eBox is a web framework used to manage server application configuration. The modular design of eBox allows you to pick and choose which services you want to configure using eBox.
The different eBox modules are split into different packages, allowing you to only install those necessary. One way to view the available packages is to enter the following from a terminal:
apt-cache rdepends ebox | uniq
To install the ebox package, which contains the default modules, enter the following:
sudo apt-get install ebox
During the installation you will be asked to supply a password for the ebox user. After installing eBox the web interface can be accessed from: https://yourserver/ebox.
An important thing to remember when using eBox is that when configuring most modules there is a Change button that implements the new configuration. After clicking the Change button most, but not all, modules will then need to be Saved. To save the new configuration click on the “Save changes” link in the top right hand corner.
![[Note]](../../libs/admon/note.png)
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Once you make a change that requires a Save, the link will change from green to red. |
By default all eBox Modules are not enabled, and when a new module is installed it will not be automatically enabled.
To enable a disabled module click on the Module status link in the left hand menu. Then check which modules you would like to enable and click the “Save” link.
This section provides a quick summary of the default eBox modules.
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System: contains options allowing configuration of general eBox items.
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General: allows you to set the language, port number, and contains a change password form.
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Disk Usage: displays a graph detailing information about disk usage.
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Backup: is used to backup eBox configuration information, and the Full Backup option allows you to save all eBox information not included in the Configuration option such as log files.
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Halt/Reboot: will shutdown the system or reboot it.
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Bug Report: creates a file containing details helpful when reporting bugs to the eBox developers.
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Logs: allows eBox logs to be queried depending on the purge time configured.
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Events: this module has the ability to send alerts through rss, jabber, and log file.
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Available Events:
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Free Storage Space: will send alert if free disk space drops below a configured percentage, 10% by default.
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Log Observer: sends an alert when a configured logger has logged something.
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RAID: will monitor the RAID system and send alerts if any issues arise.
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Service: sends alerts if a service restarts multiple times in a short time period.
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State: alerts on the state of eBox, either up or down.
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Dispatchers:
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Log: this dispatcher will send event messages to the eBox log file
/var/log/ebox/ebox.log. -
Jabber: before enabling this dispatcher you must first configure it by clicking on the “Configure” icon.
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RSS: once this dispatcher is configured you can subscribe to the link in order to view event alerts.
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Here is a quick description of other available eBox modules:
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Network: allows configuration of the server's network options through eBox.
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Firewall: configures firewall options for the eBox host.
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UsersandGroups: this module will manage users and groups contained in an OpenLDAP LDAP directory.
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DHCP: provides an interface for configuring a DHCP server.
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DNS: provides BIND9 DNS server configuration options.
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Objects: allow configuration of eBox Network Objects, which allow you to assign a name to an IP address or group of IPs.
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Services: displays configuration information for services that are available to the network.
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Squid: configuration options for the Squid proxy server.
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CA: configures a Certificate Authority for the server.
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NTP: set Network Time Protocol options.
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Printers: allows the configuration of printers.
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Samba: configuration options for Samba.
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OpenVPN: setup options for OpenVPN Virtual Private Network application.
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The eBox Ubuntu Wiki page has more details.
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For more information also see the eBox Home Page.
