The document provides a comprehensive guide on setting up a LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) for beginners, detailing installation using the tasksel tool and configuring Apache service. It covers various configuration files, managing virtual hosts, and useful commands for file handling and Apache management. Additionally, it includes instructions for installing phpMyAdmin and addresses potential issues users may encounter during setup.

1. Setting up LAMP for Linux Newbies
Shabir Ahmad

2. Agenda
● What is LAMP
● Setting up LAMP using tasksel
● Introduction to apache2
● Enabling/Disabling service
● Phpmyadmin installation
● Useful Commands

3. What is LAMP
● L = Linux
● A = Apache
● M = Mysql, SQLite
● P = php, python, perl

4. Setting up LAMP
● Tasksel aka Task select
– Is a software utility used to install various softwars like
LAMP, OpenSSH, Samba Server
– Installation: sudo apt-get install tasksel
– Once it is installed enter sudo tasksel, tasksel utility will
opened
– Select LAMP from the list press space to select and then
press tab to select ok. Press enter to continue
– During the installation it will ask you mysql root password

5. Apache2 configuration
● apache2.conf: the main Apache2 configuration file. Contains settings that are global
to Apache2.
● httpd.conf: historically the main Apache2 configuration file, named after the httpd
daemon. Now the file does not exist. In older versions of Ubuntu the file might be
present, but empty, as all configuration options have been moved to the below
referenced directories.
● conf-available: this directory contains available configuration files. All files that were
previously in /etc/apache2/conf.d should be moved to /etc/apache2/conf-available.
● conf-enabled: holds symlinks to the files in /etc/apache2/conf-available. When a
configuration file is symlinked, it will be enabled the next time apache2 is restarted.
● envvars: file where Apache2 environment variables are set.

6. ● mods-available: this directory contains configuration files to both load modules and
configure them. Not all modules will have specific configuration files, however.
● mods-enabled: holds symlinks to the files in /etc/apache2/mods-available. When a
module configuration file is symlinked it will be enabled the next time apache2 is
restarted.
● ports.conf: houses the directives that determine which TCP ports Apache2 is
listening on.
● sites-available: this directory has configuration files for Apache2 Virtual Hosts.
Virtual Hosts allow Apache2 to be configured for multiple sites that have separate
configurations.
● sites-enabled: like mods-enabled, sites-enabled contains symlinks to the
/etc/apache2/sites-available directory. Similarly when a configuration file in sites-available
is symlinked, the site configured by it will be active once Apache2 is
restarted.
● magic: instructions for determining MIME type based on the first few bytes of a file.
https://help.ubuntu.com/lts/serverguide/httpd.html

7. Project directory
● By default when apache is installed the file
should go in /var/www/html/
● It can be changed though
● Most apache related configuration lies in
/etc/apache2
– modules
– Error logs
– Virtual hosts

8. Apache problems
● After installing apache sometime you want
index.php as default rather than index.html
● Type sudo vi /etc/apache2/mods-enabled/
dir.conf
● Move index.php at the very beginning

9. Setting up Virtual host
sudo cp /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf /etc/apache2/sites-available/example.com.conf
● ServerAdmin : The address of website admininistrator
● ServerName: The name of server in our case example.com
● ServerAlias: The aliase of server name eg www.example.com
● DocumentRoot: Document root eg /var/www/html/example.com/public_html
● Enabling virtual host
● sudo a2ensite mynewsite
● sudo service apache2 restart
● Disabling virtual host ????
For detail follow the link
https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutorials/how-to-set-up-apache-virtual-hosts-on-ubuntu-14-04-lts

10. Apache – Frequently used
commands
● Enabling module (sudo a2enmod <modname>)
● Disabling module(sudo a2dismod <modname>)
● Enabling virtual host (sudo a2ensite <site-name>)
● Disabling virtual host (sudo a2dissite <site-name>)
● Showing apache error log (tail -f
/var/log/apache2/error.log)
● Restarting apache (sudp service apache2 restart)
● Alternative (sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart)

11. PHP Configuration
● /etc/php5/apache2/php.ini
● /etc/php5/cli/php.ini
● Browser based configuration lies in first ini file
● Second ini file is about command line scripts
php

12. Phpmyadmin
● Phpmyadmin Is a database manager for
managing various databases
● It is not installed by default, to Install it
– Sudo apt-get install phpmyadmin

13. Useful Commands
● Listing file
– Ls for listing only
– Ls -h list all including hidden file
– Ls -ah list all file with detail
– Type man ls for all switches
● Changing directory
– Cd <dri-name>
– Cd .. change to parent directory
– Cd ~ move to home directory
– Cd / move to root directory
● Permission and ownership
– Sudo chmod -R 777 <file-or-dir-name>
– Sudo chown $USER:$USER <file-or-dirname>

14. Useful Commands
● Moving and copying files
– Sudo cp -r <source> <disrination>
– Sudo mv -r <source> <destination>
● Creating files and directories
– Files: Sudo touch <file-name>
– Directory: sudo mkdir <dir-name>
● Removing file (Danger)
– Rm -r <dir-name>, rm <file-name>
● Pattern search with grep
– Used with pipe most of the time to pipeline two commands
– History | grep scp (Search in history those commands having the word scp)

15. References
● https://help.ubuntu.com/community/ApacheM
ySQLPHP
● https://help.ubuntu.com/lts/serverguide/httpd.ht
ml
● https://www.digitalocean.com/community/tutoria
ls/how-to-set-up-apache-virtual-hosts-on-ubunt
u-14-04-lts
●

16. Q&A
Thank you for your patience