{"id":38892,"date":"2019-10-31T22:26:36","date_gmt":"2019-10-31T19:26:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prohoster.info\/blog\/cockpit-uproshhenie-tipichnyh-administrativnyh-zadach-v-os-linux-cherez-udobnyj-veb-interfejs\/"},"modified":"2019-10-31T22:26:36","modified_gmt":"2019-10-31T19:26:36","slug":"cockpit-uproshhenie-tipichnyh-administrativnyh-zadach-v-os-linux-cherez-udobnyj-veb-interfejs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prohoster.info\/en\/blog\/administrirovanie\/cockpit-uproshhenie-tipichnyh-administrativnyh-zadach-v-os-linux-cherez-udobnyj-veb-interfejs","title":{"rendered":"Cockpit \u2013 simplifying typical administrative tasks in Linux OS through a convenient web interface","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

In this article, I will discuss the features of the Cockpit tool. Cockpit is designed to simplify the administration of Linux operating systems. In brief, it allows you to perform the most common tasks of a Linux administrator through a user-friendly web interface. Features of Cockpit include: installation and checking for system updates and enabling auto-updates (the patching process), user management (creating, deleting, changing passwords, blocking, granting superuser rights), disk management (creating, editing LVM, creating, mounting file systems), network configuration (teaming, bonding, IP management, etc.), managing systemd units and timers.<\/p>\n

\"Cockpit
\n<\/a><\/noindex>
\nInterest in Cockpit is driven by the release of CentOS 8, where Cockpit is already integrated into the system and only needs to be activated with the command \"systemctl enable --now cockpit.service\". For other distributions, manual installation from the package repository will be needed. We will not cover the installation here; please refer to the official documentation.<\/a><\/noindex><\/p>\n

After installation, we need to navigate to port 9090 of the server where Cockpit is installed (i.e. server IP<\/a><\/noindex>:9090). For example, 192.168.1.56<\/a><\/noindex>:9090<\/p>\n

Enter your usual login and password for the local account and check the box 'Reuse my password for privileged tasks' to be able to run some commands as a privileged user (root). Naturally, your account must have permission to execute commands via sudo.<\/p>\n

After logging in, you will see a beautiful and intuitive web interface. First, switch the interface language to English, as the translation is simply terrible.<\/p>\n

\"Cockpit
\n
\nThe interface is very clear and logical; on the left, you will see the navigation panel:<\/p>\n

\"Cockpit
\n
\nThe starting section is called 'system', where you can see information about the server's resource utilization (CPU, RAM, Network, Disks):<\/p>\n

\"Cockpit
\n
\nTo view more detailed information, for example, about disks, simply click on the corresponding label, and you will be taken to another section (storage):<\/p>\n

\"Cockpit
\n
\nHere, you can also create LVM:<\/p>\n

\"Cockpit
\n
\nChoose a name for the VG group and the disks you want to use:<\/p>\n

\"Cockpit
\n
\nSpecify a name for the LV and select the size:<\/p>\n

\"Cockpit
\n
\nAnd finally, create the file system:<\/p>\n

\"Cockpit
\n
\nNote that Cockpit will automatically write the necessary line to fstab and mount the device. You can also specify specific mounting options: <\/p>\n

\"Cockpit
\n
\nThis is how it looks in the system:<\/p>\n

\"Cockpit
\n
\nHere you can expand or shrink file systems, add new devices to the vg group, etc.<\/p>\n

In the 'Networking' section, you can not only change typical network settings (IP, DNS, mask, gateway) but also create more complex configurations such as bonding or teaming:<\/p>\n

\"Cockpit
\n
\nHere's what a finished configuration looks like in the system:
\n\"Cockpit
\n
\nAgree that setting it up via vinano would be a bit longer and more complicated, especially for beginners.<\/p>\n

In 'services', you can manage systemd units and timers: stop them, restart them, remove them from autostart. It's also very quick to create your own timer:<\/p>\n

\"Cockpit
\n
\n\"Cockpit
\n
\nThe only thing that is poorly done: it is unclear how often the timer is triggered. You can only see when it was last started and when it will start again.<\/p>\n

In 'Software updates', as one might easily guess, you can view all available updates and install them:<\/p>\n

\"Cockpit
\n
\nThe system will notify us if a reboot is required:<\/p>\n

\"Cockpit
\n
\nYou can also enable automatic system updates and customize the update installation time:<\/p>\n

\"Cockpit
\n
\nAdditionally, in Cockpit, you can manage SeLinux, create a sosreport (useful when communicating with vendors to resolve technical issues):<\/p>\n

\"Cockpit
\n
\n\"Cockpit
\n
\nUser management is implemented as simply and clearly as possible:<\/p>\n

\"Cockpit
\n
\n\"Cockpit
\n
\nBy the way, you can add SSH keys.<\/p>\n

Finally, you can read system logs and sort them by importance:<\/p>\n

\"Cockpit
\n
\nWe went through all the main sections of the program.<\/p>\n

Here's a brief overview of the capabilities. Whether to use Cockpit or not is entirely up to you. In my opinion, Cockpit can solve several problems and reduce server maintenance costs. <\/p>\n

Key advantages:<\/b><\/p>\n