How to Install Linux, Nginx, MySQL, PHP (LEMP stack) on Debian 9

Introduction

The LEMP software stack is a group of software that can be used to serve dynamic web pages and web applications. This is an acronym that describes a Linux operating system, with an Nginx web server. The backend data is stored in the MySQL database and the dynamic processing is handled by PHP.

In this guide, you'll install a LEMP stack on a Debian server using the packages provided by the operating system.

With this tutorial you will be able to follow all the steps to the installation of LEMP stack on Debian9.

Prerequisites

• Make sure you have the latest version of Debian9 server and a user with sudo privileges.
• Configure PPA for the PHP packages on your system.

$$$
apt install ca-certificates apt-transport-https
wget -O /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/php.gpg https://packages.sury.org/php/apt.gpg
sh -c 'echo "deb https://packages.sury.org/php/ $(lsb_release -sc) main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/php.list'

Step 1 - Install the Nginx Web Server

Nginx is an open source software for web serving which is used by many websites.

This procedure will be made directly from Debians9 repositories. In other words, you can use the apt package to complete this installation.

The first step is to update the local package index, then you can install the server:

$$
apt update
apt install nginx

Now make sure the system is running by typing this:

$$
systemctl start nginx
systemctl enable nginx

You can check the status of Nginx by typing:

$
systemctl status nginx

The output should be:

nginx.service - A high performance web server and a reverse proxy server
Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/nginx.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
Active: active (running) since Mon 2019-06-17 13:27:34 -03; 4min 56s ago
Docs: man:nginx(8)
Main PID: 48194 (nginx)
CGroup: /system.slice/nginx.service
├─48194 nginx: master process /usr/sbin/nginx -g daemon on; master_process on;
└─48195 nginx: worker process
Jun 17 13:27:34 marciorubens systemd[1]: Starting A high performance web server and a reverse proxy server...

When you have your server's IP address, enter it into your browser's address bar:

http://your_server_ip

You should see the default Nginx landing page:

This page is included with Nginx to show you that the server is running correctly.

Step 2 - Install MySQL/MariaDB to Manage Site Data

Once you have a web server, it’s time to install a database management system to manage the data of your website. You can both use MySQL or MariaDB, that varies according to the developer’s preferences.

Installing MySQL

To install MySQL, just type:

$
apt install mysql-server

Then run the following script to secure installation and to modify the insecure defaults:

$
mysql_secure_installation

As we haven’t set the root account yet, just hit ENTER and then set the root password.

Just keep pressing ENTER and Y to all the other questions.

Installing MariaDB

To install MariaDB, just type:

$
apt install mariadb-server php7.3-mysql

Then make sure it’s enabled to start automatically on reboot by typing:

$$
systemctl start mariadb
systemctl enable mariadb

Run the mysql_secure_installation script:

$
mysql_secure_installation

Answer yes (y) to all the following questions remove anonymous users? disallow root login remotely? remove test database and access to it? reload privilege tables now?

Log in to MariaDB’s SQL shell

$
mysql -u root -p

Create a database and user with permission to access. Replace testdb and testuser with other names for your setup. Replace password with another password:

mysql>mysql>mysql>mysql>
CREATE DATABASE testdb;
CREATE USER 'testuser' IDENTIFIED BY 'password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON testdb.* TO 'testuser';
quit

Done that, now it’s time to install PHP

Step 3 - Installing PHP

Nginx doesn’t have PHP as other web servers, which means you’ll need to install fastCGI process manager:

$
apt install php7.3-fpm

Now the PHP components are installed, but they need to be set up.

Step 4 - Setting Nginx to Use PHP Processor

You have all the required items well installed. The next step is to configure Nginx to use the PHP processor for dynamic content. Replace your_domain by your domain’s name.

First, create a directory in /var/www to keep the PHP site:

$
mkdir /var/www/your_domain

Second, open a new setting file in Nginx’s directory:

$
nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/your_domain

In the blank file generated, paste the following configuration:

This setting is very basic and listens on port 80 and from the root that we have just created. It can only respond to requests provided by server_name and files ending in .php.

Then activate your settings by linking the configuration file from Nginx’s sites-enabled directory:

$
ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/your_domain.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

This command will make Nginx use the settings the next time it’s reloaded. But first, test the configuration by typing:

$
nginx -t

Before next step, reload Nginx to update the changes:

$
systemctl reload nginx

Step 5 - Test Configuration by Creating a PHP File

Now that everything is set up, you can test the configuration to validate that Nginx can open .php files to your PHP processor.

For this, just type:

$
nano /var/www/your_domain/info.php

Then paste the following in the new file created by the last command:

Now access the page you’ve just created ( http://your_domainorIP/info.php ) using your web browser by entering your server’s domain name or IP address followed by /info.php:

Then you should see an image like this:

If your browser shows this image, that means you’ve set up PHP processing with Nginx with success!

Now it’s best to remove this page, once you make sure it has all worked. Just type:

$
rm /var/www/your_domain/info.php

Conclusion

Now you have a LEMP stack running on your Debian server. You shall have a flexible foundation for serving content to your web site’s visitors.