Hello There,
I am new to Webmin and Virtualmin.
I rent some VPS which came with webmin 1.9.8.1 Installed but without virtualmin module.
I played with the webmin server and configured the hole system ( some users, bind server, proftpd and apache with some vhosts configuration)
While playing around with this great tool (Webmin) I happen to find on the net that there is an integrated module to setup emails and vhosts in much easier way with Virtualmin.
When I read some more on your website about how to install this module I understood that it has to be installed on a clean server.
My question is if its really the case ? or is it possible to add Virtualmin to Webmin even after some server configuration was made with Webmin ?
You probably could, but there is no good reason to do so. It’s certainly much more work than just starting over with a fresh OS install.
Your choices in configuring BIND, Apache, Postfix, etc. almost certainly are different from the way Virtualmin would have done it…which means you’ll either be reading a ton of docs and forum posts to figure out how to make Virtualmin work your way or you’ll end up redoing it all anyway, because it’s more work to maintain a heavily customized Virtualmin installation than one that is mostly stock and as the installer sets it up.
I strongly recommend you start from a fresh OS installation and use the install script, just as the documentation recommends. Our ability to help you with a custom deployment and manual installation is extremely limited. (Honestly, I don’t even try to help Virtualmin GPL users with a custom installation. It takes too much time to even understand their problem because it is often unique to their system and often of their own making.)
Unless you are an expert, like, seriously, years of experience, with every service you’ll be using, and have a lot of free time to learn about how Virtualmin works and are able to troubleshoot problems on your own without any help from other Virtualmin users (because your Virtualmin system will be unlike anybody else’s, in possibly subtle and confusing ways), you will save time by just starting fresh. Virtualmin handles so much more of the work, that it’s almost certainly only a few minutes of your time to re-do everything you’ve already done. You are not going to lose a lot of time to doing it over. Creating virtual hosts, DNS zones, users, etc. is stupid easy in Virtualmin…that’s its purpose.
I used to try to help people go the route you’re trying to go, and after 16 years of seeing how badly it goes for most users, and how much work they end up putting into it only to give up and start fresh, anyway, has convinced me that the only ethical thing I can do here is be really emphatic: For the sake of your own sanity and time, you should install fresh. You will almost certainly regret doing a custom manual install.
Hello again,
First Thanks for both, your quick reply and for your honesty.
You convinced me to go with a fresh installation, The thing is that my server provider doesn’t offer such configuration with webmin and virtualmin.
I can choose one of the following “clean” installation:
Clean Debian.
clean Debian and webmin
Clean debian and webmin + LAMP
From with point you think would be better to start?
I think our install docs are extremely clear that you should start with a freshly installed OS, and then run the install script, and I think I was clear in my reply above. I don’t know how to make them any more clear on that point.