How to Use Vultr’s LAMP Marketplace Application

The LAMP stack combines Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP to serve dynamic websites and applications. It provides a reliable foundation for hosting PHP-based applications with Apache's flexible web server, MySQL's robust database management, and PHP's server-side scripting capabilities. The Vultr Marketplace provides a pre-configured LAMP instance, enabling quick deployment and setup on a Vultr server.

This guide explains deploying and using Vultr's LAMP Marketplace Application. You will deploy an instance, verify the installation, configure DNS and SSL, set up a virtual host, secure MySQL, and implement best practices for production deployments.

Deploy Vultr's LAMP Marketplace Application

1. Log in to your Vultr Customer Portal and click the Deploy Server button.

2. Select your preferred server type.

3. Choose a server location.

4. Select a server plan with at least 1GB RAM and 1 CPU core for basic workloads, or 2GB RAM and 2 CPU cores for production applications.

5. Click the Configure button to proceed.

6. Under Marketplace Apps, search for LAMP and select it as the Marketplace Application.

7. Select the Limited Login option from the Additional Features section to create a limited user with sudo access.

8. Review your configurations and click the Deploy Now button to start deployment.

   Note

   It may take up to 10 minutes for your server to finish installing the LAMP stack.

9. After the instance shows the status of Running, navigate to the Server Overview page and copy the SSH connection details.

Initial Setup and Configuration

After deployment, verify the installation, configure DNS, and secure your LAMP stack before hosting applications.

1. Create a DNS A record pointing to your server's IP address, such as lamp.example.com.

2. Connect to your Vultr server instance over SSH using the connection details from the Server Overview page.

Verify LAMP Installation

1. Check the Apache service status.

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   $ sudo systemctl status apache2
   

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   The service should show as active (running).

2. Verify the PHP installation.

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   $ php -v
   

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   Output:

   PHP 8.3.12 (cli) (built: Sep 27 2024 03:53:05) (NTS)

3. Check the MySQL service status.

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   $ sudo systemctl status mysql
   

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   The service should show as active (running).

4. Verify Apache is serving the default page by visiting http://SERVER_IP in a web browser.

Configure Firewall Security

Secure your server by configuring the firewall to allow only necessary traffic before enabling SSL.

1. Allow SSH connections.

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   $ sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
   

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2. Allow HTTP and HTTPS traffic for Apache and Certbot.

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   $ sudo ufw allow 'Apache Full'
   

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3. Enable the firewall.

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   $ sudo ufw enable
   

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4. Verify firewall status.

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   $ sudo ufw status
   

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Secure LAMP with SSL/TLS

Protect your web server with HTTPS using Let's Encrypt certificates via Certbot.

1. Install Certbot and the Apache plugin.

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   $ sudo apt update
   $ sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-apache -y
   

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2. Request an SSL certificate for your domain.

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   $ sudo certbot --apache -d lamp.example.com
   

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   Follow the prompts and select the option to redirect HTTP traffic to HTTPS when asked.

3. Verify SSL certificate auto-renewal.

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   $ sudo certbot renew --dry-run
   

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4. Access your site securely at https://lamp.example.com.

Configure Apache Virtual Host

Set up a virtual host to serve your website with proper configurations for PHP applications.

1. Create a directory for your website.

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   $ sudo mkdir -p /var/www/lamp.example.com/html
   

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2. Set proper ownership.

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   $ sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/lamp.example.com
   

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3. Set safe directory permissions.

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   $ sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/lamp.example.com
   

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4. Create a test index file.

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   $ sudo nano /var/www/lamp.example.com/html/index.php
   

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   <!DOCTYPE html>
   <html>
   <head>
       <title>Welcome to LAMP Server</title>
   </head>
   <body>
       <h1>Success! The LAMP virtual host is working.</h1>
       <p>Server time: <?php echo date('Y-m-d H:i:s'); ?></p>
   </body>
   </html>
   

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   Save and close the file.

5. Create an Apache virtual host configuration.

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   $ sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/lamp.example.com.conf
   

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   <VirtualHost *:80>
       ServerName lamp.example.com
       ServerAdmin admin@lamp.example.com
       DocumentRoot /var/www/lamp.example.com/html
   
       <Directory /var/www/lamp.example.com/html>
           Options -Indexes +FollowSymLinks
           AllowOverride All
           Require all granted
       </Directory>
   
       ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/lamp.example.com-error.log
       CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/lamp.example.com-access.log combined
   </VirtualHost>
   

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   Replace lamp.example.com with your domain name.

   Save and close the file.

6. Enable the virtual host.

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   $ sudo a2ensite lamp.example.com.conf
   

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7. Disable the default Apache site.

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   $ sudo a2dissite 000-default.conf
   

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8. Enable required Apache modules.

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   $ sudo a2enmod rewrite ssl
   

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9. Test the Apache configuration.

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   $ sudo apache2ctl configtest
   

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   Output:

   Syntax OK

10. Reload Apache to apply changes.

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    $ sudo systemctl reload apache2
    

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11. Run Certbot again to configure SSL for the new virtual host.

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    $ sudo certbot --apache -d lamp.example.com
    

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12. Access your site at https://lamp.example.com to verify the test page loads with SSL.

Configure MySQL Database

Set up MySQL with secure authentication and create a database for your application.

Secure MySQL Installation

1. Run the MySQL secure installation script.

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   $ sudo mysql_secure_installation
   

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   Follow the prompts:

   • Set root password: Enter a strong password
   • Remove anonymous users: Yes
   • Disallow root login remotely: Yes
   • Remove test database: Yes
   • Reload privilege tables: Yes

Create Database and User

1. Log in to MySQL as root.

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   $ sudo mysql -u root -p
   

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   Enter the root password when prompted.

2. Create a database for your application.

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   > CREATE DATABASE myapp_db CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
   

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3. Create a dedicated database user.

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   > CREATE USER 'myapp_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'secure_password_here';
   

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   Replace secure_password_here with a strong password.

4. Grant privileges to the user.

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   > GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON myapp_db.* TO 'myapp_user'@'localhost';
   

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5. Flush privileges and exit.

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   > FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
   > EXIT;
   

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6. Test the new user connection.

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   $ mysql -u myapp_user -p myapp_db
   

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   Enter the password when prompted. If you can access the database, the setup is correct.

Configure PHP

Optimize PHP settings for production use and security.

Update PHP Configuration

1. Edit the PHP configuration file for Apache.

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   $ sudo nano /etc/php/8.3/apache2/php.ini
   

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2. Update the following settings for production use.

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   upload_max_filesize = 64M
   post_max_size = 64M
   memory_limit = 256M
   max_execution_time = 300
   max_input_time = 300
   display_errors = Off
   log_errors = On
   error_log = /var/log/php/error.log
   

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   Adjust values based on your application requirements.

   Save and close the file.

3. Create the PHP log directory.

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   $ sudo mkdir -p /var/log/php
   $ sudo chown www-data:www-data /var/log/php
   

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4. Restart Apache to apply changes.

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   $ sudo systemctl restart apache2
   

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Install Common PHP Extensions

1. Install frequently used PHP extensions.

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   $ sudo apt install php8.3-mysql php8.3-curl php8.3-gd php8.3-mbstring php8.3-xml php8.3-zip php8.3-intl -y
   

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2. Restart Apache after installing extensions.

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   $ sudo systemctl restart apache2
   

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3. Verify installed extensions.

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   $ php -m
   

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Best Practices and Configuration

Implement these recommendations to ensure your LAMP stack runs securely and efficiently.

Security Hardening

1. Configure Apache security headers in your virtual host.

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   $ sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/lamp.example.com.conf
   

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   Add the following inside the <VirtualHost> block:

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   Header always set X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN"
   Header always set X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff"
   Header always set X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block"
   Header always set Referrer-Policy "no-referrer-when-downgrade"
   

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   Enable the headers module and reload Apache:

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   $ sudo a2enmod headers
   $ sudo systemctl reload apache2
   

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2. Disable PHP version exposure.

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   $ sudo nano /etc/php/8.3/apache2/php.ini
   

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   Set:

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   expose_php = Off
   

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   Restart Apache: sudo systemctl restart apache2

3. Hide Apache version information.

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   $ sudo nano /etc/apache2/conf-available/security.conf
   

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   ServerTokens Prod
   ServerSignature Off
   

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   Reload Apache: sudo systemctl reload apache2

4. Keep the system and packages updated.

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   $ sudo apt update
   $ sudo apt upgrade -y
   

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Performance Optimization

1. Enable PHP OPcache for better performance.

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   $ sudo nano /etc/php/8.3/apache2/php.ini
   

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   opcache.enable=1
   opcache.memory_consumption=128
   opcache.interned_strings_buffer=8
   opcache.max_accelerated_files=10000
   opcache.revalidate_freq=60
   

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   Restart Apache.

2. Enable Apache compression module.

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   $ sudo a2enmod deflate
   $ sudo systemctl reload apache2
   

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3. Enable Apache caching module for static assets.

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   $ sudo a2enmod expires
   $ sudo systemctl reload apache2
   

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Backup Configuration

1. Create regular backups of important directories.

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   $ sudo tar -czf /root/backup-$(date +%F).tar.gz /var/www /etc/apache2 /etc/php
   

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2. Back up MySQL databases.

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   $ sudo mysqldump -u root -p --all-databases > /root/mysql-backup-$(date +%F).sql
   

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Troubleshooting

This section covers common issues and diagnostic commands to help resolve problems with your LAMP stack.

Check Service Status

1. Verify all services are running.

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   $ sudo systemctl status apache2
   $ sudo systemctl status mysql
   

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2. View service logs.

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   $ sudo journalctl -u apache2 -e
   $ sudo journalctl -u mysql -e
   $ sudo tail -f /var/log/apache2/error.log
   

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Common Issues

500 Internal Server Error

1. Check Apache error logs for details.

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   $ sudo tail -50 /var/log/apache2/error.log
   $ sudo tail -50 /var/log/apache2/lamp.example.com-error.log
   

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2. Verify PHP is properly configured.

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   $ php -v
   $ sudo systemctl status apache2
   

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3. Test Apache configuration.

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   $ sudo apache2ctl configtest
   

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PHP Files Downloading Instead of Executing

1. Verify PHP module is enabled.

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   $ sudo a2enmod php8.3
   $ sudo systemctl restart apache2
   

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2. Check that .php files are configured correctly in Apache.

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   $ apachectl -M | grep php
   

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Permission Denied Errors

1. Set proper ownership for web directories.

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   $ sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/lamp.example.com
   $ sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/lamp.example.com
   

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2. Verify Apache is running as the correct user.

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   $ ps aux | grep apache2
   

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3. Check SELinux or AppArmor restrictions if applicable.

MySQL Connection Errors

1. Verify MySQL is running and accessible.

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   $ sudo systemctl status mysql
   $ mysql -u root -p -e "SELECT 1;"
   

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2. Check user privileges.

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   $ sudo mysql -u root -p -e "SELECT user, host FROM mysql.user;"
   

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3. Verify MySQL socket permissions.

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   $ ls -l /var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock
   

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.htaccess Not Working

1. Ensure mod_rewrite is enabled.

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   $ sudo a2enmod rewrite
   $ sudo systemctl restart apache2
   

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2. Verify AllowOverride All is set in the virtual host configuration.

Use Cases

The LAMP stack provides a widely-supported environment suitable for various PHP-based web workloads:

• Content Management Systems: Deploy WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, or other CMS platforms with Apache's robust virtual host configuration.
• E-commerce Platforms: Run Magento, PrestaShop, WooCommerce, or OpenCart stores with secure SSL and reliable database management.
• PHP Frameworks: Host Laravel, Symfony, CodeIgniter, or custom PHP applications with Apache's flexible .htaccess support.
• Legacy Applications: Maintain compatibility with applications requiring Apache-specific features and modules.
• Web Applications: Deploy business applications, CRM systems, project management tools, or SaaS platforms.
• Development Environments: Create staging and testing environments that mirror production Apache configurations.

Conclusion

In this guide, you deployed Vultr's LAMP Marketplace Application and configured it for production use. You secured the server with firewall rules and SSL/TLS certificates, set up Apache virtual hosts with proper permissions, configured MySQL with secure authentication and dedicated database users, and optimized PHP settings for performance and security. With this production-ready LAMP stack, you can host PHP applications, manage databases, and serve dynamic content reliably using Apache's proven web server technology.