Setup LAMP Server, phpMyAdmin, FTP (vsftpd) and .htaccess on Ubuntu

LAMP stands for Linux Apache MySQL and PHP. It is one of the most popular server configuration. This post explains how to set up a LAMP server on Ubuntu and then install commonly used development aids like phpMyAdmin for database, vsftpd for FTP access and then securing sensitive areas using .htaccess. The Steps below requires Root Privileges

1. Install Ubuntu on the Intended System
2. Access the terminal from GUI(Applications > Accessories > Terminal) or SSH 
3. Install Apache by typing : 

   sudo apt-get update
   sudo apt-get install apache2

   Confirm the installation by typing in your server's IP address in your browser's address bar (eg: http://123.456.78.90), you should get a page saying "It Works!"
4. Install MySQL with the following command

   sudo apt-get install mysql-server libapache2-mod-auth-mysql php5-mysql
   sudo mysql_install_db
   sudo /usr/bin/mysql_secure_installation

   It may prompt you to set root password first and then prompt you to enter it again while setting up the configurations. Enter it as an when required. During the configuration, answer yes to all the yes/no prompts.
5. Install PHP by typing in the following command

   sudo apt-get install php5

   After installing PHP5 you may want to install additional features like curl. You may see the available packages by typing in

   apt-cache search php5-

   This will give you a list of available packages. You may use sudo apt-get install [package-name] to install the required packages
6. Voila! You have successfully set up a lamp server. Your php/html files may be put into /var/www/ folder. You may have to restart apache for the changs to take effect. You may do that by typing in

   sudo service apache2 restart

   To test your installation

   cd /var/www/
   sudo nano test.php

   Now type in

   <?php phpinfo(); ?>

   save,exit (CTRL+O to save CTRL+X to exit) and type in http://your server address/test.php (eg: http://123.456.78.9/test.php) and you will get a php info page.

Now you may optionally want to install phpMyAdmin, set up an FTP Server and Secure Sensitive areas(eg Admin panel and phpMyAdmin page) using .htaccess.

 phpMyAdmin installation may be done in two ways. Either you may use

 

sudo wget [url]

to download the zip file to your /var/www/ folder and unzip it using the unzip command, then use it by typing in http://server.address/[phpMyAdmin]( PS :[ ] should contain the folder name to which you unzipped the contents of the zip file downloaded, and you may have to install unzip using the sudo apt-get install command.), or you may install it as following

1. sudo apt-get install phpmyadmin

   Select apache2 as server and answer YES when prompted on whether to Configure the database for phpmyadmin with dbconfig-common. You will also have to enter the MySQL root password and a login password.
2. After the installation, add the following lines to /etc/apache2/apache2.conf (sudo nano /etc/apache2/apache2.conf)

   Include /etc/phpmyadmin/apache.conf

   and restart apache with sudo service apache2 restart .
3. Access phpMyAdmin by typing in http://server.address/phpmyadmin

To Setup FTP server, you have to install and configure vsftpd.

1. Install vsftpd with the following command

   sudo apt-get install vsftpd

2. Configure vsftpd by editing /etc/vsftpd.conf

   sudo nano /etc/vsftpd.conf

   Now set the following values(Omit the ones after //)

   anonymous_enable=NO //IMPORTANT
   local_enable=YES
   write_enable=YES
   chroot_local_user=YES //This one restricts the local users to their chroot and denies access to other parts of server

   Save and Exit (CTRL+O CTRL+X). Sometimes(In case of errors) you may have to create a directory within the users home directory( mkdir /home/[username]/ftpFiles) and change the ownership to root(chown root:root /home/[username]) and do your changes in the ftpFiles directory.
3. Now restart vsftpd

   sudo service vsftpd restart

Configuring .htaccess :

 htaccess file may be used to restrict access to sensitive folders/files in your web server

1. To enable .htaccess, you need to edit /etc/apache2/sites-available/default.

   sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/default

2. Look for

   <Directory /var/www/>
     Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews
     AllowOverride None
     Order allow,deny
     allow from all
     # Uncomment this directive is you want to see apache2's
     # default start page (in /apache2-default) when you go to /
     #RedirectMatch ^/$ /apache2-default/
   </Directory>

   and Change AllowOverride None to AllowOverride All
3. Restart apache

   sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 reload

4. Now create a file named .htaccess in the directory that is to be secured

   sudo nano /path/to/directory/.htaccess

   and write

   AuthUserFile /your/path/to/.htpasswd
   AuthName "Authorization Required"
   AuthType Basic
   require valid-user

   To protect a single file, you may add the following to .htaccess file

   <Files "mypage.html"> Require valid-user </Files>

5. The .htpasswd file will contain the authorized users list. It is advised to save it outside the www folder. To create a new .htpasswd file

   htpasswd -c /path/to/your/.htpasswd user1

   and enter the password. -c is used to create a new file, omit it to add new users to an existing .htpasswd file.
6. Finally, add these to /etc/apache2/apache2.conf (sudo nano /etc/apache2/apache2.conf)

   <Directory /var/www> AllowOverride All </Directory>

   /var/www may be replaced with whatever path you wish to enable .htaccess, this will enable .htaccess for your whole website
7. Restart apache server

   sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

8. Read More on .htaccess file