LAMP stack (Apache, MariaDB, PHP)

The LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MariaDB, PHP) hosts most CMS platforms (WordPress, Drupal, Joomla) on a HolyCloud Linux VPS. This tutorial chains installation of all three services, a virtual host, required PHP modules, and permission best practices.

Prerequisites

• HolyCloud VPS Ubuntu 22.04/24.04 or Debian 12 (2 GB RAM minimum recommended)
• sudo access
• Domain pointing to the VPS IP (optional for testing, required for SSL)
• Ports 80 and 443 open (UFW + HolyCloud firewall)
• Related guides: « Install MariaDB », « Install Apache HTTP Server »

Tip: for heavy PHP loads, prefer PHP-FPM + Apache (mpm_event) rather than mod_php alone; this guide covers the classic setup then FPM.

Step 1: update and base packages

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y apache2 mariadb-server libapache2-mod-php php php-cli php-mysql php-curl php-xml php-mbstring php-zip php-gd unzip

Enable Apache:

sudo systemctl enable --now apache2
sudo a2enmod rewrite ssl headers
sudo systemctl reload apache2

Step 2: secure MariaDB and create CMS database

sudo mariadb-secure-installation

Database for WordPress (example):

sudo mariadb <<'EOF'
CREATE DATABASE wordpress CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
CREATE USER 'wp_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'MotDePasseFortIci!';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON wordpress.* TO 'wp_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EOF

Step 3: site directory and permissions

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/exemple.fr/public_html
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/exemple.fr
sudo find /var/www/exemple.fr -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;
sudo find /var/www/exemple.fr -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;

Test file (remove after verification):

echo '<?php phpinfo();' | sudo tee /var/www/exemple.fr/public_html/info.php

Step 4: Apache virtual host

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/exemple.fr.conf

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName exemple.fr
    ServerAlias www.exemple.fr
    DocumentRoot /var/www/exemple.fr/public_html

    <Directory /var/www/exemple.fr/public_html>
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>

    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/exemple.fr-error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/exemple.fr-access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Enable the site:

sudo a2ensite exemple.fr.conf
sudo a2dissite 000-default.conf
sudo apache2ctl configtest
sudo systemctl reload apache2

Step 5: PHP-FPM (recommended in production)

sudo apt install -y php-fpm
sudo a2dismod php8.2 2>/dev/null || sudo a2dismod php8.3 2>/dev/null || true
sudo a2enconf php8.2-fpm 2>/dev/null || sudo a2enconf php8.3-fpm
sudo a2enmod proxy_fcgi setenvif
sudo systemctl enable --now php8.2-fpm 2>/dev/null || sudo systemctl enable --now php8.3-fpm

In the VirtualHost, add:

    <FilesMatch \.php$>
        SetHandler "proxy:unix:/run/php/php8.2-fpm.sock|fcgi://localhost"
    </FilesMatch>

Adapt the socket path (ls /run/php/).

Step 6: firewall and SSL (Let's Encrypt)

sudo ufw allow 'Apache Full'
sudo apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-apache
sudo certbot --apache -d exemple.fr -d www.exemple.fr

Step 7: post-installation hardening

Remove info.php:

sudo rm -f /var/www/exemple.fr/public_html/info.php

Restrict PHP execution in uploads (WordPress) via .htaccess or dedicated Apache config.

Verification

curl -I http://127.0.0.1
curl -s http://exemple.fr/ | head -20
sudo systemctl is-active apache2 mariadb php8.2-fpm 2>/dev/null || sudo systemctl is-active php8.3-fpm
mariadb -u wp_user -p -h 127.0.0.1 wordpress -e "SHOW TABLES;"

Browser: site home or CMS install screen; valid HTTPS after Certbot.

Need help?

• 403 Forbidden: www-data ownership, DocumentRoot, Require all granted
• 500 + PHP: sudo tail -50 /var/log/apache2/exemple.fr-error.log and journalctl -u php*-fpm
• Database unreachable: wp-config.php credentials vs MariaDB user
• HolyCloud support: domain, apache2ctl -S output, df -h, RAM (free -h)