Alchemiclabs.ca - Setting up Nginx on Linux

If you want to use Nginx instead of Apache as the web server while keeping MariaDB, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Install Debian

Follow the same steps as mentioned earlier to install Debian on your server.

Step 2: Update the System

Update and upgrade the system as before:
```
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
```

Step 3: Install Nginx

Install Nginx using the package manager:
```
sudo apt install nginx
```
Start the Nginx service and enable it to start on boot:
```
sudo systemctl start nginx
sudo systemctl enable nginx
```

Step 4: Install MariaDB Database Server

If you have not installed MariaDB yet, install it using the following commands:
```
sudo apt install mariadb-server mariadb-client
```
During the installation, you will be prompted to set the root password for MariaDB. Choose a strong password and remember it.

Start the MariaDB service and enable it to start on boot:

sudo systemctl start mariadb
sudo systemctl enable mariadb

Secure your MariaDB installation by running the security script:
```
sudo mysql_secure_installation
```

Step 5: Install PHP-FPM

Install PHP-FPM and necessary modules:
```
sudo apt install php-fpm php-mysql
```
Configure PHP-FPM to work with Nginx:
```
sudo nano /etc/php/7.x/fpm/pool.d/www.conf
```
Inside the file, find the line that starts with listen = and change it to:
```
listen = /run/php/php7.x-fpm.sock
```
Restart PHP-FPM to apply the changes:
```
sudo systemctl restart php7.x-fpm
```

Step 6: Test PHP

Create a PHP info file to check if PHP is working correctly:

echo "<?php phpinfo(); ?>" | sudo tee /var/www/html/phpinfo.php

Open a web browser and access http://your_server_ip/phpinfo.php. You should see the PHP info page displaying various PHP configuration details.

Step 7: Configure Nginx

Create a new Nginx server block (virtual host) for your website:
```
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com
```
Replace example.com with your domain name or server IP address.

Paste the following configuration into the file:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name example.com;
    root /var/www/html;

    location / {
        index index.php index.html index.htm;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php7.x-fpm.sock;
    }
}

Create a symbolic link to enable the site:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/example.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

Test the Nginx configuration for syntax errors:
```
sudo nginx -t
```
If the test is successful, reload Nginx to apply the changes:
```
sudo systemctl reload nginx
```

Step 8: Configure Firewall (Optional)

If you have a firewall installed (e.g., UFW), open port 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS) to allow web traffic:
```
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp
sudo ufw enable
```

Step 9: Optional Steps

You may want to install additional PHP modules or other tools, depending on your specific requirements. Common modules include php-cli, php-gd, php-curl, etc.

That's it! With these steps, you have now set up a LEMP server (Linux, Nginx, MariaDB, PHP) using Debian. You can proceed to deploy web applications or host websites on your server. Remember to keep your system and software up-to-date and maintain security best practices.