A LEMP server refers to a server running Linux, Enginx (Nginx), MySql and PHP (or Perl/Python). It is similar to the popular LAMP server except that the underlying web server is managed by Nginx instead of Apache. In this tutorial, we will show you how to install LEMP server in Ubuntu 12.04.
Nginx vs Apache
For those who are not aware, Nginx is an open-source web server that can run faster and use lesser system resources than Apache. Under light load, the differences between Apache and Nginx is negligible. However, on heavy load, Nginx can scale accordingly and run as fast without taking up tons of memory resource. Apache is a beast by itself and can easily take up to several hundreds of RAM for heavy loads.
Note: This tutorial assumes that Ubuntu 12.04 is already installed in your system. Command lines will be used instead of graphical interface since most web server doesn’t come with a desktop manager.
Installing Nginx
In the terminal, type the following:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:nginx/stable sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install nginx
This will add the Nginx PPA to your repository so you are always updated with the latest stable version.
Just in case Apache is installed and running in the background, we need to stop it before Nginx can run.
sudo service apache2 stopStart Nginx.
sudo service nginx startIf the above command doesn’t work, use this:
sudo /etc/init.d/nginx start
Open a browser and browse to “http://localhost“. For a remote web host, you should type in your IP address instead. You should see the following:
Installing and Configuring PHP
Installing PHP is easy, but getting it to work with Nginx will require some configuration.
To install PHP5 and other essential modules:
sudo apt-get install php5-cli php5-fpm php5-mysql
“php5-fpm” is the essential module for PHP to work in Nginx environment, so make sure it is installed.
Configuring Nginx to work with PHP
Open the “default” file in the /etc/nginx/sites-available directory.
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/default
Scroll down the list till you see the line index index.html index.htm;. Add a index.php at the end of the line, just before the “;“. It should become like this:
Next, scroll down further until you see this block of code:
# location ~ \.php$ { # fastcgi_split_path_info ^(.+\.php)(/.+)$; # NOTE: You should have "cgi.fix_pathinfo = 0;" in php.ini # # With php5-cgi alone # fastcgi_pass 127.0.0.1:9000; # # With php5-fpm; # fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php5-fpm.sock; # fastcgi_index index.php; # include fastcgi_params; # }
Remove the first “#” at the front of end line (except the line # fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php5-fpm.sock;) and add an extra line try_files $uri =404; at line 2, so it becomes like this:
location ~ \.php$ { try_files $uri =404; fastcgi_split_path_info ^(.+\.php)(/.+)$; # NOTE: You should have "cgi.fix_pathinfo = 0;" in php.ini # With php5-cgi alone fastcgi_pass 127.0.0.1:9000; # With php5-fpm; # fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php5-fpm.sock; fastcgi_index index.php; include fastcgi_params; }
Save (press “Ctrl + o”) and exit (Ctrl + x) the config file.
Restart Nginx.
sudo service nginx restartTo test if php5 is working in Nginx, we are going to create a php file, place it in the Nginx folder and see if it shows up in the browser.
sudo nano /usr/share/nginx/www/phpinfo.php
Add the following code to the blank file:
<?php phpinfo(); ?>
Save and exit the file.
Now, go to the browser and type “http://localhost/phpinfo.php” or “http://your-ip-address/phpinfo.php”.
If the php info shows up on the browser, then php is working fine with Nginx.
Installing MySql
In the terminal, type the following:
sudo apt-get install mysql-server
During the installation, it will prompt you to create the root password.
Once installed, you are done with the LEMP server setup.
Optional Install: phpmyadmin
Phpmyadmin is not part of the LEMP server setup, but it is very helpful for managing database and is often included in many web server setup.
To install phpmyadmin,
sudo apt-get install phpmyadmin
When prompted to select either “apache2” or “lighttpd”, select none and click OK.
When prompted whether to configure database with dbconfig-common, select No.
After the installation, open the Nginx’s “default” file:
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/default
Add the following code after the php block of code:
location /phpmyadmin { root /usr/share/; index index.php index.html index.htm; location ~ ^/phpmyadmin/(.+\.php)$ { try_files $uri =404; root /usr/share/; fastcgi_pass 127.0.0.1:9000; fastcgi_index index.php; fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name; include /etc/nginx/fastcgi_params; } location ~* ^/phpmyadmin/(.+\.(jpg|jpeg|gif|css|png|js|ico|html|xml|txt))$ { root /usr/share/; } } location /phpMyAdmin { rewrite ^/* /phpmyadmin last; }
Save and exit the file. Restart Nginx.
sudo service nginx restartYou should be able to connect to phpmyadmin via the URL: “http://localhost/phpmyadmin” or “http://your-ip-address/phpmyadmin”
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