How to Setup REDAXO CMS with Nginx on Ubuntu Linux

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computer no table with keyboard

REDAXO is a simple, flexible open-source content management system (CMS) one can use to create dynamic websites. It allows web admins and users to build portals for secure extranet, online databases, e-commerce, and multilingual sites.

If you want a Content Management System (CMS) that has enterprise-class features, is scalable, and performs at a high level, then REDAXO CMS is an excellent place to start.

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 REDAXO CMS, please check their Homepage

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

Install Nginx HTTP Server

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

sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx

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

sudo systemctl stop nginx.service
sudo systemctl start nginx.service
sudo systemctl enable nginx.service

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

http://localhost
nginx default home page test

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

Install MariaDB Database Server

REDAXO 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-FPM and Related Modules

REDAXO 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-FPM 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-FPM

sudo apt update

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

sudo apt install php7.2-fpm 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-bcmath php7.2-xml php7.2-cli php7.2-zip

After installing PHP 7.2, run the commands below to open Nginx’s PHP default configuration file.

sudo nano /etc/php/7.2/fpm/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
cgi.fix_pathinfo = 0
upload_max_filesize = 100M
max_execution_time = 360
date.timezone = America/Chicago

Restarting the Nginx web server whenever you change the PHP configuration file would be best. To do so, run the commands below:

sudo systemctl restart nginx.service

Once PHP is installed, create a test file called phpinfo.php in the Nginx default root directory. ( /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 REDAXO Database

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

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

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then create a database called redaxo

CREATE DATABASE redaxo;

Create a database user called redaxouser with a new password

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

Then grant the user full access to the database.

GRANT ALL ON redaxo.* TO 'redaxouser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'user_password_here' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Finally, save your changes and exit.

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Download REDAXO Latest Release

To get REDAXO’s latest release, you may want to download it from its download page. Use the link below to get the latest. At the time of this writing, the current version is 5.6.4

Download and extract the downloaded content into the Nginx root directory.

https://redaxo.org/download/core/

cd /tmp
wget https://redaxo.org/download/redaxo/5.6.4.zip
sudo unzip -d /var/www/html/redaxo /tmp/5.6.4.zip

Then run the commands below to set the correct permissions for the REDAXO root directory and give Nginx control.

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

Configure Nginx

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

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/redaxo

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.

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    root /var/www/html/redaxo;
    index  index.php index.html index.htm;
    server_name  example.com www.example.com;

     client_max_body_size 100M;

     autoindex off;

     location / {
        try_files $uri /index.php$is_args$args;
          }

    location ~ \.php$ {
         include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
         fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php7.2-fpm.sock;
         fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
         include fastcgi_params;
    }
}

Save the file and exit.

Enable the REDAXO

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

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/redaxo /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo systemctl restart nginx.service

Then open your browser and browse to the server domain name. You should see the REDAXO setup wizard complete. Please follow the wizard carefully.

http://example.com/

Then follow the on-screen instructions. Next, choose your installation language and continue.

REDAXO Ubuntu setup

Next, type in the database information you created above and continue.

REDAXO Ubuntu setup

Next, choose to set up a database and continue

REDAXO Ubuntu setup

After that, create an admin account and continue.

REDAXO Ubuntu setup

After a moment, REDAXO should be installed and ready to use. You should be able to log on with the admin account created above.

REDAXO Ubuntu setup

That’s it!

Congratulation! You have successfully installed REDAXO 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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