How to Install LAMP Stack on Debian 10

In this tutorial we will be looking at how to install LAMP Stack on Debian 10 Buster. LAMP is an acronym for:

1. Linux Operating System
2. Apache Web Server
3. MySQL or MariaDB Database Server
4. PHP, a server side scripting language

Here we will use Debian 10 Buster as our Linux Operating System. Our web server will be Apache2. We will use MariaDB as our Database Server. And off course PHP will be the programming language.

All the above mentioned applications that comprise our LAMP Stack are free and open source applications. Debian 10 Buster is also an open source and free operating system.

However, MySQL was developed by MySQLAB. It is an open source database server. It is based on relational database management system. The Oracle Corporation acquired MySQL in 2010. Oracle Corporation maintains two versions of the MySQL Database Server. One is Enterprise Server Edition and the other one is Community Server Edition. The Enterprise Server Edition is commercial edition. It can be purchased from Oracle Corporation. The community server edition is open source and free edition.

The LAMP Stack is one of the most popular software stacks among the developers. It is used by the developer to create dynamic websites and web applications. The software applications of LAMP Stack combined together are responsible for powering most of the dynamic websites today.

Prerequisites for Installing LAMP Stack on Debian 10 Buster

1. We will require a system with preinstalled Debian 10 Server / Desktop operating System.
   You can follow the link below to install Debian 10 Buster.

   How to Install Debian 10 Buster

2. We will need root user privileges for installing the LAMP applications on Debian 10. We can prefix sudo with each command or we can switch to root user using su- command.
3. A stable and fast internet connection for downloading and installing the components of LAMP Stack and its dependencies.

Software Package Update on Debian 10 Buster

On the Debian 10 system, first update the repository and the software packages. For this, open the terminal window and issue the following command.

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get upgrade

Install Apache Web Server on Debian 10 Buster

Linux as Debian 10 operating system we already have on our machine. Now we need to install Apache Web Server. During the installation of the Apache Web Server, the installer will also install some other required applications and dependencies. We will also install apache utilities comprising some important utilities like user authentication management tool, Apache HTTP Server benchmarking tool etc.

To install Apache Web Server issue the following command in the terminal window.

sudo apt-get install apache2 apache2-utils

The installer will prompt for our confirmation and on affirmative response the installation will proceed. The output of the above command will be similar to as given below:

After the completion of Apache web Server and Apache Web Server Utilities is Complete. The installer automatically starts the Web Server. Now it is time to verify the status of the Web Server. To check the current status of the Web Server issue the following command in the terminal window.

Test Status of Apache Web Server

sudo systemctl status apache2

The output of the above command will be similar to as shown below:

The above status is showing that the Apache Web Server is up and running. Although if you have followed the tutorial. Then in your case also the web server will be up and running. However, if the Web Server is not running then issue the following command in the terminal window to start the Apache Web Server. Also enable the web server so that from the next system boot the server should start automatically.

sudo systemctl start apache2

sudo systemctl enable apache2

To check the installed version of Apache Web Server, issue the following command in the terminal window.

Check Apache Server Version

sudo apache2 -v

The output of the above command will be similar as shown below:

Now if you have public IP address on your Debian 10 operating system, then open your favorite browser and type the public IP address in the address bar of the browser. You will see that the default page of Apache Web Server will be displayed. In case you do not have the public IP address on your Debian 10 system, then open the browser and type the following:

http://localhost    

or

http://127.0.0.1

or

http://your-local  IP address

The out put on your browser will be shown as in the image given below:

If we have the Apache2 Debian default Page on our browser, then this indicates that our web server is installed and running properly.

If we are unable to connect to our web server then there might be a firewall that is preventing the connection to the web server. In this case you have to allow the port 80 in the firewall. If you are using the UFW firewall then issue the following command in the terminal window to open the port 80 in the UFW firewall.

sudo ufw allow http

By default the owner of the document root folder also called the web root folder is the root user. The    “/var/www/html /“is known as the document root folder. Now we must change the ownership of this folder to Apache User which is “www-data:www-data”. To change the ownership recursively, issue the following command in the terminal window.

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html

Now, the Apache Web Server is installed successfully and is up and running.

Install MariaDB Server on Debian 10 Buster

Now, we will install the MariaDB Database Server and MariaDB Database Client packages using the same apt-get command of Debian 10 Operating System. This command will also pull the other dependency packages along with the database server and client packages. The following command will install the MariaDB Database Server and Client without any prompt and will set a blank password for the root user. It will also install and configure a test database along with system database.  This will leave the default MariaDB database insecure.

sudo apt-get install mariadb-server mariadb-client

Configure and Secure MariaDB Database Server

After the installation of MariaDB Server and Client is complete, we will run mysql_secure_installation script. Moreover, this script will be used to set the database root user password, remove test database, remove anonymous users and flush privileges. By using this script we will be able to restrict the access to the database and we will be able to secure our database server installation.

sudo mysql_secure_installation

Now, the above script will prompt us a series of questions. Through our responses to these questions we will be able to change and make secure our MariaDB database server default installation.

The first prompt will be to enter the existing password of the MariaDB root User. If this is a fresh installation of the MariaDB Database Server, the root user’s password will be blank. Therefore we have to just press the enter key in response to the current password query. Below given are the full text of prompts for mysql_secure_installation script and the responses to be given.

By default, a MariaDB installation has an anonymous user, allowing anyone to log into MariaDB without having to have a user account created for them.  This is intended only for testing, and to make the installation go a bit smoother.  You should remove them before moving into a production environment. Remove anonymous users? [Y/n] Y … Success! Normally, root should only be allowed to connect from ‘localhost’.  This ensures that someone cannot guess at the root password from the network. Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n] Y … Success! By default, MariaDB comes with a database named ‘test’ that anyone can access.  This is also intended only for testing, and should be removed before moving into a production environment. Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n] Y – Dropping test database… … Success! – Removing privileges on test database… … Success! Reloading the privilege tables will ensure that all changes made so far will take effect immediately. Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n] Y … Success! Cleaning up… All done!  If you’ve completed all of the above steps, your MariaDB installation should now be secure. Thanks for using MariaDB!

How to Change the Password Authentication Method in MariaDB

By default MariaDB use the UNIX socket plug-in to authenticate users.

Now, we will set the password authentication method in MariaDB Server to native. Later when we will install phpMyAdmin, this will enable us to connect as root user. Now, login in to the MariaDB Database Server as root user. Then, issue the following command in the terminal window step by step in the given order.

sudo mysql -u root -p      [Run the Command]

The output of the above command will be similar to the shown below and we will get the MariaDB command prompt.

Run the given below SQL statement on the MariaDB Command Prompt.

MariaDB [(none)]> update mysql.user set plugin = 'mysql_native_password' where User = 'root';

MariaDB [(none)]> flush privileges;

MariaDB [(none)]> quit

Now, quit the MariaDB Database Server Command prompt by issuing the “quit” command. Now the installation part is complete.

Test Mariadb Server

Furthermore, this is the time for testing the newly installed MariaDB Database Server.

Now, this is the time to test the MariaDB database Server installation. Next, run the following command in the terminal window.

sudo systemctl status mariadb

The output of the command will be similar to given below.

How to Start, Stop and Restart MariaDB Database Server

To start, stop and restart MariaDB Database Server run the following command in the terminal as root.

sudo systemctl start mariadb

sudo systemctl stop mariadb

sudo systemctl restart mariadb

That’s all; now, we have successfully installed and configured the MariaDB Database Server and Client on Debian 10 Buster.

Install PHP 7.3 on Debian 10 Buster

At the time of writing this post the stable version of PHP in the Debian 10 repository was PHP 7.3. Therefore we will be installing PHP 7.3. To install PHP 7.3 from the Debian 10 repository, issue the following command in the terminal window.

sudo apt -y install php php-common

Moreover, PHP 7.3 will be installed on our system, after execution of the above command. Now we need the PHP extensions. The PHP extensions may be installed as and when needed. Here, we will install the most common and popular PHP extensions that are required for basic usage. To install the most popular PHP extensions issue the following command in the terminal window.

sudo apt -y install php-cli php-fpm php-json php-pdo php-mysql php-zip php-gd  php-mbstring php-curl php-xml php-pear php-bcmath

Now issue the following command in the terminal window to install libapache2-mod-php.

sudo apt -y install libapache2-mod-php

Now we have to enable the apache module if not already enabled. Then restart the Apache Web Server.

sudo a2enmod php7.3

The output of the above command will be as given below:

Now Restart the Apache Web Server by issuing the following command in the terminal window.

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Now PHP 7.3 is successfully installed on our Debian 10 system. To check the version information of PHP issue the following command in the terminal window.

Check PHP Version

php --version

The output of the above command will be similar to the given below:

Now to verify the PHP script with Apache Web Server we will create a file phpinfo.php in the document root folder (/var/www/html) using a text editor. Now create a file phpinfo.php using your favorite text editor. We are using nano text editor.

sudo nano /var/www/html/phpinfo.php

Now paste the following PHP code into this file.

<?php
phpinfo();
?>

Next Save the file and exit from the text editor.

Now Open your favorite browser. Type the following in the address bar of the browser:

https://pentarock.in/phpinfo.php

or

http://127.0.0.1/phpinfo.php

or

http://Your-Server-IP

Now we will see our server’s PHP information page. This indicates that our installation is correct and successful.  The displayed page on the server will be like the one given below:

Conclusion

This article will help us install LAMP Stack on Debian 10 Buster. We also have related article on LAMP Stack installation on Ubuntu 20.04. Below given is the link to the article.