How to Setup BackBee CMS with Nginx on Ubuntu Linux

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BackBee is an open-source content management system (CMS) that enables the creation of powerful dynamic websites. Ideal for those seeking an enterprise-class platform that is scalable and highly performant. It uses On-page Editing Technology for easy site management. The guide provides detailed steps on installing BackBee CMS on Ubuntu (16.04, 18.04, and 18.10) using the…

This article explains how to set up BackBee CMS on Ubuntu Linux with Nginx support.

BackBee works excellently with an Apache2 HTTP server. However, if you want to run it with the Nginx web server instead, the steps below should be your first stop.

Setting up BackBee CMS with Nginx support on Ubuntu Linux can be beneficial for several reasons. For instance, Nginx is known for its high performance, low memory usage, and scalability, making it an excellent choice for serving dynamic web pages.

Additionally, BackBee CMS is a next-generation open-source CMS that offers enterprise-class features and can create powerful and dynamic websites and blogs.

Combining the two lets you get a highly performant and feature-rich website or blog easily managed with BackBee’s On-page Editing Technology (OPE Technology).

For more about BackBee CMS, please check their Homepage

Install Nginx HTTP Server

BackBee 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 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 Nginx is successfully installed.

Install MariaDB Database Server

BackBee 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-FPM and Related Modules

BackBee CMS is a PHP-based CMS, and PHP is required. However, PHP 7.2-FPM may not be available in Ubuntu 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-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.

Create BackBee Database

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

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

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then, create a database called backbee

CREATE DATABASE backbee;

Create a database user called Backbreaker with a new password

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

Then, grant the user full access to the database.

GRANT ALL ON backbee.* TO 'backbeeuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'user_password_here' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Finally, save your changes and exit.

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Download BackBee’s Latest Release

To get BackBee’s latest release, you may use the GitHub repository. 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 BackBee packages from Github.

cd /var/www/html
sudo git clone https://github.com/backbee/backbee-cms.git backbee
cd /var/www/html/backbee/
sudo composer install

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

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

Configure Nginx

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

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

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/backbee;
    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 @rewriteapp;
        }

     location @rewriteapp {
        rewrite ^(.*)$ /index.php?$query_string last;
       }

    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 BackBee

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

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

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

http://example.com/

Then, follow the on-screen instructions. Confirm that all the requirements are met and continue.

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

Next, set up the site URL and continue.

After a brief moment, BackBee should be installed and ready to use. Read the text after the installation to configure your environment. These are the recommended settings for BackBee.

After a moment, BackBee 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 BackBee CMS on Ubuntu 16.04 | 18.04 and 18.10.

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