‍In today’s digital landscape, having a fast and reliable website is crucial for businesses. One way to achieve this is by setting up a LEMP stack, which stands for Linux, Nginx, MariaDB, and PHP. This powerful combination of open-source software components allows you to build a robust and scalable web server. In this article, we will guide you through the process of installing and configuring a LEMP stack on Ubuntu 23.10, providing you with a solid foundation for hosting your website.

Step 1: Updating the System

Before we begin the installation process, it’s important to make sure that our system is up to date. By running the following commands, we can update and upgrade all the installed packages on our Ubuntu system:

apt update
apt upgrade

Step 2: Installing Nginx

The first component of the LEMP stack that we need to install is Nginx, a high-performance web server. To install Nginx, execute the following command:

apt install nginx

Once the installation is complete, we can start and enable Nginx to ensure that it starts automatically upon system boot. Use the following commands to achieve this:

systemctl start nginx
systemctl enable nginx

To verify that Nginx is running and accessible, you can enter your server’s IP address in your browser. If everything is set up correctly, you should see the default Nginx welcome page.

Step 3: Installing MariaDB

The next component we’ll install is MariaDB, a popular open-source database server. Execute the following command to install MariaDB:

apt install mariadb-server mariadb-client

After the installation is complete, start and enable MariaDB using the following commands:

systemctl start mariadb
systemctl enable mariadb

To secure your MariaDB installation, you can run the mysql_secure_installation command. This script will prompt you to set a root password and perform other security-related tasks.

Step 4: Installing PHP

The final component of the LEMP stack is PHP, a server-side scripting language. To install PHP, execute the following command:

apt install php php-fpm php-mysql php-common php-cli php-common php-json php-opcache php-readline php-mbstring php-xml php-gd php-curl

Once the installation is complete, start and enable the PHP-FPM service with the following commands:

systemctl start php8.2-fpm
systemctl enable php8.2-fpm

Step 5: Configuring Nginx

To configure Nginx to work with PHP, we need to create a server block file. Start by removing the default file located in the /etc/nginx/sites-enabled directory:

rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default

Next, create a new server block file under the /etc/nginx/conf.d/ directory:

nano /etc/nginx/conf.d/default.conf

In this file, add the following configuration:

server {
listen 80;
listen [::]:80;
server_name _;
root /var/www/html/;
index index.php index.html index.htm index.nginx-debian.html;

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

location ~ \\.php$ {
fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.2-fpm.sock;
fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
include fastcgi_params;
include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
}

location ~* \\.(jpg|jpeg|gif|png|webp|svg|woff|woff2|ttf|css|js|ico|xml)$ {
access_log off;
log_not_found off;
expires 360d;
}

location ~ /\\.ht {
access_log off;
log_not_found off;
deny all;
}
}

Save the file and exit the text editor. To check for any syntax errors in your Nginx files, run the following command:

nginx -t

If there are no errors, reload Nginx to apply the changes:

systemctl reload nginx

Step 6: Testing the Setup

To test if the LEMP stack has been set up correctly, we can create a simple PHP file in the webroot directory. Use the following command to create the file:

nano /var/www/html/info.php

Add the following PHP code to the file:

<?php
phpinfo();
?>

Save the file and exit the text editor. Now, access http://your-server-ip/info.php in your browser. You should see a page displaying detailed information about your PHP installation.

Congratulations! You have successfully set up a LEMP stack on your Ubuntu 23.10 server. This powerful combination of Linux, Nginx, MariaDB, and PHP provides a solid foundation for hosting your website.

Conclusion

In this article, we have walked you through the process of setting up a LEMP stack on Ubuntu 23.10. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you now have a powerful web server capable of hosting your website. Remember to regularly update your system and keep your software up to date to ensure optimal performance and security. If you encounter any issues during the installation process, feel free to consult the official documentation or seek assistance from the vibrant online community.

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Christian Wells