Setting Up a LAMP Stack on Ubuntu 24.04 (Apache, MySQL, PHP 8.3)

The LAMP stack — Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP — still powers a huge slice of the web because it is fast, predictable, and well-documented. This guide walks through a production-grade install on Ubuntu 24.04, including TLS via Let's Encrypt and the small-but-vital tuning that the default packages leave on the floor.

Prerequisites

• Ubuntu 24.04 LTS with a working sudo account.
• A public DNS record (A / AAAA) pointing at the server.
• Outbound TCP/443 reachable for ACME challenges and package downloads.
• The hardening recipe from the SSH + UFW + Fail2ban guide already applied.

Step 1: Install Apache

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y apache2

sudo systemctl enable --now apache2
sudo systemctl status apache2 --no-pager

Open port 80 and 443 in UFW:

sudo ufw allow 'Apache Full'
sudo ufw status

Confirm the default page renders by visiting http://your.server.ip/.

Step 2: Install MySQL 8 and run the secure-installation wizard

sudo apt install -y mysql-server
sudo systemctl enable --now mysql
sudo mysql_secure_installation

Answer the prompts:

| Prompt | Recommended answer | | --- | --- | | Validate password component? | Y then 2 (strong) | | Set root password | A 32-char random string from pwgen -s 32 1 | | Remove anonymous users? | Y | | Disallow root login remotely? | Y | | Remove test database? | Y | | Reload privilege tables? | Y |

Create an application user and database from the MySQL prompt:

CREATE DATABASE skyline_app CHARACTER SET utf8mb4 COLLATE utf8mb4_unicode_ci;
CREATE USER 'skyline'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'change-this-now';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON skyline_app.* TO 'skyline'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Step 3: Install PHP 8.3 and the modules Apache needs

Ubuntu 24.04 ships PHP 8.3 as the default. Add the FPM stack and the modules you will typically need:

sudo apt install -y php php-cli php-fpm php-mysql php-mbstring php-xml php-curl \
                    php-zip php-gd php-bcmath php-intl php-redis libapache2-mod-php

Wire Apache to run PHP via mod_php for simple setups, or switch to FPM for higher concurrency:

# mod_php (default after the package install) — fine for low traffic
sudo a2enmod php8.3
sudo systemctl restart apache2

# FPM (preferred for production)
sudo a2dismod php8.3
sudo a2enmod proxy_fcgi setenvif
sudo a2enconf php8.3-fpm
sudo systemctl restart apache2

Drop a one-line check and confirm:

echo "<?php phpinfo();" | sudo tee /var/www/html/info.php > /dev/null
curl -s http://localhost/info.php | head -20
sudo rm /var/www/html/info.php

Step 4: Configure a virtual host

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/example.sa/public_html
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/example.sa

Drop /etc/apache2/sites-available/example.sa.conf:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerName  example.sa
    ServerAlias www.example.sa
    DocumentRoot /var/www/example.sa/public_html

    <Directory /var/www/example.sa/public_html>
        Options -Indexes +FollowSymLinks
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>

    ErrorLog  ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/example.sa-error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/example.sa-access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Enable the site and reload:

sudo a2ensite example.sa.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite headers
sudo apachectl configtest
sudo systemctl reload apache2

Step 5: TLS with Let's Encrypt and Certbot

sudo apt install -y certbot python3-certbot-apache
sudo certbot --apache -d example.sa -d www.example.sa \
             --redirect --agree-tos -m ops@example.sa --no-eff-email

Certbot adds the redirect and renewal timer automatically. Verify both:

curl -fI https://example.sa/ | head
sudo systemctl list-timers | grep certbot
sudo certbot renew --dry-run

Step 6: A handful of tuning knobs

• /etc/php/8.3/fpm/php.ini — raise memory_limit to 256M, upload_max_filesize and post_max_size to suit your app, and set expose_php = Off.
• /etc/php/8.3/fpm/pool.d/www.conf — set pm = dynamic, pm.max_children = (RAM / avg_req_mem), and pm.start_servers = 4.
• /etc/mysql/mysql.conf.d/mysqld.cnf — set innodb_buffer_pool_size to roughly 60 % of RAM on a dedicated DB host.

Restart the affected services:

sudo systemctl restart php8.3-fpm mysql apache2

Conclusion

You now have a production LAMP host with TLS, a dedicated database user, and the tuning that matters most. Drop your application into /var/www/example.sa/public_html and you are off.

Next steps

• Layer on the Docker recipe for sidecar services like Redis or background workers.
• Re-apply the hardening guide after any major reconfiguration.
• Schedule the patch policy so the stack keeps itself current.