Years ago there was a Virtualmin module that could be installed on a Webmin server.
I understand that these days the recommended method to create a server with Virtualmin on it is to install it on a basically naked OS install using the provided install script.
I currently have a server running Webmin and I would like to get some Virtualmin GPL functionality on it.
What would be the safest way to accomplish this short of starting over with a new OS install?
You can install it using the manual method, but I suspect youâll spend a lot more time finding things that donât work the way youâd expect or in the way our documentation covers it and trying to fix them than you would if you just backed up your data, and setup a new server with Virtualmin which you then move the data and sites into.
It depends on how much of Virtualmin youâll be using as to how pronounced the pain will be. If you just want to manage your VirtualHosts in a little easier way, just installing the module and configuring it correctly will probably get you there. But, youâre not going to have a Virtualmin system that acts like one you see in our documentation or in our videos, etc. without quite a lot of work.
We used to try harder to support adding Virtualmin to an existing system, but we just saw so many unhappy users frustrated by the constant brokenness from misconfiguration, missing software, and asking questions we couldnât really answer because their system looked nothing like one installed by our installer. I donât like people being frustrated by our software, so I try to steer people to getting a known-good installation of the whole thing, and then bring in the old sites.
The level of expertise needed to pull together a manual installation thatâs nice is very, very, high, and so is the time commitment needed to sort it all out (and the stress of doing it on a production system should not be discounted). The level of expertise needed to copy some websites into an existing Virtualmin installation is pretty low, as is the time required to do it.
But, also, I always have to say emphatically: You cannot run the install script on a system already in production. It will break your sites and who knows what else. So, if youâre going to install Virtualmin on an existing system, youâre going to need to do it the slow, complicated, fiddly, manual way.
The GPL version of Virtualmin can be installed by directing the Webmin Modules section of the Webmin Configuration module to the URL of the latest published version listed on the Virtualmin module download page.
This is strongly discouraged! Just to be clear, even we, the people building Virtualmin, wouldnât do it. Itâs very unlikely youâll reach your goal faster than by doing a clean install, if at all.
Save yourself some time and use our installation script
on a fresh new instance, then move your sites there. It will be much faster and way more stress-free.
My intent was to answer the original question about installing the Virtualmin module into a currently installed Webmin instance. The system inquired about is running Linux, so running the script that you referenced on a fresh system is the recommended option, as you noted.
You might recall that we run FreeBSD systems with Webmin installed as documented here: Install or Upgrade Webmin on a FreeBSD System. The script that you referenced does not support FreeBSD, so I use Webmin Modules in Webmin Configuration to install and upgrade the Virtualmin module. That works well in my experience if Webmin has been properly installed. This provides an option for existing Webmin instances. I acknowledge that this method is discouraged, yet it provides an option, especially for those not running âGrade A supported systems.â
Surprisingly, allowing Webmin to move the Virtualmin module when Webmin upgrades itself breaks things. Installing the Virtualmin module into the self-upgraded version of Webmin without moving the prior Virtualmin module works in my experience.
While itâs technically possible to add support for FreeBSD, itâs unlikely because there arenât many FreeBSD users. It would require quite some effort.
Joe mentioned in the past that without an initial investment, itâs very unlikely to happen. Yet, perhaps weâll review this for FreeBSD systems, after the release of Virtualmin 8âŠ