Installing a LAMP stack on an Ubuntu server

This article describes how to install a complete LAMP stack on Ubuntu. A LAMP stack is an open-source software bundle that contains the following components:

• The Linux operating system. (This is already installed on your server.)

• The Apache web server.

• The MySQL database management system.

• The PHP programming language.

With a LAMP stack, you can install and create many popular types of web applications. WordPress, for example, often runs on a LAMP stack.

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Note

This article only applies to unmanaged hosting packages. You must have root access to the server to install the Ubuntu operating system template and a LAMP stack.

Installing a LAMP stack on Ubuntu

The following procedure assumes that you have installed the Ubuntu operating system template on your server.

To install a LAMP stack on Ubuntu, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your server using SSH.

2. As the root user, type the following commands to update the system:

   Bash

   apt update
   apt upgrade
   

3. As the root user, type the following commands to install the tasksel package and then run it:

   Bash

   apt install tasksel
   tasksel
   

4. The tasksel interface lists predefined software collections that are available for installation:

   • Under Choose software to install, use the arrow keys to highlight LAMP server.

   • Press the spacebar to select LAMP server, and then press Enter. The installation process starts.

   • When you are prompted to specify a password for the MySQL root user, type the password and then press Enter.

5. When the installation process finishes, you have a functioning LAMP stack on your server. To test and configure the installation further, follow these steps:

   • Test the web server: To ensure the Apache web server is running normally, use your web browser to visit the domain name (or IP address) of the server. You should see the default Apache page.

   • Test PHP: To ensure PHP is running on the server correctly, type the following command at the command prompt:

     Bash

     php --version
     

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     Tip

     Additionally, to verify PHP is integrated with Apache, you can create a web page that contains the phpinfo() function. When you load the page in your web browser, you should see PHP configuration information for your server. For more information about how to use the phpinfo() function to view PHP settings, please see this article.

   • Secure MySQL: During installation you set a root password for MySQL. To help secure the MySQL installation further, type the following command at the command prompt:

     Bash

     mysql_secure_installation
     

     The mysql_secure_installation program enables you to configure additional security settings for MySQL.

More Information

• For more information about LAMP stacks, please visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LAMP_(software_bundle).

• For more information about Ubuntu, please visit https://ubuntu.com.