How to configure an FTP server in Ubuntu with Webmin – Easy Steps

Do you want to set up an FTP server on your Ubuntu Server system but don’t want to deal with configuration files? If so, Webmin is for you! Webmin is an excellent tool that allows users to manage UNIX-like servers with an easy-to-use web interface. Here’s how to use Webmin to set up an FTP server in Ubuntu.

Configure Webmin on Ubuntu Server

Webmin must be installed on Ubuntu Server before creating an FTP server with the web UI. Fortunately, Webmin is quite compatible with Ubuntu. To get the app working, head over to the official Webmin website.

Once on the Webmin website, find the “Debian Package” download button and click on it with your mouse. When you select this button, the Webmin DEB package will be downloaded to your computer.

After the download is complete, log into your Ubuntu system using SSH through a terminal on your Linux desktop. Alternatively, sit on your Ubuntu system and log in using the TTY console.

When you have access to the terminal, transfer the Webmin DEB package to the Ubuntu server. Then install the DEB package on Ubuntu for Webmin to work.

With Webmin working on Ubuntu Server, open a web browser on your computer. Then visit the following URL to access the web user interface.

http://YOUR_UBUNTU_SERVER_IP_OR_HOSTNAME:10000

Root password for Webmin

Webmin does not give users a default username or password. Instead, it relies entirely on the existing root account of the system. However, Ubuntu disables this root account by default, so you must re-enable it before logging in.

To re-enable the root password within Ubuntu, use the sudo -s command to log into the terminal window as root. Then once the terminal window is root, run the passwd command to set a new root password.

sudo -s

passwd

Make sure to set the root password in Ubuntu to something memorable and secure.

Installing the ProFTPD Webmin module

The FTP server module included in Webmin is not great. So instead we will use the ProFTPD module. Unfortunately, this module is third-party, so it will need to be installed before use.

To install the ProFTPD module in your Webmin installation, follow the step-by-step instructions below.

Paso 1: First, select this link to download the latest version of the ProFTPD module on your computer. If you want to download this module using Linux terminal, please enter the following command below.

wget http://www.webmin.com/webmin/download/modules/proftpd.wbm.gz

Paso 2: After downloading the latest version of the ProFTPD module, open the Webmin web user interface and log in to your user account. Then find the “Webmin” option in the sidebar and click on it with the mouse.

Paso 3: Once you have selected the Webmin option in the sidebar, select “Webmin Settings” to access the Webmin settings area.

Paso 4: Inside the Webmin configuration area, find the “Webmin Modules” button and click on it with the mouse. Selecting this button will load the modules area of ​​Webmin.

Paso 5: Find the “Install Module” section and click “From Uploaded File”. Then, click on the clip icon to find the ProFTPD Webmin module on your computer.

Paso 6: Click the green “Install Module” button to install the ProFTPD module in the Webmin web user interface. When the module installation is complete, find the “Update Modules” button in the sidebar and click on it to finish configuring ProFTPD in Webmin.

Configure the FTP server

To configure your FTP server in Webmin, follow the step-by-step instructions below.

Paso 1: Click on “System” in the Webmin sidebar. Then choose the “Users and Groups” section. Next, create a user account to use with your FTP server. Feel free to create more than one account if necessary.

When creating your user account in Webmin, be sure to add the user to the following groups.

• adm
• CD ROM
• dressing
• lxd
• plugdev
• sudo

Paso 2: After creating your user account (s), click on the “Servers” section in the Webmin sidebar. Then, click on the “ProFTPD Server” to access the ProFTPD Server section.

Paso 3: Look at “Global Settings” and change any settings you want to change. Don’t worry if you don’t want to change any settings in the ProFTPD server settings area. The default settings work fine and will work fine.

Paso 4: Once you have configured all the settings in the ProFTPD Server area, find the “Apply Changes” button and click on it with the mouse. Selecting this button will stop the ProFTP server, start a backup, and apply the new settings.

Connection to the FTP server

There are many ways to connect to an FTP server on Linux. If you’re not sure how to do it, check out the Filezilla application. It is an FTP client that facilitates the connection to FTP and the administration of servers.