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collections/sysadmins/getstarted/remote-desktop_gui/cockpit_guide/cockpit_guide.md

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+<h1> Deploy a Full VM and Run Cockpit, a Web-based Interface for Servers </h1>
+
+<h2> Table of Contents </h2>
+
+- [Introduction](#introduction)
+- [Deploy a Full VM and Create a Root-Access User](#deploy-a-full-vm-and-create-a-root-access-user)
+- [Set the VM and Install Cockpit](#set-the-vm-and-install-cockpit)
+- [Change the Network System Daemon](#change-the-network-system-daemon)
+- [Set a Firewall](#set-a-firewall)
+- [Access Cockpit](#access-cockpit)
+- [Conclusion](#conclusion)
+- [Acknowledgements and References](#acknowledgements-and-references)
+
+***
+
+## Introduction
+
+In this Threefold Guide, we show how easy it is to deploy a full VM and access Cockpit, a web-based interface to manage servers. For more information on Cockpit, visit this [link](https://cockpit-project.org/).
+
+For more information on deploying a full VM and using SSH remote connection, read [this SSH guide](ssh_guide.md).
+
+If you are new to the Threefold ecosystem and you want to deploy workloads on the Threefold Grid, read the [Get Started section](tfgrid3_getstarted.md) of the Threefold Manual.
+
+Note that the two sections [Change the Network System Daemon](#change-the-network-system-daemon) and [Set a Firewall](#set-a-firewall) are optional. That being said, they provide more features and security to the deployment.
+
+
+
+## Deploy a Full VM and Create a Root-Access User
+
+To start, you must [deploy and SSH into a full VM](ssh_guide.md).
+
+* Go to the [Threefold dashboard](https://dashboard.grid.tf/#/)
+* Deploy a full VM (e.g. Ubuntu 22.04)
+  * With an IPv4 Address
+* After deployment, copy the IPv4 address
+* Connect into the VM via SSH
+    ``` 
+    ssh root@VM_IPv4_address
+    ```
+* Create a new user with root access
+  * Here we use `newuser` as an example
+``` 
+adduser newuser
+```
+  * To see the directory of the new user
+``` 
+ls /home
+```
+  * Give sudo capacity to the new user
+```
+usermod -aG sudo newuser
+```
+  * Make the new user accessible by SSH
+```
+su - newuser
+mkdir ~/.ssh
+nano ~/.ssh/authorized_keys
+```
+* Add the authorized public key in the file, then save and quit
+* Exit the VM
+``` 
+exit
+```
+  * Reconnect with the new user
+``` 
+ssh newuser@VM_IPv4_address
+```
+
+
+
+## Set the VM and Install Cockpit
+
+* Update and upgrade the VM
+```
+sudo apt update -y && sudo apt upgrade -y && sudo apt-get update -y
+```
+* Install Cockpit
+```
+. /etc/os-release && sudo apt install -t ${UBUNTU_CODENAME}-backports cockpit -y
+```
+
+
+
+## Change the Network System Daemon
+
+We now change the system daemon that manages network configurations. We will be using [NetworkManager](https://networkmanager.dev/) instead of [networkd](https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/systemd-networkd). This will give us further possibilities on Cockpit.
+
+* Install NetworkManager. Note that it might already be installed.
+    ```
+    sudo apt install network-manager -y
+    ```
+* Update the `.yaml` file
+  * Go to netplan's directory
+```
+cd /etc/netplan
+```
+  * Search for the proper `.yaml` file name
+```
+ls -l
+```
+  * Update the `.yaml` file
+```
+sudo nano 50-cloud-init.yaml
+```
+    * Add the following lines under `network:`
+  ```
+  version: 2
+  renderer: NetworkManager
+  ```
+* Note that these two lines should be aligned with `ethernets:`
+    * Remove `version: 2` at the bottom of the file
+    * Save and exit the file
+* Disable networkd and enable NetworkManager
+    ```
+    sudo systemctl disable systemd-networkd
+    ```
+    ```
+    sudo systemctl enable NetworkManager
+    ```
+* Apply netplan to set NetworkManager
+    ```
+    sudo netplan apply
+    ```
+* Reboot the system to load the new kernel and to properly set NetworkManager
+    ```
+    sudo reboot
+    ```
+* Reconnect to the VM
+    ``` 
+    ssh newuser@VM_IPv4_address
+    ```
+
+
+## Set a Firewall
+
+We now set a firewall. We note that [ufw](https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UncomplicatedFirewall) is not compatible with Cockpit and for this reason, we will be using [firewalld](https://firewalld.org/).
+
+* Install firewalld
+    ```
+    sudo apt install firewalld -y
+    ```
+
+* Add Cockpit to firewalld
+    ```
+    sudo firewall-cmd --add-service=cockpit
+    ```
+    ```
+    sudo firewall-cmd --add-service=cockpit --permanent
+    ```
+* See if Cockpit is available
+    ```
+    sudo firewall-cmd --info-service=cockpit
+    ```
+
+* See the status of firewalld
+    ```
+    sudo firewall-cmd --state
+    ```
+
+
+
+## Access Cockpit
+
+* On your web browser, write the following URL with the proper VM IPv4 address
+    ```
+    VM_IPv4_Address:9090
+    ```
+* Enter the username and password of the root-access user
+* You might need to grant administrative access to the user
+  * On the top right of the Cockpit window, click on `Limited access`
+    * Enter the root-access user password then click `Authenticate`
+
+
+
+## Conclusion
+
+You now have access to a web-based graphical interface to manage your VM. You can read [Cockpit's documentation](https://cockpit-project.org/documentation.html) to explore further this interface.
+
+
+
+## Acknowledgements and References
+
+A big thank you to Drew Smith for his [advice on using NetworkManager](https://forum.threefold.io/t/cockpit-managed-ubuntu-vm/3376) instead of networkd with Cockpit.