Ubuntu 12:04 with Webmin: Bootup and Shutdown Module

This module allows you to create and edit the scripts that are run at bootup and shutdown time, called actions by the module. It can be found under the System category in Webmin, and when you enter it the main page will display a list of all available actions, whether they are started at boot and a short description for each.

Configuring an action to start at bootup

If some server on your system such as Apache or Squid is not currently being started at boot time, you can use this module to change that. On most Linux distributions, every server that comes with the distribution will have its own bootup action script, but not all will be enabled by default. To configure an action to start at boot time, the steps to follow are:

1. On the main page of the module, click on the name of the action that you want to enable. This will take you to the action editing page, as shown in the image below.

2. Change the Start at boot time? option from No to Yes.

3. Click the Save button, and your browser will return to the list of actions on the main page.

If there is a server that is currently being started at boot time that you want to disable, just follow the same steps but set the Start at boot time? option to No instead.   Here is an example of the dovecot service, note that at the bottom it lists a running PID or process ID.  This process can also be listed from the command line with:

ps aux | grep dovecot

Starting and stopping actions

Even though action scripts are normally started at boot time and stopped at shutdown time, you can start or stop them at any time using Webmin. Many action scripts can also perform additional functions, such as showing the status of a server or reloading its configuration. To start or stop an action, do the following:

1. On the main page of the module, click on the name of the action. This will take you to the action editing form shown in the image below.

2. At the bottom of the page in the middle will be a row of buttons, each for running the action script to perform some function. Depending on the script there may be different buttons available, but some of the most common are:
   “Start Now”Immediately starts the server or service.
   “Stop Now” Stops the server or service.
   “Restart Now” Stops and restarts the server.
   “Reload Now” Where available, this function tells the server started by the action to re-read its configuration files.
   “Show Status” Just displays a message telling you if the server is running or not, and if so what its PID is.

3. After you click the button for the function that you want to perform, a page showing the output from the action script will appear. This should indicate whether the action was performed successfully or not.