How to Install Asgard CMS with Apache on Ubuntu Linux

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Asgard CMS is a free and open-source Laravel content management system that’s modular and multilingual. With Asgard, you get a clean and straightforward administrative area without clutter.

Web admins and users who love classic interfaces will feel comfortable building online databases, e-commerce, and multilingual sites.

Asgard CMS is also built on an open-source core with support for open standards, which might be very useful in helping you run your digital content.

This CMS platform is designed for ease of use to allow enterprises and business owners to collaborate and automate engaging experiences with users across multiple devices, including mobile.

For more about Asgard CMS, please check their Homepage

To get started with installing Asgard CMS, follow the steps below:

Install Apache2 HTTP Server

Asgard CMS requires a web server, and the Apache2 HTTP server is the most popular open-source web server available today. To install the Apache2 server, run the commands below:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install apache2

After installing Apache2, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable the Apache2 service to always start up with the server boots.

sudo systemctl stop apache2.service
sudo systemctl start apache2.service
sudo systemctl enable apache2.service

Now that Apache2 is installed browse your browser to the URL below to test whether the web server works.

http://localhost
Apache2 Test Page

If you see the page above, then Apache2 is successfully installed.

Install MariaDB Database Server

Asgard CMS also requires a database server to store its content. MariaDB is a great place to start if you want a genuinely open-source database server. To install MariaDB run the commands below:

sudo apt-get install mariadb-server mariadb-client

After installing MariaDB, the commands below can stop, start and enable the MariaDB service to start up when the server boots.

Run these on Ubuntu 16.04 LTS

sudo systemctl stop mysql.service
sudo systemctl start mysql.service
sudo systemctl enable mysql.service

Run these on Ubuntu 18.10 and 18.04 LTS

sudo systemctl stop mariadb.service
sudo systemctl start mariadb.service
sudo systemctl enable mariadb.service

Next, run the commands below to secure the database server with a root password if you were not prompted to do so during the installation.

sudo mysql_secure_installation

When prompted, answer the questions below by following the guide.

  • Enter current password for root (enter for none): Just press the Enter
  • Set root password? [Y/n]: Y
  • New password: Enter password
  • Re-enter new password: Repeat password
  • Remove anonymous users? [Y/n]: Y
  • Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n]: Y
  • Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n]:  Y
  • Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n]:  Y

Once MariaDB is installed, run the commands below to test whether the database server was installed.

sudo mysql -u root -p

Type the root password when prompted.

mariadb welcome

The server was successfully installed if you see a similar screen.

Install PHP 7.2 and Related Modules

Asgard CMS is a PHP-based CMS, and PHP is required. However, PHP 7.2 may not be available in Ubuntu’s default repositories. To run PHP 7.2 on Ubuntu 16.04 and previous, you may need to run the commands below:

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

Then update and upgrade to PHP 7.2

sudo apt update

Next, run the commands below to install PHP 7.2 and related modules.

sudo apt install php7.2 libapache2-mod-php7.2 php7.2-common php7.2-mysql php7.2-sqlite3 php7.2-gmp php7.2-curl php7.2-intl php7.2-mbstring php7.2-xmlrpc php7.2-gd php7.2-xml php7.2-cli php7.2-zip

After installing PHP 7.2, run the commands below to open the PHP default configuration file for Apache2.

sudo nano /etc/php/7.2/apache2/php.ini

The lines below are a good setting for most PHP-based CMS. Update the configuration file with these and save.

file_uploads = On
allow_url_fopen = On
short_open_tag = On
memory_limit = 256M
upload_max_filesize = 100M
max_execution_time = 360
date.timezone = America/Chicago

Every time you change the PHP configuration file, you should restart the Apache2 web server. To do so, run the commands below:

sudo systemctl restart apache2.service

Once PHP is installed, create a test file called phpinfo.php in the Apache2 default root directory to test whether it’s functioning. ( /var/www/html/)

sudo nano /var/www/html/phpinfo.php

Then type the content below and save the file.

<?php phpinfo( ); ?>

Next, open your browser and browse to the server’s hostname or IP address, followed by phpinfo.php

http://localhost/phpinfo.php

You should see the PHP default test page.

PHP Test Page

Create Asgard CMS Database

Once you’ve installed all the packages required for Asgard CMS to function, continue below to start configuring the servers. First, run the commands below to create a blank Asgard CMS database.

To log on to the MariaDB database server, run the commands below.

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then create a database called asgardcms

CREATE DATABASE asgardcms;

Create a database user called asgardcmsuser with a new password

CREATE USER 'asgardcmsuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new_password_here';

Then grant the user full access to the database.

GRANT ALL ON asgardcms.* TO 'asgardcmsuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'user_password_here' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Finally, save your changes and exit.

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Download Asgard CMS Latest Release

To get Asgard CMS’s latest release, you may want to download it via Composer. Install Composer, Curl, and other dependencies to get started.

sudo apt install curl git
curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer | sudo php -- --install-dir=/usr/local/bin --filename=composer

After installing curl and Composer above, change into the Apache2 root directory and download Asgard CMS packages from Github.

cd /var/www/html/
sudo composer create-project asgardcms/platform asgardcms

Next, run the commands below to create the environment config file.

sudo cp /var/www/html/asgardcms/.env.example /var/www/html/asgardcms/.env

Then open the file and edit the highlighted lines

sudo nano /var/www/html/asgardcms/.env

and change highlighted lines.

APP_ENV=local
APP_DEBUG=true
APP_CACHE=false
INSTALLED=true
APP_KEY=
APP_URL=http://example.com

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=asgardcms
DB_USERNAME=asgardcmsuser
DB_PASSWORD=new_password_here

CACHE_DRIVER=array
TRANSLATIONS_CACHE_DRIVER=file
SESSION_DRIVER=file
QUEUE_DRIVER=sync

Save the file and exit.

Next, run the commands below.

cd /var/www/html/asgardcms
sudo php artisan key:generate
sudo  php artisan migrate

Then run the commands below to set the correct permissions for the Asgard CMS root directory and give Apache2 control.

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/asgardcms/
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/asgardcms/

Configure Apache2

Finally, configure the Apahce2 site configuration file for Asgard CMS. This file will control how users access Asgard CMS content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called asgardcms.conf.

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/asgardcms.conf

Then copy and paste the content below into the file and save it. Replace the highlighted line with your domain name and directory root location.

<VirtualHost *:80>
     ServerAdmin admin@example.com
     DocumentRoot /var/www/html/asgardcms/public
     ServerName example.com
     ServerAlias www.example.com

     <Directory /var/www/html/asgardcms/public/>
          Options FollowSymlinks
          AllowOverride All
          Require all granted
     </Directory>

     ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
     CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
    

</VirtualHost>

Save the file and exit.

Enable the Asgard CMS and Rewrite Module

After configuring the VirtualHost above, please enable it by running the commands below.

sudo a2ensite asgardcms.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl restart apache2.service

Then open your browser and browse the server domain name, which should bring up Asgard’s home page.

http://example.com/
Asgard CMS Ubuntu

Login to the backend by going to

http://example.com/backend

That’s it!

Congratulation! You have successfully installed Asgard CMS on Ubuntu 16.04 | 18.04 and 18.10.

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Posted by
Richard

I love computers; maybe way too much. What I learned I try to share at geekrewind.com.

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