Below are the general steps to install and configure a LAMP stack on a VPS. Note that this guide presumes you are using a Linux-based VPS. The example commands are for an Ubuntu VPS, but you can easily find equivalent commands for other Linux distributions.
Also remember, you need to have super user (root) access to your VPS to carry out these actions. If you’re not logged in as the root user, you can use `sudo` before each command to run it with superuser privileges.
1. Update your system
Before starting, make sure your system package manager is up-to-date:
```
sudo apt update
```
1. Install Apache:
Apache is the web server software.
```
sudo apt install apache2
```
Once installed, you can start the server with:
```
sudo service apache2 start
```
To check if Apache is running, you can visit your server’s public IP address in your web browser.
1. Install MySQL:
MySQL is a relational database management system.
```
sudo apt install mysql-server
```
During the installation process, you will be asked to set a password for the MySQL root user.
Once installed, run the included security script:
```
sudo mysql_secure_installation
```
This will take you through a series of prompts where you can make some changes to your security options. It’s recommended to say yes to all.
1. Install PHP:
PHP is a server-side scripting language.
```
sudo apt install php libapache2-mod-php php-mysql
```
This will install PHP and some additional packages which Apache needs to work with PHP and connect to MySQL databases.
1. Test PHP:
To test if PHP is working, create a quick PHP info page:
```
echo “” > /var/www/html/info.php
```
1. Access that page in your web browser by visiting: http://your_server_IP/info.php
If you see a PHP info page, then PHP is installed correctly. Don’t forget to delete this file after checking as it can provide potentially sensitive information to attackers.
1. Configure Apache to Prioritize PHP files
By default, Apache will look for an `index.html` file to serve as the homepage for your site. However, most PHP applications use `index.php` as their default index file instead. So to avoid any confusion, it’s always best to tell Apache to look for `.php` files before `.html` files.
To do this:
```
sudo nano /etc/apache2/mods-enabled/dir.conf
```
Find the index file section and ensure that `index.php` is the first value:
```
```
Press `Ctrl + X` to exit and `Yes` to save changes and then restart Apache for changes to take effect:
```
sudo service apache2 restart
```
Congratulations, you have installed a LAMP stack on your VPS! Now you’re ready to deploy your PHP applications.
Remember, this is a very basic guide. Security is a major factor when setting up and configuring a server. Always ensure you follow best practice to secure your VPS and LAMP stack. For example, consider adding SSL, using SSH key pair authentication etc.
