How to Install Simple Machine Forum with Apache on Ubuntu Linux

This article explains installing Simple Machine Forum (SMF) with Apache support on Ubuntu Linux.

Installing Simple Machine Forum (SMF) on Ubuntu allows you to create and manage your online forum community easily. SMF is a free, lightweight, and straightforward platform based on PHP with all the features needed from a bulletin board.

Installing SMF on Ubuntu allows you to customize and manage your forum community with fewer resources easily. This tutorial provides step-by-step guidance on installing SMF on Ubuntu 17.04 | 17.10 with Apache2, MariaDB, and PHP support.

This post covers installing the latest version of SMF, which at the time of writing is 2.0.15

To get started with installing SMF, follow the steps below:

Install Apache2

SMF requires a webserver to function; the most popular web server today is Apache2. So, go and install Apache2 on Ubuntu by running the commands below:

sudo apt install apache2

After installing Apache2, run the commands below to turn off the directory listing.

sudo sed -i "s/Options Indexes FollowSymLinks/Options FollowSymLinks/" /etc/apache2/apache2.conf

Next, run the commands below 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

Install MariaDB

SMF also requires a database server to function. And MariaDB database server is a great place to start. To install it, run the commands below.

sudo apt-get install mariadb-server mariadb-client

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

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

After that, run the commands below to secure the MariaDB server.

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

Restart MariaDB server

sudo systemctl restart mariadb.service

Install PHP and Related Modules

SMF is based on PHP. So you’ll need to install it. To install PHP and related modules, run the commands below.

sudo apt install php libapache2-mod-php libapache2-mod-php php-common php-mbstring php-xmlrpc php-soap php-gd php-xml php-intl php-mysql php-cli php-mcrypt php-ldap php-zip php-curl unzip

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

sudo nano /etc/php/7.1/apache2/php.ini # Ubuntu 17.10
sudo nano /etc/php/7.0/apache2/php.ini # Ubuntu 17.04

Then change to the following lines below in the file and save.

file_uploads = On
allow_url_fopen = On
memory_limit = 256M
upload_max_filesize = 64M
max_execution_time = 240
max_input_vars = 1500

Create SMF Database

Now that you’ve installed all the required packages continue below to start configuring the servers. First, run the commands below to create an SMF database.

Run the commands below to log on to the database server. When prompted for a password, type the root password you created above.

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then, create a database called smf

CREATE DATABASE smf;

Create a database user called fuser with a new password

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

Then, grant the user full access to the database.

GRANT ALL ON smf.* TO 'smfuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'user_password_here' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Finally, save your changes and exit.

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Download SMF’s Latest Release

Next, visit the SMF site and download the latest version.

After downloading, run the commands below to extract the downloaded file into the Apache2 root directory.

cd /tmp && wget https://download.simplemachines.org/index.php/smf_2-0-15_install.zip
sudo mkdir -p /var/www/html/smf
sudo unzip smf_2-0-15_install.zip -d /var/www/html/smf

Then, run the commands below to set the correct permissions for SMF.

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

Configure Apache2

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

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/smf.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@mysmf.com
     DocumentRoot /var/www/html/smf
     ServerName example.com
     ServerAlias www.example.com

     <Directory /var/www/html/smf/>
        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 SMF and Rewrite Module

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

sudo a2ensite smf.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite

Restart Apache2 by running the commands below to load all the settings above.

sudo systemctl restart apache2.service

Then open your browser and browse to the server domain name. Next, you should see the SMF setup wizard complete. Please follow the wizard carefully.

http://example.com

Then, follow the on-screen instructions until you’ve successfully installed SMF.

Type the database connection settings. You’ll need the database username and password.

Next, enter the forum community name and URL to access it and continue

Create an admin account for the forum and continue

Finally, complete the installation

Enjoy!