Cockpit Web Console Overview

The Cockpit web console is an Oracle Linux server administration tool designed for managing and monitoring Linux systems both locally and remotely. The graphical web console for management and administration is user-friendly and accessible to administrators at all levels of experience with Linux. The Cockpit installation package arrives out of the box and ready for use in most Oracle Linux distributions.

Intuitive Server Administration

Choosing Cockpit as an Oracle Linux server administration tool can help make server administration with Oracle Linux more discoverable and intuitive. For example, the web console interface doesn't require you to remember commands to input at a command line. Although, you can still access and use the command line, it's often easier to complete those same administration tasks from the web console interface.

Standard and Add-On Server Administration Tools

System administrators can conveniently administer different areas of a host server by clicking the Cockpit navigational menu in the left side panel of the web console. This menu, by default, presents a standard set of system administration tools that are ready for use. Optionally, other add-on administration tools can be added to the web console as needed.

A list of the system administration menu options that are typically included in the Cockpit web console upon first time use are as follows:

Table 1-1 Administration Tools - Menu Navigation:

Use:	To:	Details:
Host	View the system hostname of the connected Oracle Linux server. Add secondary host systems to manage from a primary single web console instance.	Management of Multiple Hosts
Overview	Examine host system health, usage, hardware, and general configuration details. Set the system hostname and time. View and change the generated Secure Shell fingerprint. Set system recommended performance profile settings. View system usage statistics and graphs for CPU and Memory. View the host system hardware configuration details.	Health, Usage, and System Details
Logs	View and filter log entries collected on the host system. Pause or resume the log view entries captured by the system.	View and Filter Log Entries
Networking	View the host system firewall setup and network interfaces. Set firewall rules and zones. Set properties to configure network bonding, teaming, bridges, and VLANs	Network Management Tasks
Accounts	Manage host user access. Set properties to create, edit, lock, or suspend user access.	User Management Actions
Services	Administer host System and User processes, targets, sockets, timers, and paths. Find System or User processes by filtering the view with criteria of interest. For example, filter by description, name, Active State, or File state. Change the state of a service by selecting a different action (for example, start, stop, reload, activate, or deactivate). Click Relationships to view a service's dependencies with other system services. View log entries collected for a specific service.	View and Manage Services
Diagnostic Reports	Generate a diagnostic report to gain insight on the overall operation of the host system. Download a report, delete a report, or generate other reports.	Evaluate System Problems Using Diagnostic Reports
Kernel Dump	View and manage the properties of the kernel crash dump configuration. Test the kernel crash dump configuration by intentionally crashing the kernel on the host system.	Capture Crash Dump Details Using Kdump
SELinux	View and manage properties of the SELinux policy configuration. View recent SELinux policy modifications applied to the host system. View and manage access control policy errors generated on the host Linux system.	Manage SELinux Security Policy and Messages
Terminal	Directly access and use the host system Terminal command line user interface. Sometimes, the completion of administration tasks requires the use of the CLI.	To access the host CLI, click Terminal In the Cockpit navigation pane.

Add-On Server Administration Applications

System administrators can optionally extend the Cockpit web console functionality by installing extra administration tool packages that were developed for Cockpit. For more details, see Extend Cockpit's Functionality.