Submitted by bamajr on Tue, 05/25/2010 - 08:19

Ok, I've just completed moving my office to another location. I'm going to be purchasing new licenses for two more servers and renewing my license for the existing server. Right now, the existing server operates behind a separate firewall, even though Virtualmin has it's own firewall. I want to use Cloudmin to help manage the three servers, but I don't want to put any of these four machines behind a separate firewall.

I have a total of four servers to use in this configuration (three to host Virtualmin and one to host Cloudmin). Is there anything else I should be taking into consideration, that I'm not?

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Comments

Submitted by andreychek on Tue, 05/25/2010 - 08:55

Howdy -- what you're describing sounds reasonable at a high level, though it probably comes down to the specifics of how it'll be implemented :-)

Essentially though, Cloudmin needs to be able to "see" those other servers, and be able to access SSH and Webmin in order to interact with them.

Submitted by JamieCameron on Tue, 05/25/2010 - 16:11

Yes, as long as Cloudmin can connect to the other servers on port 22 (for ssh) and 10000-10010 (for webmin), all should be fine.

Submitted by bamajr on Tue, 06/01/2010 - 20:08

Awesome... I'm getting two servers ready for this configuration now (one for Cloudmin, one for Virtualmin). Will be installing Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 again (sticking with what I know)!

My current Virtualmin Server is running on the BigMem kernel, and will most likely be doing that again for the 2nd Virtualmin Server. Will Cloudmin benefit from the BigMem kernel at all?

Submitted by andreychek on Tue, 06/01/2010 - 20:47

Howdy -- I believe the benefit of the BigMem kernel is that it has PAE mode enabled; meaning that you can access RAM above the 3GB mark when using a 32bit distro.

Cloudmin is just a Webmin module, and it's not particularly large one at that.

So, your server may benefit by having more RAM available to it, but it's not necessary for Cloudmin to work well :-)

Submitted by bamajr on Tue, 06/01/2010 - 20:53

Is Cloudmin for Physical Systems still a Webmin module?

If it is, and I have 2 or 3 Virtualmin Servers, do I install Cloudmin on each system or just on one?

Submitted by andreychek on Tue, 06/01/2010 - 21:06

Yup -- you can install Cloudmin on one of your servers (optionally alongside Virtualmin) -- then just point it at all those other Virtualmin servers you have.

There's no need to install Cloudmin on the other servers, it only needs to be installed on one.

Submitted by bamajr on Tue, 06/01/2010 - 22:03

Thus, where the "for unlimited servers" part. It can help manage unlimited servers, but only needs to be installed on one.

So, I know I'm not a huge web host by any means, but what am I missing by not using "virtualization technology?"

How does my company benefit from virtualizing my server system?

I may not be fully understanding it, but if I have a Virtualmin 100 domain license, I could run 10 virtual servers with 10 domains each and then use Cloudmin to manage them, all on one physical machine, right???

Submitted by andreychek on Tue, 06/01/2010 - 22:28

It can help manage unlimited servers, but only needs to be installed on one.

Yup!

How does my company benefit from virtualizing my server system?

When you use Virtualmin, you give users non-root, shared access to your server.

That's all a lot of folks need, and for them, that solution is perfect.

However, some users want more power/control. They'd like root on a server, and the ability to do anything they want on the server. Except, they may not need an entire dedicated server, they would do just fine by having a virtualized server -- a VPS.

So you, the hosting provider, would buy a dedicated server, setup some number of VPS's on it, and resell those VPS's to customers who want root.

And then, you can install Virtualmin on each of those VPS's, and Cloudmin would be able to control each of them.

The 100 domain Virtualmin license is for one system -- you can't split it up across multiple systems. If you only need 10 domains on each server (or VPS), then you'd want to buy the 10-domain Virtualmin license rather than the 100 domain license.

Submitted by bamajr on Fri, 06/04/2010 - 12:18

Thanks, andreychek!

Just a couple more questions...

  1. Say I buy a dedicated server with the intent of setting up 10 VPS on it. Can I not buy the 100 domain Virtualmin License Pack and use 10 Virtualmin Licenses on each VPS, while all 100 are used strictly on 1 dedicated server?

  2. When I finish my new configuration, I'm going to end up with 3 dedicated servers in all, running Virtualmin Professional. (2 servers w/ 10 licenses and 1 server with 100 licenses). One of these servers will also have Cloudmin installed on it. How would the Virtualmin Partner Program benefit me?

  3. Back to the original reason I started this thread... FIREWALL

I know Virtualmin has it's own "built-in" firewall... so is it better to deploy Virtualmin and allow it's firewall to protect itself, or put each Virturalmin Dedicated Server behind a 3rd party Firewall?

Submitted by JamieCameron on Sun, 06/06/2010 - 12:21

  1. Currently, a virtualmin licence is limited to 1 system, plus maybe one backup. You can't split it across multiple machines.

  2. Do you plan to re-sell virtualmin licences to your own customers? The partner / reseller program is really suited more for that..

  3. I'd recommend using virtualmin's firewall, as that way you can configure it from single UI ... also, debugging firewall-caused issues is easier.

Submitted by bamajr on Sun, 06/06/2010 - 19:26

I would like to renew the two licenses listed on my account as expired! I can pay via credit card or PayPal, but I need to get it done.

There should be one on there for 10 Domains and one for 100 Domains.

I also want to add the Cloudmin Module.

Just let me know how to renew and pay. I'll do it right away!

Submitted by JamieCameron on Sun, 06/06/2010 - 23:27

Just go to http://www.virtualmin.com/catalog/21 , making sure you are logged in as the account that originally purchased the licences. You can then purchase 10 and 100 domain renewals, which will be applied to your existing serial numbers.

Submitted by bamajr on Mon, 06/07/2010 - 07:35

Jamie - I went and made the purchases. My account now reflects the Cloudmin license I wanted to add, but still shows my Virtualmin licenses as being expired.

Also, I will be re-selling Virtualmin licenses with this new CRM software my company is selling. We will be selling complete systems, running linux, your Virtualmin 10 Domain Licensed Software, SugarCRM and our Custom Made SugarCRM template. That is why I asked about this in the other thread.

Submitted by bamajr on Mon, 06/07/2010 - 08:05

Jamie

also - I would like all the licenses to expire at the same time. The Cloudmin license will expire on 06/07/2011. Can you make it so that all the licenses do the same?

Submitted by JamieCameron on Mon, 06/07/2010 - 11:42

Thanks for purchasing those renewals .. which serial numbers would you like them applied to though? I see you have several, and want to make sure they are associated correctly..

As for the expiry dates, are you saying you'd like them to all expire on the same day and month of the year?

Submitted by bamajr on Mon, 06/07/2010 - 12:43

Jamie,

the "My Account" section only shows two serial numbers.

S/N 80839 - 1 for 10 Domain License

S/N 81236 - 1 for 100 Domain License

And yes, I want everything to expire on the same day, month and year!

I've got a server waiting on this right now.

Submitted by JamieCameron on Mon, 06/07/2010 - 14:52

Ok, the renewals have been applied, and the dates synced.

Submitted by bamajr on Mon, 06/07/2010 - 14:57

Jamie - Thanks! You and the Virtualmin Product are awesome!

Don't forget, I need to get something done about the ability to re-sell your Virtualmin licenses.

Submitted by bamajr on Thu, 07/01/2010 - 15:36

Jamie - The partner / reseller program was brought up before... I need info on how to get started, pricing & etc.

Then back to the reason this thread was all started in the first place... The FIREWALL. Where can I get configuration information for the integrated firewall?

Submitted by JamieCameron on Thu, 07/01/2010 - 16:01

You can edit the Virtualmin on-host firewall at Webmin -> Networking -> Linux Firewall.

Submitted by bamajr on Fri, 07/02/2010 - 17:52

Yes, I know where to edit it... I was looking for Literature on configurations for the firewall.

Sorry if I wasn't clear!

Joe's picture
Submitted by Joe on Fri, 07/02/2010 - 18:15 Pro Licensee

The Webmin wiki has full coverage of the Linux Firewall module:

http://doxfer.com/Webmin/LinuxFirewall

And, since the Linux Firewall module is a front end for iptables, you can use any iptables documentation out there on the web for more in-depth coverage. There's a lot of great documentation out there...the Linux Documentation Project has several good manuals on the subject.

Submitted by bamajr on Tue, 07/06/2010 - 13:48

I kind of suspected iptables documentation would be sufficient. Just hadn't seen any info by Virtualmin on the subject of the incorporated firewall.

Thanks Joe!