Introduction
LAMP is a set of softwares that allows you to prepare a web server capable of hosting dynamic or static websites. The acronym LAMP provides for the installation, on Linux systems, of the Apache web server, the MySQL database and the PHP language.
Laravel is the most widely used MVC open source framework for developing websites and applications in PHP.
In this tutorial you will see how to install this set of softwares on Ubuntu 20.04, install the PHP Laravel framework on the system via the “Composer” package manager.
To get started, connect to your server via an SSH connection. If you haven't done that yet, following our guide is recommended to connect securely with the SSH protocol. In case of a local server, go to the next step and open your server terminal.
Installing Apache
Before proceeding, update the official Ubuntu package repositories using the apt command:
sudo apt update
Once completed, proceed with the Apache installation:
sudo apt install apache2 -y
Make sure you enable traffic on port 80 used by Apache, using the UFW firewall:
sudo ufw allow in "Apache Full"
At this point the server is ready with the default configurations: to verify its correct functioning, just connect to the public IP address of your server through any browser:
http://<SERVER_IP>
Remember that, should you change the Apache configuration, the service has to be restarted by using the command:
sudo service apache2 reload
Alternatively, the service can be completely restarted by using:
sudo service apache2 restart
To stop or start the service, use the "start" or "stop" commands:
sudo service apache2 stop
sudo service apache2 start
Installing MySQL
To install the MySQL database, use the apt command pointing the package "mysql-server" as follows:
sudo apt install mysql-server -y
Once completed the MySQL Database Service is available within the system. Like all other services, if necessary (for example after changing its configuration), MySQL can be restarted through the command:
sudo service mysql restart
Before proceeding, it is necessary to "secure" the current installation, that is to say, to start a procedure that will guide you in removing all anonymous users, disable the administrator login (root) remotely and remove the pre-installed test databases by default:
sudo mysql_secure_installation
The first question you are asked is whether to use the "VALID PASSWORD COMPONENT", a tool capable of rejecting any unsafe passwords during user creation:
VALIDATE PASSWORD COMPONENT can be used to test passwords
…
Would you like to setup VALIDATE PASSWORD component?
Press y|Y for Yes, any other key for No: y
There are three levels of password validation policy:
LOW Length >= 8
MEDIUM Length >= 8, numeric, mixed case, and special characters
STRONG Length >= 8, numeric, mixed case, special characters and dictionary file
Please enter 0 = LOW, 1 = MEDIUM and 2 = STRONG:
To enable the component, type Y and choose a security level from 0: Low, 1: Medium or 2: High.
You will also be requested to enter a new password for the root user in order to access the service only through connections made from the same machine.
After entering the new password, continue by answering "y" to all the questions that will be asked.
Then, check the correct installation by logging in as an administrator user:
mysql -u root -p
By entering the root password indicated above, you log in to the management console.
To exit, type "exit:"
mysql> exit;
Installing PHP
To proceed with a minimal installation of PHP, the packages "php", "libapache2-mod-php" and "php-mysql" through the command: can be installed
sudo apt install php libapache2-mod-php php-mysql -y
However, in case you need to use complex software, such as WordPress or other CMS, it may be useful to install other support packages through:
sudo apt install php-xml php-intl php-gd php-mbstring -y
After completing, restart Apache to apply the changes made:
sudo service apache2 restart
To verify correct PHP installation create an “info.php” file in the / var / www / html / folder using a text editor (for example, nano):
sudo nano /var/www/html/info.php
Copy the following string into the file you just opened:
<?php phpinfo(); ?>
Save the file and open the file address with your browser:
http://<SERVER_IP>/info.php
If everything works correctly, the installed current version of PHP, the extensions and all the current configuration data will be shown.
Installing Composer
Before proceeding, make sure you have the "curl" command available:
sudo apt install curl -y
Then, use curl to download the official installation software:
curl -sS https://getcomposer.org/installer -o composer-setup.php
At this point, decide whether to install Composer globally on the system, or to install it as a local script, to recall occasionally when requested.
Global installation of Composer
To perform the global installation of Composer software use the following command:
sudo php composer-setup.php --install-dir=/usr/local/bin --filename=composer
After typing this command, in the current folder called -composer- a file will be created.
To check its installation and view the installed version, use the command:
composer -v
Local installation of Composer
Alternatively, to install Composer locally use:
sudo php composer-setup.php
To check its installation and view the installed version, use the command:
php ./composer.phar -v
Installing Laravel
Once the installation of Composer is completed, proceed by installing the web application framework Larave. To do so, enter first the Apache root directory and remove the sample files present:
cd /var/www/html/
rm ./*
Then, use Composer's create-project command to install Laravel in the current directory (using the "." Character at the end of the command):
composer create-project --prefer-dist laravel/laravel .
Proceed by correctly setting permissions for the newly created folders:
chown www-data:www-data ./* -R
Once completed, all you have to do is correct the Apache configuration, setting the one called ‘public’, just created by Lavarel, as the folder to serve. Then, open the file:
vim /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf
Inside you will find the entry "DocumentRoot" with the default value "/ var / www / html /", change it as follows:
DocumentRoot /var/www/html/public
Save the changes and restart the service:
sudo service apache2 reload
Configuring the Database
To allow Laravel to access a database, create and assign permissions to a user. Start the MySQL console by entering the password specified during installation:
mysql -u root -p
Then, create the database and the user:
CREATE DATABASE laravel;
CREATE USER 'laravel_user'@'%' IDENTIFIED BY 'z98seQsXSn7711f';
Complete by assigning permissions on the newly created database:
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON laravel. * TO 'laravel_user'@'%';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
exit
At this point, simply modify the file containing the ".env" environment variables (including full stop) in the Laravel directory:
nano .env
Apply the changes to the file as indicated below and save:
DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=laravel
DB_USERNAME=laravel_user
DB_PASSWORD=z98seQsXSn7711f
Once completed, by visiting your server address, the example page installed by Laravel should be seen:
http://<SERVER_IP>/info.php
Conclusion
If you followed all the steps in this guide correctly, the newly completed Laravel installation will allow you to start a new application. For any further information, consult the official documentation, available at https://laravel.com/docs/8.x .
Most of the services installed in this tutorial do not require further configuration or security. However, special attention should be paid to the configuration of Apache.
In this tutorial the default configurations have been only slightly modified, which do not involve the use of Virtual Hosts, which are necessary to configure web servers with more than one domain. If you need to host several websites within your server, you may consult our guide on How to Create Virtual Host with Apache .