This article explains installing Thunder CMS with Apache support on Ubuntu Linux.
Thunder is an open-source fork and modified version of Drupal CMS that serves the business and professional publisher’s market.
Installing Thunder CMS with Apache support on Ubuntu Linux allows users to create and manage websites using Thunder CMS, an open-source fork and modified version of Drupal CMS that serves the business and professional publisher’s market.
Apache is the most popular open-source web server available today, and it is required to run Thunder CMS. Ubuntu Linux is a free, open-source operating system widely used in web server environments.
Users can set up a secure and reliable web server environment for Thunder CMS by following the steps outlined in the installation guide.
For more about Thunder, please check their Homepage
Install Apache2 HTTP Server
Thunder 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 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 has been installed browse your browser to the URL below to test whether the web server works.
http://localhost
If you see the page above, then Apache2 is successfully installed.
Install MariaDB Database Server
Thunder 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 service to start 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.
The server was successfully installed if you see a similar screen.
Install PHP 7.2 and Related Modules
Thunder 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-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.
Create Thunder Database
Once you’ve installed all the packages required for Thunder to function, continue below to start configuring the servers. First, run the commands below to create a blank Thunder database.
To log on to the MariaDB database server, run the commands below.
sudo mysql -u root -p
Then, create a database called Thunder.
CREATE DATABASE thunder;
Create a database user called thunderuser with a new password
CREATE USER 'thunderuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new_password_here';
Then, grant the user full access to the database.
GRANT ALL ON thunder.* TO 'thunderuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'user_password_here' WITH GRANT OPTION;
Finally, save your changes and exit.
FLUSH PRIVILEGES; EXIT;
Download Thunder’s Latest Release
You may want to use the GitHub repository to get Thunder’s latest release. 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 Nginx root directory and download Thunder packages from Github.
cd /var/www/html sudo composer create-project burdamagazinorg/thunder-project thunder cd /var/www/html/thunder/ sudo composer install
Then, run the commands below to set the correct permissions for the Thunder root directory and give Apache2 control.
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/thunder/ sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/thunder/
Configure Apache2
Finally, configure the Apahce2 site configuration file for Thunder. This file will control how users access Thunder content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called Thunder. conf
sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/thunder.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/thunder/docroot
ServerName example.com
ServerAlias www.example.com
<Directory /var/www/html/thunder/docroot/>
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 Thunder and Rewrite Module
After configuring the VirtualHost above, please enable it by running the commands below.
sudo a2ensite thunder.conf sudo a2enmod rewrite sudo systemctl restart apache2.service
Then open your browser and browse to the server domain name. You should see the Thunder setup wizard complete. Please follow the wizard carefully.
http://example.com/
Then, follow the on-screen instructions. Finally, select the installation language and continue.
Next, type in the database information you created above and continue.
Next, configure your site info and admin account, then continue
After a moment, Thunder should be installed and ready to use. You should be able to log on with the admin account created above.
That’s it!
Congratulation! You have successfully installed Thunder CMS on Ubuntu 16.04 | 18.04 and 18.10.
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