Server-Client based Webmin like tool - Developers wanted!

@4u · Apprentice Joined: 13 Nov 2004 Posts: 160

Hi there

I'm currently developing an web interface (based on PHP + Perl backend) to control my services and daemons easier. I know that Webmin exists and helps you in configuring your system, but you can't start "scheduled tasks" (for example emerge sync) with it.

webControl is doing it's work through jobs. You can run a job directly (and get a web page showing you "task still running, elapsed time ..., estimated time ..., and so on) or let it run on a spool based system. All jobs will show up in a manager with the status (not started, running, completed successfully, completed with errors, ...) and you can read the logs (1:1 copy of the console output).

Another advantage should be (currently not implemented) that you can not only configure and start / stop your services, but control (for example) capisuite directly (deleting fax messages, ...).

Here's an early screenshot:
http://sourceforge.net/project/screenshots.php?group_id=17176 (German)
Showing: Portage updates with packages that are blocked or would be downgraded if running emerge --update world.

I will use it here for fun and testing - but I'm wondering if it is interesting for other users. I would be happy to publish it (W3C / GPL) if it makes sense and develop it focusing on security and multi-user ability (partly already included).

What do you thing? Are you a "console junkie" running nano / vim only or would you like to use a system like Webmin and use an interface to control things (even if this is a little bit like M$ Windows - point and click

)? Or won't you try it because Webmin supports everything you need?

Thanks for your answers in advance.

PS.: Incomplete feature list:
- Supports multiple languages / skins / users / ...
- Module based and easily extentible
- Hopefully "secure" system
- Double protected job manager (just injecting a SQL statement isn't enough to run system commands like emerge sync)
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jkt · Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2004 4:06 pm Post subject:

personally, I don't need anything like that. One of the reasons I use linux is that I have easy editable text-based configuration files.

jamesfarr · n00b Joined: 11 Nov 2004 Posts: 33

Personally I think It's a great Idea, the more people that move to Gentoo the better everyone is!

u2mike · Apprentice Joined: 06 Nov 2003 Posts: 209

I would be very interested in something like this. It would all depend on how secure it was though.
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@4u · Apprentice Joined: 13 Nov 2004 Posts: 160

jkt · Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2004 3:55 pm Post subject:

jakamaka · Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2004 3:58 pm Post subject:

Can you use this tool also to let limited users set their webspace preferences ?
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jkt · Posted: Mon Dec 06, 2004 4:12 pm Post subject:

@4u · Apprentice Joined: 13 Nov 2004 Posts: 160

LucaSpiller · Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2005 10:25 pm Post subject:

I have just come across this and it looks just like what I am looking for. In a couple of months I will be building a headless server and I need an easy way to monitor it - this looks like it will answer my prayers!

(I am not really a religious bloke)

So how is the project progressing? I know quite a lot of PHP and did some Perl a loooong time ago (urrr, about 4-5 years) so I may be able to help out with a few things.

If you want to contact me just PM me, I will try and keep an eye out on this topic though.
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jimbojetset · n00b Joined: 01 Feb 2004 Posts: 67 Location: UK

@4u · Apprentice Joined: 13 Nov 2004 Posts: 160

LucaSpiller · Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2005 7:05 pm Post subject:

Thats a shame about what your employer wants - is there anything you have done so far that you are allowed to release?
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:: Luca :: Mac Fag :: Original Macbook, 2g RAM :: Closet Linux user (seasoned with salt and pepper) :: C2D E4400 @ 2ghz, 4g RAM (only 3.2g detected under 64bit...), Nvidia 9600GSO ::

mallchin

wjholden · l33t Joined: 01 Mar 2004 Posts: 826 Location: Augusta, GA

Soooo you're not going to be able to release this stuff to us?

mallchin · Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2005 7:11 pm Post subject:

@4u, have you done any work on this you'd like to release under the GPL?

I'm interested in picking up where you left off if you have no time to develop it. I don't have much spare time these days but I'm keen to work on it. I have a little rc-status viewer I just knocked up, but the possibilities are endless...

http://www.dopesmoker.net/foo.php [src]
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mallchin · Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2005 6:57 pm Post subject:

Done some more work on this, screenies here:

http://photobucket.com/albums/y85/mallchin/?action=view&current=esearch_1.gif
http://photobucket.com/albums/y85/mallchin/?action=view&current=esearch_2.gif
http://photobucket.com/albums/y85/mallchin/?action=view&current=esearch_3.gif
http://photobucket.com/albums/y85/mallchin/?action=view&current=esearch_4.gif
http://photobucket.com/albums/y85/mallchin/?action=view&current=esearch_6.gif

Is this kinda app useful to anyone?
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wjholden · l33t Joined: 01 Mar 2004 Posts: 826 Location: Augusta, GA

How does this actually work? Do you have to login as root through a web interface, or does Apache have to run as root? Managing portage through a web interface does appeal to me. Thanks for you work guys. Would it be possible for an underprivaledged user to use this? I wouldn't mind having a friend who I trust a lot this control over my webserver, although I don't trust him with root access as a matter of practice.

mallchin · Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2005 8:57 pm Post subject:

wjholden · l33t Joined: 01 Mar 2004 Posts: 826 Location: Augusta, GA

Ok I'm familiar with using .htaccess so that's cool. I guess you're saying you'd add the apache user to the portage group (or whatever, depending on functions needed) which is awesome. You don't need to change anything if you don't want to man, I won't have time for something like this for a couple weeks anyways.

mallchin · Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2005 2:36 pm Post subject:

That's about it, adding apache to portage group lets you browse packages just as your user can, but you'll need to setup some sudo rules for apache to access emerge and some other utils for actually emerging stuff. I'm contemplainting if this is worth it, if enough people are interested I'll code that bit, else I'll just finish the browsing section.

I'd like to add something like PHPSysinfo for viewing hardware and diskspace too, and some pages for viewing current setup of stuff like hostname, uname, runlevels, logged in user, past logins, current processes, make.conf settings, gcc revision, portage revision, timezone, keyboard layout, just about anything useful. I feel Gentoo is missing a snapshot view of system status/setup, this is what I'm aiming for

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rzZzn · Posted: Fri Jun 23, 2006 9:14 pm Post subject:

Is this project still alive???

I have been looking for something like this for a loong time...

//rZn