How to Install LAMP Stack with MariaDB on Ubuntu 24.04

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A LAMP stack is a group of open-source software that is typically installed together to enable a server to host dynamic websites and web apps. This term is actually an acronym which represents the Linux operating system, with the Apache web server. The site data is stored in a MySQL or MariaDB database, and dynamic content is processed by PHP.

First, check for any pending system upgrades.

apt update
apt upgrade

Install Apache

---

Command to install Apache along with its utilities.

apt install -y apache2 apache2-utils

Next, check the Status of Apache.

systemctl status apache2

Output:

root@vps:~# systemctl status apache2
● apache2.service - The Apache HTTP Server
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/apache2.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Fri 2024-03-15 15:55:38 UTC; 8min ago
       Docs: https://httpd.apache.org/docs/2.4/
   Main PID: 15523 (apache2)
      Tasks: 55 (limit: 2188)
     Memory: 5.2M (peak: 5.5M)
        CPU: 92ms
     CGroup: /system.slice/apache2.service
             ├─15523 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start
             ├─15524 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start
             └─15526 /usr/sbin/apache2 -k start

If Apache is not active can start using the following command.

systemctl start apache2

Use the following command to auto start Apache at boot time.

systemctl enable apache2

You can confirm the Apache2 version with the below command,

apache2 -v

Output:

root@vps:~# apache2 -v
Server version: Apache/2.4.58 (Ubuntu)
Server built:   2024-01-24T22:00:03

Enable Firewall

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We will open the HTTP, HTTPS ports in the firewall, so we can access the page served by the Apache web server.

Allow the HTTP,HTTPS ports by running the below command,

ufw allow http

ufw allow https

Output:

root@vps:~# ufw allow http
Rules updated
Rules updated (v6)
root@vps:~# ufw allow https
Rules updated
Rules updated (v6)

And to verify if it's working, open the server's IP address in your browser. You should be able to view the Apache default page.

http://ip-address

NOTE: Replace with your Server IP address.

Install MariaDB Server

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Install MariaDB server, run the below command:

apt install mariadb-server mariadb-client

Once the installation complete, check the status of MariaDB.

systemctl status mariadb

Output:

root@vps:~# systemctl status mariadb
● mariadb.service - MariaDB 10.11.6 database server
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/mariadb.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Fri 2024-03-15 16:13:14 UTC; 6min ago
       Docs: man:mariadbd(8)
             https://mariadb.com/kb/en/library/systemd/
   Main PID: 16887 (mariadbd)
     Status: "Taking your SQL requests now..."
      Tasks: 8 (limit: 2188)
     Memory: 78.5M (peak: 81.6M)
        CPU: 569ms
     CGroup: /system.slice/mariadb.service
             └─16887 /usr/sbin/mariadbd

Start MariaDB if it is not active using below command,

systemctl start mariadb

Use the following command to auto start MariaDB at boot time.

systemctl enable mariadb

Next, MariaDB database security.

NOTE: In this step, you will be prompted with several questions.

mysql_secure_installation

Output:

root@vps:~# mysql_secure_installation

NOTE: RUNNING ALL PARTS OF THIS SCRIPT IS RECOMMENDED FOR ALL MariaDB
      SERVERS IN PRODUCTION USE!  PLEASE READ EACH STEP CAREFULLY!

In order to log into MariaDB to secure it, we'll need the current
password for the root user. If you've just installed MariaDB, and
haven't set the root password yet, you should just press enter here.

Enter current password for root (enter for none):
OK, successfully used password, moving on...

Setting the root password or using the unix_socket ensures that nobody
can log into the MariaDB root user without the proper authorisation.

You already have your root account protected, so you can safely answer 'n'.

Switch to unix_socket authentication [Y/n] y
Enabled successfully!
Reloading privilege tables..
 ... Success!

You already have your root account protected, so you can safely answer 'n'.

Change the root password? [Y/n] y
New password:
Re-enter new password:
Password updated successfully!
Reloading privilege tables..
 ... Success!

By default, a MariaDB installation has an anonymous user, allowing anyone
to log into MariaDB without having to have a user account created for
them.  This is intended only for testing, and to make the installation
go a bit smoother.  You should remove them before moving into a
production environment.

Remove anonymous users? [Y/n] y
 ... Success!

Normally, root should only be allowed to connect from 'localhost'.  This
ensures that someone cannot guess at the root password from the network.

Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n] y
 ... Success!

By default, MariaDB comes with a database named 'test' that anyone can
access.  This is also intended only for testing, and should be removed
before moving into a production environment.

Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n] y
 - Dropping test database...
 ... Success!
 - Removing privileges on test database...
 ... Success!

Reloading the privilege tables will ensure that all changes made so far
will take effect immediately.

Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n] y
 ... Success!

Cleaning up...

All done!  If you've completed all of the above steps, your MariaDB
installation should now be secure.

Thanks for using MariaDB!

Login to the MariaDB using below command,

 mariadb -u root -p

To exit from MariaDB.

exit

Check MariaDB Version,

mariadb --version

Output:

root@vps:~# mariadb --version
mariadb  Ver 15.1 Distrib 10.11.6-MariaDB, for debian-linux-gnu (x86_64) using  EditLine wrapper

Install PHP

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PHP 8.3 is the default version of PHP that would be installed on Ubuntu 24.04.

Install PHP and Required Extensions using below command,

apt install php libapache2-mod-php php-mysql php-common php-cli php-common php-json php-opcache php-readline php-mbstring php-gd php-dom php-zip php-curl

Enable the Apache PHP module and restart the Apache Web server.

a2enmod php8.3

Output:

root@vps:~# a2enmod php8.3
Considering dependency mpm_prefork for php8.3:
Considering conflict mpm_event for mpm_prefork:
Considering conflict mpm_worker for mpm_prefork:
Module mpm_prefork already enabled
Considering conflict php5 for php8.3:
Enabling module php8.3.
To activate the new configuration, you need to run:
  systemctl restart apache2

systemctl restart apache2

To check PHP Version.

php --version

Output:

root@vps:~# php --version
PHP 8.3.0-1ubuntu1 (cli) (built: Jan 19 2024 14:00:34) (NTS)
Copyright (c) The PHP Group
Zend Engine v4.3.0, Copyright (c) Zend Technologies
    with Zend OPcache v8.3.0-1ubuntu1, Copyright (c), by Zend Technologies

Test PHP scripts we need to add the info.php file in the document.

nano /var/www/html/info.php

Add the following to the file.

<?php phpinfo(); ?>

To verify enter the following link in a web browser.

NOTE: Replace with your server IP address below.

http://ip-address/info.php

Once it's verified, remove the file so it will not be of any security risk,

rm /var/www/html/info.php

Run PHP-FPM with Apache [Optional]

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FPM (FastCGI Process Manager) is an alternative PHP FastCGI implementation with some additional features useful for heavy-loaded sites.

Next, Install PHP-FPM.

apt install php8.3-fpm

Enable proxy_fcgi and setenvif module.

a2enmod proxy_fcgi setenvif

Output:

root@vps:~# a2enmod proxy_fcgi setenvif
Considering dependency proxy for proxy_fcgi:
Enabling module proxy.
Enabling module proxy_fcgi.
Module setenvif already enabled
To activate the new configuration, you need to run:
  systemctl restart apache2

Now enable the Apache php8.3-fpm file.

a2enconf php8.3-fpm

Output:

root@vps:~# a2enconf php8.3-fpm
Enabling conf php8.3-fpm.
To activate the new configuration, you need to run:
  systemctl reload apache2

Restart the Apache.

systemctl restart apache2

Enable php-fpm.

systemctl enable php8.3-fpm

Follow below command to start php-fpm.

systemctl start php8.3-fpm

To check the status of php-fpm.

systemctl status php8.3-fpm

Output:

root@vps:~# systemctl status php8.3-fpm
● php8.3-fpm.service - The PHP 8.3 FastCGI Process Manager
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/php8.3-fpm.service; enabled; preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Fri 2024-03-15 17:07:30 UTC; 5min ago
       Docs: man:php-fpm8.3(8)
   Main PID: 30083 (php-fpm8.3)
     Status: "Processes active: 0, idle: 2, Requests: 0, slow: 0, Traffic: 0req/sec"
      Tasks: 3 (limit: 2188)
     Memory: 10.0M (peak: 10.8M)
        CPU: 126ms
     CGroup: /system.slice/php8.3-fpm.service
             ├─30083 "php-fpm: master process (/etc/php/8.3/fpm/php-fpm.conf)"
             ├─30085 "php-fpm: pool www"
             └─30086 "php-fpm: pool www"

Now you have successfully installed the LAMP stack (Apache, MariaDB, and PHP8.3) on Ubuntu 24.04.