So the time has come again that I would like to build a web server! This time, though, I want to build it with software that is not from any distribution’s package management. You may ask why I would want to do something like this? Well, I want to learn the process because up until this point, I have only ever relied on a distribution’s package manager.
[edit] Holy crap! Now I’m asking myself why I wanted to do this. Unfortunately, I am not skilled enough in the ways of Linux fu to accomplish this task. I was able to
./configure
make
make install
a few programs, but now I definitely have an appreciation for the distribution’s package manager. Hopefully someday I will be smarter in that area. For now, I’m going to stick with the package manager.
What’s wrong with the software from the distribution? Nothing, except it’s always just slightly out of date and it’s been configured by someone that I don’t know. I don’t understand “why it just works” so how do I know that I can trust it and that my web server’s security is not at risk?
I would also like to muck around with this project to better prepare for the CompTIA Linux+ exam. I bought a testing voucher awhile back and have yet to use it. Without any purpose on my system, I haven’t really had a chance to exercise and use the skills I learned.
I will try my best to document the process on here and even may get into making a video tutorial. I don’t want to promise anything I can’t deliver, so I’m not promising videos at this point.
So…the “L” in my “LAMP” will be the Ubuntu 18.04.1 LTS (“Bionic Beaver”). What a crazy name; yes, my mind went there!
The “A” will of course be Apache HTTP Server, version 2.4.35.
“M” will be MySQL Community Server, version 8.0.12.
“P” will be PHP, version 7.2.11.
I will add a second “P” for phpMyAdmin, version 4.8.3 to help administer my MySQL database.
I will be setting up this server to host WordPress so I will install the latest version from WordPress.org, version 4.9.8.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few of these vendors release updates from now until when I am able to complete this project.
[edit] I am going to install and configure the above components, but use apt in this case since I am using Ubuntu. I am also going to install Webmin, which I have been using for years and absolutely love the look and feel of it. It makes updating and securing a lot faster and easier for me. I guess I went from hero to zero real quick in this post; you’ll forgive me, won’t you?