How to Install LAMP on Ubuntu Linux

How to install Ubuntu Linux

Ubuntu Linux installation gives you the operating system foundation needed to set up LAMP. You need a working Ubuntu computer or virtual machine before you can add your web server, database, and programming language. Once your setup finishes, you run a few update commands in your terminal to prepare the system for the next installation steps.

Ubuntu Linux installation is the first task for LAMP configuration. Users new to Ubuntu can follow a linked guide to learn how to install the 💿 Ubuntu operating system.

Once Ubuntu is installed, run the commands below to update it.

sudo apt update
sudo apt dist-upgrade
sudo apt autoremove

There are lots of other settings and configurations to apply that apply to Ubuntu. However, the post is only concerned with installing 💿 LAMP.

How to install Apache on Ubuntu Linux

Apache is the web server that displays your website files to visitors when you install LAMP Ubuntu. You add the web server by opening your terminal and running the apt package manager commands to download and set up the software. After the installation completes, you can manage the service to make sure it starts automatically whenever your computer boots up.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install apache2

sudo systemctl stop apache2
sudo systemctl start apache2
sudo systemctl enable apache2

To see if Apache is installed, open a web browser and browse to the server hostname or IP address.

http://localhost

If you see the above Apache welcome page, it means Apache is installed and functioning.

How to install MariaDB on Ubuntu Linux

MariaDB is the database server that stores all your website information when you install MariaDB Ubuntu. You use this popular database alternative to MySQL to handle user accounts, posts, and settings for your web applications. Running a few short terminal commands downloads the database software and secures your installation so it is ready for use.

For this post, we will install MariaDB instead of MySQL.

To install MariaDB, run the commands below.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install mariadb-server

After installing, you can run the commands below to view the MariaDB service status.

sudo systemctl status mariadb

After running the command above, it should output similar lines.

mariadb.service - MariaDB 10.3.31 database server
     Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/mariadb.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
     Active: active (running) since Wed 2021-09-15 16:40:20 CDT; 22s ago
       Docs: man:mysqld(8)
             https://mariadb.com/kb/en/library/systemd/
   Main PID: 3007 (mysqld)
     Status: "Taking your SQL requests now..."
      Tasks: 31 (limit: 4651)
     Memory: 65.6M
     CGroup: /system.slice/mariadb.service
             └─3007 /usr/sbin/mysqld

Sep 15 16:40:20 ubuntu2004 /etc/mysql/debian-start[3045]: mysql
Sep 15 16:40:20 ubuntu2004 /etc/mysql/debian-start[3045]: performance_schema

MariaDB and MySQL have a script allowing you to perform security operations.

Run the commands below to invoke the script and perform some recommended tasks to secure the database.

sudo mysql_secure_installation

MariaDB and MySQL servers have the root user set to use the auth_socket authentication method by default.

You can't authenticate as a root by providing a password.

Simply run the command below to log on to MariaDB and MySQL servers as root. You don't need a password since it's using the auth_socket method.

To log on to MariaDB, run the commands below.

sudo mysql

The server console should come up.

Welcome to the MySQL monitor.  Commands end with ; or g.
Your MySQL connection id is 8
Server version: 8.0.26-0ubuntu0.20.04.2 (Ubuntu)

Copyright (c) 2000, 2021, Oracle and/or its affiliates.

Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its
affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective
owners.

Type 'help;' or 'h' for help. Type 'c' to clear the current input statement.

mysql> 

How to install PHP on Ubuntu Linux

PHP is the programming language that makes your website dynamic when you install PHP Ubuntu. You connect PHP to your web server by installing the language packages along with the required Apache module through your terminal. This setup lets your server process code, run contact forms, and handle login systems for your web visitors.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install php libapache2-mod-php

To install the latest PHP versions unavailable in the Ubuntu repository, run the commands below to install a third-party PPA repository that includes multiple versions of PHP.

At the time of this writing, the latest version of PHP is 8.0.

sudo apt install software-properties-common
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php

After adding the repository above, you can then install another PHP version.

sudo apt install php8.0 php8.0-common php8.0-cli php8.0-gd php8.0-curl php8.0-mysql

That should do it!

For more on LAMP, read individual posts on the LAMP components

• How to install Ubuntu Linux
• How to install Apache
• How to install l MariaDB or MySQL
• How to install PHP

Conclusion:

The LAMP stack installation guide provides instructions for installing the LAMP stack on Ubuntu Linux. You can submit errors or suggested additions to the LAMP stack installation guide using the comment form located below.