How to Install OpenLiteSpeed Webserver on FreeBSD 14.0

Introduction

Install OpenLiteSpeed on FreeBSD 14 to leverage a high-performance, open-source webserver designed for low resource consumption. OpenLiteSpeed features an event-driven architecture, built-in caching, and a user-friendly web-based administration interface. It supports modern web technologies, including HTTP/2, HTTP/3, QUIC, and Brotli compression, making it an efficient and powerful solution for hosting dynamic web applications.

This article explains how to install OpenLiteSpeed on FreeBSD 14 and configure the webserver to serve web applications using virtual host configurations.

Build and Install OpenLiteSpeed on FreeBSD 14 From Source

OpenLiteSpeed is not available in the default package repositories and ports collection on FreeBSD. Follow the steps below to build and install OpenLiteSpeed on a FreeBSD server from source.

1. Update the server's package index.

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   $ sudo pkg update

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2. Install all required dependencies for building OpenLiteSpeed.

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   $ sudo pkg install -y git cmake gcc gmake go pkgconf autoconf automake libtool pcre pcre2 wget nano modsecurity3 sudo

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Build and Install the YAJL Dynamic Library

Yet Another JSON Library (YAJL) is a lightweight, and highly portable JSON parsing and generation library written in C. OpenLiteSpeed requires YAJL to install and run dynamic libraries. Follow the steps below to build and install the YAJL dynamic library.

1. Create the /usr/local/src directory to store your project files.

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   $ sudo mkdir /usr/local/src

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2. Switch to the /usr/local/src directory.

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   $ cd /usr/local/src

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3. Clone the YAJL repository using Git.

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   $ sudo git clone https://github.com/lloyd/yajl.git

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4. Switch to the cloned yajl directory.

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   $ cd yajl

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5. Checkout to the latest YAJL stable release using Git. For example, 2.1.0.

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   $ sudo git checkout 2.1.0

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6. Create a new build directory.

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   $ sudo mkdir build

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7. Switch to the build directory.

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   $ cd build

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8. Run the following cmake command to build YAJL as a dynamic library.

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   $ sudo cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr/local \
       -DCMAKE_POSITION_INDEPENDENT_CODE=ON \
       -DCMAKE_C_FLAGS="-fPIC" \
       -DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS="-fPIC" \
       ..

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9. Use the make install command to install the YAJL library.

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   $ sudo make install

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10. List all files in the /usr/local/lib/libyajl.* directory to verify that YAJL is installed.

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    $ sudo ls /usr/local/lib/libyajl.*

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11. Update the system's dynamic linker cache to read shared libraries in the /usr/local/lib directory.

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    $ sudo ldconfig -v -m /usr/local/lib

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12. Create a LDFLAGS environment variable to enable OpenLiteSpeed to access all required libraries.

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    $ export LDFLAGS="-L/usr/local/lib"

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13. Create a CPPFLAGS environment variable to enable the gcc compiler to access dependency libraries.

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    $ export CPPFLAGS="-I/usr/local/include"

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If you are using Debian 12, you can follow this guide to install OpenLiteSpeed on Debian 12 and set up a high-performance, lightweight webserver with support for modern web technologies.

Build and Install OpenLiteSpeed

Follow the steps below to build and install OpenLiteSpeed on FreeBSD after setting up all necessary libraries including YAJL on the server.

1. Switch to the /usr/local/src directory.

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   $ cd /usr/local/src

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2. Clone the OpenLiteSpeed repository.

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   $ sudo git clone https://github.com/litespeedtech/openlitespeed.git

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3. Switch to the openlitespeed directory.

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   $ cd openlitespeed

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4. Checkout to the latest stable release. For example, 1.8.2.

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   $ sudo git checkout tags/v1.8.2

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5. Update all submodules using Git.

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   $ sudo git submodule update --init

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6. Open the /usr/local/src/openlitespeed/src/extensions/cgi/lscgid.cpp file using a text editor such as nano.

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   $ nano /usr/local/src/openlitespeed/src/extensions/cgi/lscgid.cpp

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7. Add the following #define LS_NS_LEN 5 preprocessor directive after the *** comments in the file.

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   *                                                                            *
   *    You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License       *
   *    along with this program. If not, see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/.      *
   *****************************************************************************/
   
   #define LS_NS_LEN 5
   

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   Save and close the file.

   The above #define LS_NS_LEN 5 preprocessor directive enables the CGI module namespace used for unique process identification tasks. Ensure that the directive includes the # symbol to work correctly on your server. Setting the directive's value to 5 enables compatibility with other system processes and prevents namespace collisions.

8. Use the ldconfig command to apply the configuration changes.

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   $ sudo ldconfig -v -m /usr/local/lib

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9. Run the build.sh script to build OpenLiteSpeed.

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   $ sudo ./build.sh

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   Wait for at least 15 minutes for the build process to complete.

10. Run the install.sh script to install OpenLiteSpeed.

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    $ sudo ./install.sh

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    When the installation is successful, note the default administrator password in your output similar to the one below.

    SSL host is [webadmin], use adminSSL
    2024-12-02 14:15:12 URL:http://www.litespeedtech.com/packages/lsphp5_bin/x86_64-freebsd/lsphp5 [4651136/4651136] -> "/usr/local/lsws/
    ........................................
    Your webAdmin password is Wz5hzwGM, written to file /usr/local/lsws/adminpasswd.
    
    You must reboot the server to ensure the settings change take effect!

11. Reboot the server to apply all OpenLiteSpeed changes.

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    $ sudo reboot

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12. Start the OpenLiteSpeed webserver.

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    $ sudo /usr/local/lsws/bin/lswsctrl start

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    Output:

    [OK] litespeed: pid=897.

13. Access port 8088 using your server's IP address in a web browser such as Chrome and verify that the default OpenLiteSpeed page displays.

    http://SERVER-IP:8088

    

14. Stop the OpenLiteSpeed webserver to set it up as a system service.

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    $ sudo /usr/local/lsws/bin/lswsctrl stop

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If you are using Ubuntu Server, install OpenLiteSpeed on Ubuntu 24.04 to configure a lightweight, high-performance webserver with support for HTTP/3 and built-in caching.

Set Up OpenLiteSpeed as a System Service

Follow the steps below to set up the OpenLiteSpeed webserver as a system service to automatically start on the server.

1. Create a new /usr/local/etc/rc.d/openlitespeed file.

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   $ sudo nano /usr/local/etc/rc.d/openlitespeed

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2. Add the following configurations to the file.

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   #!/bin/sh
   
   # PROVIDE: openlitespeed
   # REQUIRE: LOGIN
   # KEYWORD: shutdown
   
   . /etc/rc.subr
   
   name="openlitespeed"
   desc="OpenLiteSpeed webserver"
   rcvar="${name}_enable"
   
   load_rc_config $name
   
   : ${openlitespeed_enable:="NO"}
   : ${openlitespeed_user:="nobody"}
   
   pidfile="/usr/local/lsws/admin/tmp/admin.pid"
   command="/usr/local/lsws/bin/lswsctrl"
   start_cmd="openlitespeed_start"
   stop_cmd="openlitespeed_stop"
   status_cmd="openlitespeed_status"
   
   openlitespeed_start()
   {
       echo "Starting ${name}."
       /usr/local/lsws/bin/lswsctrl start
   }
   
   openlitespeed_stop()
   {
       echo "Stopping ${name}."
       /usr/local/lsws/bin/lswsctrl stop
   }
   
   openlitespeed_status()
   {
       /usr/local/lsws/bin/lswsctrl status
   }
   
   run_rc_command "$1"

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   Save and close the file.

3. Enable execute permissions on the script.

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   $ sudo chmod +x /usr/local/etc/rc.d/openlitespeed

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4. Open the /etc/rc.conf file.

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   $ sudo nano /etc/rc.conf

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5. Add the following directive to the rc.conf file to enable the OpenLiteSpeed service to automatically start at boot.

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   openlitespeed_enable="YES"

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6. Start the OpenLiteSpeed system service.

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   $ sudo service openlitespeed start

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7. View the OpenLiteSpeed service status and verify that it's running.

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   $ sudo service openlitespeed status

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Secure the OpenLiteSpeed Webserver

OpenLiteSpeed generates a default administrator password during installation and serves the web administration interface on port 7080 using HTTP. Follow the steps below to reset the default administrator password, generated trusted SSL certificates using a domain and configure the packet filter (pf) firewall to secure connections to the OpenLiteSpeed webserver.

1. Run the admpass.sh script to reset the OpenLiteSpeed administrator password.

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   $ sudo /usr/local/lsws/admin/misc/admpass.sh

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   • Enter a new administrator username or press Enter to use the default admin username.

     Please specify the user name of administrator.
     This is the user name required to login the administration Web interface.
     
     User name [admin]: 

   • Enter a strong administrator password when prompted.

     Please specify the administrator's password.
     This is the password required to login the administration Web interface.
     
     Password: 
     Retype password: 

     Output:

     Administrator's username/password is updated successfully!

2. Search the pkg repository to verify the available Certbot Let's Encrypt client package version.

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   $ sudo pkg search certbot

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   Output:

   py311-certbot-2.11.0,1         Let's Encrypt client
   py311-certbot-apache-2.11.0    Apache plugin for Certbot
   .........................................
   py311-certbot-nginx-2.11.0     NGINX plugin for Certbot

3. Install Certbot depending on the available version.

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   $ sudo pkg install py311-certbot

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4. Use Certbot to generate a new Let's Encrypt SSL certificate using your virtual host domain. Replace app.example.com with your actual domain and admin@example.com with your active email address.

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   $ sudo certbot certonly --standalone -d app.example.com -d www.app.example.com --agree-tos

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5. Open the /etc/rc.conf file.

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   $ sudo nano /etc/rc.conf

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6. Add the following directives at the end of the /etc/rc.conf file.

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   pf_enable="YES"
   pf_rules="/etc/pf.conf"
   pf_flags=""
   pflog_enable="YES"
   pflog_logfile="/var/log/pflog"

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   Save and close the file.

   The above configuration enables the packet filter firewall to automatically start at boot with the following options:

   • pf_enable="YES": Enables the packet filter firewall.
   • pf_rules="/etc/pf.conf": Sets /etc/pf.conf as the active firewall configuration.
   • pflog_enable="YES": Enables firewall logging.

7. View all network interfaces and note the main interface name to use in the firewall configuration.

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   $ ifconfig

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   Output:

   vtnet0: flags=1008843<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST,LOWER_UP> metric 0 mtu 1500
       options=4c00ba<TXCSUM,VLAN_MTU,VLAN_HWTAGGING,JUMBO_MTU,VLAN_HWCSUM,VLAN_HWTSO,LINKSTATE,TXCSUM_IPV6>
       ether 56:00:05:2b:05:0c
       inet 192.0.2.100 netmask 0xfffffe00 broadcast 192.0.2.255
       media: Ethernet autoselect (10Gbase-T <full-duplex>)
       status: active
       nd6 options=29<PERFORMNUD,IFDISABLED,AUTO_LINKLOCAL>
   lo0: flags=1008049<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING,MULTICAST,LOWER_UP> metric 0 mtu 16384
       options=680003<RXCSUM,TXCSUM,LINKSTATE,RXCSUM_IPV6,TXCSUM_IPV6>
       inet 127.0.0.1 netmask 0xff000000
       inet6 ::1 prefixlen 128
       inet6 fe80::1%lo0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x2
       groups: lo
       nd6 options=21<PERFORMNUD,AUTO_LINKLOCAL>

   vtnet0 is the public network interface name with the IP address 192.0.2.100 based on the above output.

8. Create the /etc/pf.conf firewall configuration file.

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   $ sudo nano /etc/pf.conf

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9. Add the following configurations to the /etc/pf.conf file.

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   ext_if = "vtnet0"
   
   set block-policy drop
   set loginterface $ext_if
   set skip on lo0
   
   nat on $ext_if from !($ext_if:network) to any -> ($ext_if)
   
   # Rules
   
   # Required to maintain current ssh connection active
   pass out on $ext_if proto tcp from port 22 to any flags any
   
   # Allow inbound SSH, HTTP, and HTTPS
   pass in quick on $ext_if proto tcp to port {22 80 443 8088 7080} keep state   # Allow SSH, HTTP, HTTPS
   
   # Default block rule
   block in all
   
   # Allow all outbound traffic
   pass out all keep state

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   Save and close the file.

   The above firewall configuration enables network connections to the following ports on the server:

   • 22: SSH connections port.
   • 80: HTTP port.
   • 443: HTTPS port.
   • 8088: The default OpenLiteSpeed virtual host port.
   • 7080: The OpenLiteSpeed web administration port.

10. Test the /etc/pf.conf file for configuration errors.

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    $ sudo pfctl -nf /etc/pf.conf

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11. Start the packet filter firewall.

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    $ sudo service pf start

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    The above command may temporarily block your active SSH connection. Ensure to reconnect to the server when the firewall starts.

12. View the firewall status and verify that it's active.

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    $ pfctl -s info

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    Output:

    Status: Enabled for 0 days 00:00:51           Debug: Urgent
    
    Interface Stats for vtnet0            IPv4             IPv6
      Bytes In                           13731              128
      Bytes Out                          12094              468
      Packets In
        Passed                             108                6
        Blocked                             17                0
      Packets Out
        Passed                               0                0
        Blocked                              1                0

Create a Virtual Host Configuration

A virtual host configuration enables OpenLiteSpeed to serve web applications and services using a specific domain or address on your server. Follow the steps below to create a new OpenLiteSpeed virtual host configuration using your domain and serve a custom HTML web application on the server.

1. Navigate to the OpenLiteSpeed virtual host configurations directory.

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   $ sudo cd /usr/local/lsws/conf/vhosts

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2. Create a new app.example.com virtual host directory.

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   $ sudo mkdir -p app.example.com

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3. Create a new html subdirectory in the app.example.com directory to store the web application files.

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   $ sudo mkdir -p app.example.com/html

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4. Grant the lsadm OpenLiteSpeed user ownership privileges to the directory.

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   $ sudo chown -R lsadm:nobody app.example.com

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5. Switch to the app.example.com/html directory.

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   $ sudo cd app.example.com/html

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6. Run the following command to create a new index.html web application file to display a Greetings from Vultr message.

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   $ echo "<h1 align='center'> Greetings from Vultr </h1>" | sudo tee /usr/local/lsws/conf/vhosts/app.example.com/index.html

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Set Up the Virtual Host Information in the OpenLiteSpeed Web Administration Dashboard

Follow the steps below to set up the virtual host information using the OpenLiteSpeed web administration dashboard.

1. Access port 7080 using your server's IP address to log in to the OpenLiteSpeed web administration dashboard.

   http://SERVER-IP:7080

2. Enter the OpenLiteSpeed administrator credentials you created earlier to log in.

3. Click Virtual Hosts in the OpenLiteSpeed dashboard.

4. Click + within the Virtual Host List section to set up a new virtual host.

   

5. Add the following virtual host information to the respective fields.

   • Virtual Host Name: app.example.com
   • Virtual Host Root: $SERVER_ROOT/conf/vhosts/app.example.com/
   • Config File: conf/vhosts/app.example.com/vhconf.conf
   • Follow Symbolic Link: Yes
   • Enable Scripts/ExtApps: Yes
   • Restrained: Yes
   • External App Set UID Mode: Server UID

   

6. Click Save and click the CLICK TO CREATE option when prompted to create the virtual host configuration.

   

7. Click Save to apply the virtual host configuration changes.

8. Click the virtual host to open its management page.

9. Navigate to the General tab and modify the virtual host configuration with the following information.

   • Document Root: $VH_ROOT/html/
   • Domain Name: app.example.com
   • Domain Aliases: app.example.com
   • Enable GZIP Compression: Yes
   • Enable Brotli Compression: Yes

   

10. Click Save to apply the virtual host changes.

11. Click Listeners on the main navigation menu.

    

12. Click + to set up a new listener with the following details:

    • Listener Name: app.example.com
    • IP Address: Any IPv4
    • Port: 80
    • Secure: No

    

13. Click Save to apply the listener configuration.

14. Scroll to the Virtual Host Mappings section and click + to create a new configuration map.

    

15. Enter the following details to map the listener to a virtual host configuration.

    • Virtual Host: app.example.com
    • Domains: app.example.com

    

16. Click Save to apply the listener configuration.

    

Enable Secure HTTPS Connections

Follow the steps below to enable secure HTTPS connections to the virtual host using the Let's Encrypt SSL certificates you generated earlier.

1. Navigate to Listeners page and create a new listener with the following information:

   • Listener Name: app.example.com.https
   • IP Address: ANYIPv4
   • Port: 443
   • Secure: Yes

   

2. Navigate to the Virtual Host Mappings section and map your virtual host configuration with the following details:

   • Virtual Host: app.example.com
   • Domains: app.example.com

   

3. Click Save to apply the listener configuration.

4. Open the listener's configuration page and navigate to the SSL tab.

   

5. Enter the following Let's Encrypt SSL certificate paths to apply to your virtual host domain configuration.

   • Private Key File: /usr/local/etc/letsencrypt/live/app.example.com/privkey.pem
   • Certificate File: /usr/local/etc/letsencrypt/live/app.example.com/fullchain.pem
   • Chained Certificate: Yes

   

6. Click Save to apply the virtual host listener configuration changes.

   

7. Access your app.example.com virtual host domain in a new web browser window and verify that the Greetings from Vultr prompt displays.

   https://app.example.com

   

Conclusion

You have installed OpenLiteSpeed on FreeBSD 14 from source code and enabled the webserver to automatically start at boot. You can create multiple virtual host configurations and listeners to deliver web applications on the server. For more webserver configuration options, please visit the OpenLiteSpeed documentation.