the gateway and fill in the blank back in Webmin.  You should end up with a page that looks like this:

Click “Save”.  You should now have a screen that looks like this.  Click on “Apply Configuration”

Just like the warning said on the last screen, the page may become inaccessible.  If this is the case, in the address bar of your browser type (If you did not use 192.168.1.95 for your IP address, replace it with what you chose):

https://192.168.1.95:10000

You will now have to add a security exception again.  Do just like we did the last time above in this article.

After you add the exception you will be able to login to Webmin again.

So what have we gained from all this typing and flipping back and forth between pages?  Go to (Replace 192.168.1.95 with your chosen IP address):

http://192.168.1.95

I know, it is very anti-climatic.  But those two words are quite reassuring nonetheless!  I will now let you go off and bask in the glory of accomplishment and bid you adieu!

Next up:  In part three we will explore pointing your Domain Name to your new server and creating your first MySQL database for installing Wordpress.  Do you have a static or dynamic IP?  Not sure?  Don’t worry we are going to cover both and it is going to work just the same.

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