Webmin can be a very useful tool when administering a server remotely. It can be used to auto restart dead applications, send disk space alert notifications, setup apache virtual hosts and mysql databases. On FreeBSD servers it can be installed with the following instructions:

1. cd /usr/ports/sysutils/webmin
2. make && make install

# After the install you will need to configure webmin by running its setup.sh script
3. /usr/local/lib/webmin/setup.sh

# You will need to provide answers to the script’s questions based on your server setup. It is recommended that you use SSL

# You will need to edit the rc.conf so webmin will start
4. vi /etc/rc.conf
(insert - type i) webmin_enable=”YES”
(save - hit esc then type :wq)

# Start webmin
5. /usr/local/etc/rc.d/webmin start

# Login to webmin web interface
6. Open your browser and type https://your.ip.address.here:10000

You should be greeted by a login page. Use the username and password you setup in step 3. Please see the webmin documentation for further assistance with using webmin. We will also be posting more blogs about webmin in the future.

# To make localhost ntp server:

1. type - vi /etc/rc.conf
(copy the following then insert - type i and paste what was copied)
ntpd_enable=”YES”

# Make sure that we don’t use ‘ntpdate’. It is obsolete.
ntpdate_enable=”NO”

# NTP (Network Time Protocol) time-keeping program
# to set time on boot-up and adjust time while
# operating.
xntpd_enable=”YES”

# The NTP program is located here:
xntpd_program=”/usr/local/bin/ntpd”

xntpd_flags=”-A -g -N -c /etc/ntp.conf -p /var/run/ntpd.pid -l /var/log/ntpd.log”
(save - hit esc then type :wq)

2. type - vi /etc/ntp.conf
(copy the following then insert - type i and paste what was copied)
# This is the configuration file for NTP
# (Network Time Protocol). More info at
# www.NTP.org

# This computer will act as a stratum 2 time
# server, by referencing the following 4 or
# more stratum 1 time servers:

server time-c.timefreq.bldrdoc.gov iburst # Colorado
server ntp1.connectiv.com iburst # Delaware
server ntp.myfloridacity.us iburst # Florida
server lerc-dns.lerc.nasa.gov iburst # Ohio

# Since the clock on most PCs drifts around
# significantly, let’s use a file to
# keep track of that drift and compensate
# for it:

driftfile /etc/ntp.drift

# Let’s setup a log file for NTP:

logfile /var/log/ntp.log

(save - hit esc then type :wq)

3. type - /etc/rc.d/ntpd start