Introduction
LAMP is a combination of open-source software stack with an open-source operating system. It is mostly used to provision web servers.
In this tutorial we will demonstrate how to install the Apache, MySQL and PHP since the operating system has been previously installed. In this case we are using RHEL/CentOS/Scientific Linux 6.
We are assuming you have been logged to the server and have root privileges. We are also passing the "-y" option to the yum install command in order to get every question asked by the installer answered with a YES from us.
Install Apache Webserver
Apache is an open-source multi-platform web server. Most of the internet websites are powered by the Apache web server.
In terminal, type this command:
sudo yum install httpd -y
Now, we should start the Apache service and let it start automatically on every reboot, like this:
sudo service httpd start sudo chkconfig httpd on
You must open port 80 on your firewall in order to get Apache to serve its content to the web. In this case we use iptables:
sudo iptables -A INPUT -m state --state NEW -m tcp -p tcp --dport 80 -j ACCEPT
Save iptables:
sudo service iptables save
Restart iptables:
sudo service iptables restart
Test if Apache is Working:
Open your browser and navigate to your server’s IP address (eg. http://12.34.56.789).
You should see an Apache 2 Test Page on the browser.
How to find your server's IP address?
If you are not sure what your server or VPS IP address is, you can run the following command which will display it for you:
ifconfig eth0 | grep inet | awk '{ print $2 }'
You will have an output like this:
addr:12.34.56.789
Install MySQL
MySQL is an enterprise class, open-source database. MySQL is one of the top choices for dynamic content web applications. Most content management systems like Wordpress, Drupal and Joomla use MySQL as their default database.
To install MySQL, open terminal and type in these commands:
sudo yum install mysql-server -y
Start MySQL server and tell it to start on every system reboot.
sudo service mysqld start sudo chkconfig mysqld on
Set MySQL root password and initial configuration, by typing:
sudo /usr/bin/mysql_secure_installation
First of all, it will ask you for the current password, which will be none so leave it blank and press enter.
Enter current password for root (enter for none): OK, successfully used password, moving on...
After that the prompt will ask you if you want to set a root password. Choose "Y" and follow the instructions.
Now you should answer a series of questions. Say YES to all of them:
By default, a MySQL installation has an anonymous user, allowing anyone to log into MySQL 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, MySQL 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 MySQL installation should now be secure. Thanks for using MySQL!
Now, MySQL is installed and ready to use on your system.
Install PHP
PHP is a open-source scripting language. It is one of the most used scripting languages for open-sourced web development and can be embedded in HTML.
To install, type the following command:
sudo yum install php php-mysql -y
If there is an additional PHP module you'd like to install, look for it with the following command:
sudo yum search php-
You will get an output like this:
php-pear-HTTP-Client.noarch : Easy way to perform multiple HTTP requests and process their
: results
php-pear-HTTP-OAuth.noarch : Implementation of the OAuth spec
php-pear-HTTP-Request.noarch : Provides an easy way to perform HTTP requests
php-pear-HTTP-Request2.noarch : Provides an easy way to perform HTTP requests
php-pear-HTTP-Upload.noarch : Secure managment of files submitted via HTML Forms
php-pear-Image-Canvas.noarch : Common interface to image drawing
php-pear-Image-Color.noarch : Manage and handles color data and conversions
Once you have defined the modules you need, install it by typing:
sudo yum install name_of_module -y
Test PHP:
You can create a sample file like info.php in the Apache document root folder.
sudo vi /var/www/html/info.php
Append the following lines:
<?php phpinfo(); ?>
Save and exit.
Restart Apache service:
sudo service httpd restart
Navigate to http://your-server-ip-address/info.php and you should see a page with all the PHP details.
Install phpMyAdmin (optional)
phpMyAdmin is an excellent and free open-source web interface panel used to manage your MySQL databases. You need to add EPEL repository in order to get phpMyAdmin package installer.
wget http://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/epel/6/x86_64/epel-release-6-8.noarch.rpm sudo rpm -Uvh epel-release-6*.rpm
Now list out the installed repositories with the following command:
sudo yum repolist
You will get something like this:
Loaded plugins: fastestmirror Loading mirror speeds from cached hostfile * Webmin: download.webmin.com * base: mirror.symnds.com * epel: www.gtlib.gatech.edu * extras: mirror.wiredtree.com * updates: mirror.umd.edu repo id repo name status Webmin Webmin Distribution Neutral 175 base CentOS-6 - Base 6,367 epel Extra Packages for Enterprise Linux 6 - x86_64 10,685 extras CentOS-6 - Extras 14 poptop-stable PoPToP stable repository for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 (x86_64) 5 pptp-stable PPTP Client stable repository for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 (x86_64) 24 updates CentOS-6 - Updates 775 repolist: 18,045
Notice there is an "epel" repo id? It means the EPEL repository is now installed.
Now you can install phpMyAmdin as usual:
sudo yum install phpmyadmin -y
Configure phpMyAdmin:
Edit the phpmyadmin.conf by typing:
sudo vi /etc/httpd/conf.d/phpMyAdmin.conf
Find and replace all the 127.0.0.1 IP references to your safe, static IP address in order to access phpMyAdmin from the open internet. Be sure to use a secure IP from your home or office computer.
Save and Exit the file.
Now restart Apache service:
sudo service httpd restart
Now you should have access to the phpmyadmin web interface by entering your server's IP address in the address bar of your browser like this:
http://your-server-ip-address/phpmyadmin
To access phpMyAdmin enter your root MySQL username and password.
You're all set! LAMP stack is installed on your VPS.
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