Install Lighttpd with PHP and MariaDB on RockyAlmaLinux

RockyAlmaLinux is a robust and secure Linux distribution that serves as a perfect replacement for CentOS. This article will guide you through installing a complete web server stack with Lighttpd, PHP, and MariaDB, providing detailed instructions with examples and expected output for each command.

Prerequisites: Administrative access to your RockyAlmaLinux system and an active internet connection.

Step 1: Update the System

First, update the system's package repositories and upgrade installed packages to their latest versions

sudo dnf update

$ sudo dnf update
Last metadata expiration check: 0:20:47 ago on Mon 15 Nov 2021 02:30:15 PM UTC
Dependencies resolved.
================================================================================
 Package                    Arch   Version                 Repo             Size
================================================================================
Upgrading:
 kernel                     x86_64 5.14.12-300.fc35       updates          10 M
 kernel-core                x86_64 5.14.12-300.fc35       updates          21 M
...
Transaction Summary
================================================================================
Upgrade  21 Packages

Total download size: 103 M
Is this ok [y/N]: y
...
Complete!

Step 2: Install Lighttpd

Install the Lighttpd web server using the following command

sudo dnf install lighttpd

Last metadata expiration check: 0:15:01 ago on Mon 15 Nov 2021 02:45:15 PM UTC
Dependencies resolved.
================================================================================
 Package         Architecture    Version              Repo                Size
================================================================================
Installing:
 lighttpd        x86_64          1.4.59-1.fc34        updates            439 k
Installing dependencies:
 libattr         x86_64          2.4.48-7.fc34        fedora              29 k
 libev           x86_64          4.33-1.fc34          fedora              70 k
...
Transaction Summary
================================================================================
Install  6 Packages

Total download size: 791 k
Installed size: 2.1 M
Is this ok [y/N]: y
...
Complete!

Step 3: Start and Enable Lighttpd

Start the Lighttpd service and enable it to start automatically on system boot

sudo systemctl start lighttpd
sudo systemctl enable lighttpd

$ sudo systemctl enable lighttpd
Created symlink /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/lighttpd.service ? /usr/lib/systemd/system/lighttpd.service.

Step 4: Install PHP

Install PHP and necessary modules for dynamic content processing

sudo dnf install php php-fpm php-mysqlnd

Last metadata expiration check: 0:15:01 ago on Mon 15 Nov 2021 03:00:15 PM UTC
Dependencies resolved.
================================================================================
 Package               Architecture   Version             Repo             Size
================================================================================
Installing:
 php                   x86_64         7.4.26-1.fc35       updates         3.3 M
 php-fpm               x86_64         7.4.26-1.fc35       updates         1.7 M
 php-mysqlnd           x86_64         7.4.26-1.fc35       updates         195 k
...
Transaction Summary
================================================================================
Install  3 Packages

Total download size: 5.7 M
Installed size: 23 M
Is this ok [y/N]: y
...
Complete!

Step 5: Configure PHP for Lighttpd

Configure the FastCGI process manager by editing the PHP-FPM configuration file

sudo nano /etc/php-fpm.d/www.conf

Locate the line that starts with listen = and change it to

listen = /var/run/php-fpm/php-fpm.sock

Save the changes and exit the text editor.

Step 6: Start and Enable PHP-FPM

Start the PHP-FPM service and enable it to launch on system boot

sudo systemctl start php-fpm
sudo systemctl enable php-fpm

Step 7: Install MariaDB

Install MariaDB, a popular open-source relational database management system

sudo dnf install mariadb-server

$ sudo dnf install mariadb-server
Last metadata expiration check: 0:15:01 ago on Mon 15 Nov 2021 03:15:15 PM UTC
Dependencies resolved.
================================================================================
 Package               Architecture   Version              Repo              Size
================================================================================
Installing:
 mariadb-server        x86_64         10.6.5-1.fc35        updates          19 M
Installing dependencies:
 mariadb-connector-c   x86_64         3.1.14-1.fc35        updates         215 k
 mariadb-server-utils  x86_64         10.6.5-1.fc35        updates         736 k
 perl-DBI              x86_64         1.643-1.fc35         updates         803 k
...
Transaction Summary
================================================================================
Install  5 Packages

Total download size: 23 M
Installed size: 116 M
Is this ok [y/N]: y
...
Complete!

Step 8: Start and Enable MariaDB

Start the MariaDB service and enable it to run at system startup

sudo systemctl start mariadb
sudo systemctl enable mariadb

Step 9: Secure MariaDB Installation

Secure your MariaDB installation by running the security script

sudo mysql_secure_installation

NOTE: RUNNING ALL PARTS OF THIS SCRIPT IS RECOMMENDED FOR ALL MariaDB
      SERVERS IN PRODUCTION USE! PLEASE READ EACH STEP CAREFULLY!

Enter current password for root (enter for none):
OK, successfully used password, moving on...

Set root password? [Y/n] Y
New password:
Re-enter new password:
Password updated successfully!

Remove anonymous users? [Y/n] Y
 ... Success!

Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n] Y
 ... Success!

Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n] Y
 ... Success!

Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n] Y
 ... Success!

All done! If you've completed all of the above steps, your MariaDB
installation should now be secure.

Thanks for using MariaDB!

Step 10: Test the Setup

Create a PHP test file to verify that Lighttpd, PHP, and MariaDB are working correctly

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

Add the following PHP code to the file

<?php
   phpinfo();
?>

Save the file and exit the text editor.

Step 11: Access the PHP Info Page

Open a web browser and navigate to http://your_server_ip/info.php. You should see a page displaying detailed information about your PHP installation, confirming that the web server stack is working properly.

Conclusion

You have successfully installed Lighttpd, PHP, and MariaDB on RockyAlmaLinux, creating a powerful foundation for hosting websites and web applications. This LLMP stack provides excellent performance and reliability for web development projects.