Thanks to a web-based GUI, it’s not nearly as hard as you think. The GUI in question is called Cockpit, a web-based graphical interface that simplifies a number of Linux tasks such that even those new to Linux can have an easier time managing those servers. So whether you’re new to Linux or an expert, Cockpit might be the best tool on the market for server administration duties.
What can Cockpit do for you?
From within a well-designed graphical interface, Cockpit allows you to manage things like:
Network settingsFirewallStorage (including RAID and LUKS partitions)Virtual machinesContainersSystem logsHardwareSoftware upgradesPerformanceUser accountsSystemd-based servicesSELinux (on RHEL-based distributions)
You can also access the machine’s terminal window and link multiple Cockpit-enabled servers together to make it easier to manage all of your Linux servers from a single interface.
Getting Cockpit
Cockpit is installed on all RHEL-based Linux distros (such as Rocky Linux, AlmaLinux, and CentOS) by default. However, it’s not enabled out of the box. Fortunately, enabling Cockpit is just a matter of opening a terminal window and issuing the command: If you’re using a Debian (or Ubuntu) based Linux distribution, you will have to first install Cockpit with the command: Once the installation completes, start and enable Cockpit with: Also: The 5 best Linux distros for beginners: You can do this
Accessing Cockpit
With Cockpit installed and the service started, open a web browser and point it to https://SERVER:9090 (where SERVER is the IP address of the hosting server). You will be greeted by the login window where you must log in with a user that has sudo privileges.
Turn on Administrative Access
If you log on as a standard user with sudo privileges, you’ll need to enable administrative access for that user by clicking Turn on Administrative Access when prompted. You should now find yourself on the main Cockpit screen, where you can start administering your server.
Adding new modules
As you can see above, I have Podman containers included with Cockpit. That’s a module that allows you to manage container deployments from within Cockpit. There are a number of third-party applications you can install, including:
Composer – generate custom images for Fedora, RHEL, and CentOS.389 Directory Server – web-based interface for Open SOURCE LDAP.Session Recording – record sessions for user interaction with the server.Subscription Manager – manage all RHEL subscriptions.oVirt Dashboard – manage virtual machines.ZFS Manager – manage ZFS file systems.File Sharing – mana Samba and NFS shares.Navigator – full-featured file manager for Cockpit.Benchmark – storage benchmark tool.Software Updates – transactional update from OpenSUSE.Sensors – list all available sensors found in a machine.
Let me show you how to install the Navigator module. Also: Docker 101: Why you should be using Podman containers
Install Navigator on an RHEL-based system
Also: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9: Security baked in dnf install https://github.com/45Drives/cockpit-navigator/releases/download/v0.5.8/cockpit-navigator-0.5.8-1.el8.noarch.rpm -y sudo dnf install cockpit-navigator -y
Install Navigator on a Ubuntu-based system
Also: Ubuntu 22.04: The Linux desktop for work wget -qO - https://repo.45drives.com/key/gpg.asc | sudo gpg –dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/45drives-archive-keyring.gpg Also: How to install Ubuntu Linux (It’s easy!) cd /etc/apt/sources.list.dsudo curl -sSL https://repo.45drives.com/lists/45drives.sources -o /etc/apt/sources.list.d/45drives.sources sudo apt update Finally, install Navigator with: sudo apt install cockpit-navigator -y And there you go! You now have a much easier means of administering your Linux servers, with the help of a well-designed and maintained web-based interface. Cockpit is one of the first things I install/enable on my Linux servers, so I can enjoy a much more efficient management tool.
