Master Linux Server Management with Cockpit on CentOS 8 – A Complete Guide

I've been using CentOS 7 for a long time, recently tried CentOS 8 and discovered its built‑in visual management tool Cockpit, which supports many common command‑line operations via a sleek interface.

Cockpit Introduction

Cockpit is a web‑based visual management tool bundled with CentOS 8 that provides graphical interfaces for common command‑line tasks such as user management, firewall configuration, and server resource monitoring, aiming to be an easy‑to‑use Linux administration tool for everyone.

CentOS 8 Installation

To experience the latest Cockpit, you need to install CentOS 8. The installation process is similar to CentOS 7; the example uses version 8.5.2111. Refer to a VM installation guide and download the ISO from the official vault.

Install CentOS 8 (same steps as CentOS 7). Image download: https://vault.centos.org/8.5.2111/isos/x86_64/

When yum cannot download packages, switch to the Aliyun mirror by using the

Centos-vault-8.5.2111.repo

repository.

<code># Backup original BaseOS repo
mv /etc/yum.repos.d/CentOS-Linux-BaseOS.repo /etc/yum.repos.d/CentOS-Linux-BaseOS.repo.bak
# Download new repo configuration
sudo wget -O /etc/yum.repos.d/CentOS-Linux-BaseOS.repo http://mirrors.aliyun.com/repo/Centos-vault-8.5.2111.repo
</code>

Edit the repo files under

/etc/yum.repos.d

, copying the

appstream

section from

CentOS-Linux-BaseOS

into

CentOS-Linux-AppStream.repo

.

<code>[appstream]
name=CentOS-8.5.2111 - AppStream - mirrors.aliyun.com
baseurl=http://mirrors.aliyun.com/centos-vault/8.5.2111/AppStream/$basearch/os/
        http://mirrors.aliyuncs.com/centos-vault/8.5.2111/AppStream/$basearch/os/
        http://mirrors.cloud.aliyuncs.com/centos-vault/8.5.2111/AppStream/$basearch/os/
gpgcheck=0
gpgkey=http://mirrors.aliyun.com/centos/RPM-GPG-KEY-CentOS-Official
</code>

Clear the yum cache and rebuild it.

<code>sudo yum clean all
sudo yum makecache
</code>

Test by querying a package; the repository now works correctly.

Cockpit Installation and Startup

The installation and startup of Cockpit on CentOS 8 is straightforward.

CentOS 8 includes Cockpit by default; just enable and start the service.

<code># Enable Cockpit to start on boot and start it now
systemctl enable --now cockpit.socket
# Start Cockpit service
systemctl start cockpit
</code>

On CentOS 7, Cockpit must be installed manually and the service opened.

<code># Install Cockpit
yum install cockpit
# Open firewall for Cockpit
firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=public --add-service=cockpit
# Reload firewall
firewall-cmd --reload
</code>

After installation, access Cockpit via a browser at

http://<your-ip>:9090/

using any Linux user (e.g., root).

Cockpit Usage

With Cockpit, you can replace many command‑line tasks with a graphical interface.

Overview : View basic server information, CPU and memory usage, system details, and hardware configuration.

Usage : Detailed monitoring of CPU, memory, disk, and network—essentially a graphical

top

command.

Storage : Inspect file system details, manage volume groups, and mount NFS shares.

Network : Monitor firewall and network status; enable or disable services.

Firewall : View open ports and add services directly, replacing manual

firewalld

commands.

Podman Containers : Manage containers similarly to Docker, e.g., pull an Nginx image and run it on port 80.

Account : Manage Linux users through a UI, eliminating the need for

useradd

.

Software Updates : Receive and apply system updates via the Cockpit interface.

Applications : Install a limited set of server applications directly from Cockpit.

Terminal : Open an integrated terminal for command‑line operations when needed.

SELinux : Enable or disable SELinux through the UI.

Summary

As the official visual management tool bundled with CentOS 8, Cockpit covers many common server administration tasks, offering a sleek and user‑friendly interface. Users upgrading to CentOS 8 should give Cockpit a try.

References

Official documentation: https://cockpit-project.org/documentation.html