How to Install Apache, MariaDB, and PHP (LAMP) on Rocky Linux

LAMP stack is a collection of open-source software installed together to enable a server to host and run modern web applications written in server-side languages like PHP. LAMP is an acronym for Linux, Apache, MySQL/MariaDB, and PHP that work together to serve dynamic web content hosted on a server.

In this article, you will install LAMP on a Rocky Linux server.

Prerequisites

• Deploy a new Vultr Rocky Linux instance
• Log in to the server with SSH

1. Install Apache

To install Apache, update the system, then install the httpd package.

Update the server.

# dnf update

Install httpd.

# dnf install httpd -y

Now, start Apache web server referenced by httpd and enable runtime at system boot.

# systemctl start httpd
    
# systemctl enable httpd

Next, add new firewalld rules to allow http, https traffic, and open port 80 on your server.

# firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=public --add-service=http
    
# firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=public --add-service=https
    
# firewall-cmd --permanent --zone=public --add-port=80/tcp

Restart firewall for rules to take effect

# firewall-cmd --reload

Confirm the new firewall rules

# firewall-cmd --permanent --list-all

Output

[root@example ~]# firewall-cmd --list-all
public
  target: default
 icmp-block-inversion: no
  interfaces: 
  sources: 
  services: cockpit dhcpv6-client http https ssh
  ports: 8080/tcp 80/tcp
  protocols: 
  forward: no
  masquerade: no
  forward-ports: 
  source-ports: 
  icmp-blocks: 
  rich rules: 

Test your Apache installation by visiting your Server IP address.

http://SERVER_IP_ADDRESS

2. Install MariaDB

MariaDB is a substitute for MySQL with the same table types, schema, and usage commands. MariaDB is available in Rocky Linux sources by default, so you can install it with the following command.

# dnf install mariadb

Start MariaDB and enable it to run at system startup.

# systemctl start mysqld

# systemctl enable mysqld

Secure MariaDB and set a new root password for the database server.

# mysql_secure_installation

Now, run MariaDB and login as root with the set password.

# mysql -u root

Output:

MariaDB [(none)]> 

Exit the console.

MariaDB [(none)]> EXIT

3. Install PHP

Install PHP. You can change your intended version by specifying the version number after the php: module parameter. In this article, you will install PHP 7.4 as shown.

# dnf module install php:7.4

Module packages including php-cli, php-common,php-fpm,php-mbstring will be automatically installed during the process

Install other commonly required PHP extensions, php-mysqlnd creates a connection to the database server.

# dnf install php-mysqlnd php-gd php-intl

Test PHP functionality with Apache

First, open the default Apache welcome.conf file and comment out all lines in it using #.

# nano /etc/httpd/conf.d/welcome.conf

Next, create a simple test.php file at /var/www/html/.

# nano /var/www/html/test.php

Add the following lines of code.

<?php

phpinfo();

?>

Grant Apache ownership rights to the file.

# chown -R apache.apache /var/www/html

Allow execution of files by httpd in the /var/www/html/ directory with an SE Linux policy exception.

# chcon -R -t httpd_sys_content_t html/

In a web browser, visit your Server IP and load test.php.

http://SERVER_IP/test.php

Conclusion

In this article, you installed LAMP on a Rocky Linux server; once set, you can build dynamic websites or install a content management system (CMS) for production use.