DEV Community: Oyolola toni

LAMP docker installation automation script in bash

Oyolola toni — Fri, 02 Aug 2024 12:12:18 +0000

In order to automate the process of installing all web applications required to run a LAMP server, the following script is writing for that exact purpose.

The docker container used is the official Ubuntu image, version 24.10 aka noble.

Both the Dockerfile and installation script are contained in this [github repository](https://github.com/oyololatoni/docker-LAMP-install-script\). The first step would be to update your host machine and install git if you are using a Linux based machine with the following command

sudo apt-get update && apt-get -y install git

Next clone the github repository from github into your prefered folder on your Linux machine using the following command

git clone https://github.com/oyololatoni/docker-LAMP-install-script

Next change directory to the cloned folder and change the ownership of the shell script downloaded such that it is executable

cd docker-LAMP-install-script && chmod 755 /*.sh

While still in the cloned folder, run the following command to build the Ubuntu docker image from the dockerfile which will also run the automate the installation of the LAMP applications by executing the LAMPinstall.sh file

docker build -t [TAG] .

The content of the installation script:

#!/bin/bash
# Update the package lists for upgrades and new package installations
apt-get update 

# Install MySQL server and client, Expect, Apache2, PHP, and various PHP extensions
apt install -y mysql-server mysql-client expect apache2 php libapache2-mod-php php-mysql php8.2 php8.2-curl php8.2-dom php8.2-xml php8.2-mysql php8.2-sqlite3 php8.3 php8.3-curl php8.3-dom php8.3-xml php8.3-mysql php8.3-sqlite3

# Add the PPA repository for PHP maintained by Ondřej Surý
add-apt-repository -y ppa:ondrej/php

# Update the package lists again to include packages from the new repository
apt-get update

# Start the MySQL service
service mysql start

# Start the Apache2 service
service  apache2 start

# Start the MySQL secure installation process
# The expect command is used to automate responses to interactive prompts
expect <<EOF
spawn mysql_secure_installation

# Set the timeout for expect commands
set timeout 1

# Handle the password validation prompt. If not present, skip.
expect {
    "Press y|Y for Yes, any other key for No:" {
        send "y\r"
        expect "Please enter 0 = LOW, 1 = MEDIUM and 2 = STRONG:"
        send "0\r"
    }
    "The 'validate_password' component is installed on the server." {
        send_user "Skipping VALIDATE PASSWORD section as it is already installed.\n"
    }
}

expect "Please enter 0 = LOW, 1 = MEDIUM and 2 = STRONG:"
send "0\r"

expect "Remove anonymous users? (Press y|Y for Yes, any other key for No) :"
send "y\r"

expect "Disallow root login remotely? (Press y|Y for Yes, any other key for No) :"
send "n\r"

expect "Remove test database and access to it? (Press y|Y for Yes, any other key for No) :"
send "y\r"

expect "Reload privilege tables now? (Press y|Y for Yes, any other key for No) :"
send "y\r"

expect eof
EOF

echo "MySQL secure installation setup complete."

# Ensure MySQL service is started
service mysql start

# Execute MySQL commands to create the database, user, and grant privileges
mysql -uroot <<MYSQL_SCRIPT
CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS webserver;
CREATE USER IF NOT EXISTS 'User1'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'Password123';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON webserver.your_table TO 'User1'@'localhost' WITH GRANT OPTION;
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
MYSQL_SCRIPT

echo "Database and user created."


# Enable the Apache mod_rewrite module
a2enmod rewrite
service apache2 restart

# Create the directory for the new virtual host
mkdir -p /var/www/demo.com

# Change the ownership of the directory to the current user
chown -R $USER:$USER /var/www/demo.com

# Set permissions for the directory
chmod -R 755 /var/www/demo.com

# Create an index.html file with a simple HTML content and save it in the relevant file
bash -c 'cat <<EOF > /var/www/demo.com/index.html
<html>
    <head>
        <title>Welcome to Your_domain!</title>
    </head>
    <body>
        <h1>Success! The your_domain virtual host is working!</h1>
    </body>
</html>
EOF'

echo "HTML file created at /var/www/demo.com/index.html"

# Create the virtual host configuration file for 'demo.com'
bash -c 'cat <<EOF > /etc/apache2/sites-available/demo.com.conf
<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerAdmin webmaster@localhost
    ServerName demo.com
    ServerAlias www.demo.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/demo.com
    ErrorLog \${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
    CustomLog \${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
</VirtualHost>
EOF'

echo "Virtual hosting configured"

# Enable the new virtual host configuration
a2ensite demo.com.conf

# Disable the default virtual host configuration
a2dissite 000-default.conf

# Set the server name to the loopback IP address (127.0.0.1) to avoid AH00558 error
echo -e "\n# vim: syntax=apache ts=4 sw=4 sts=4 sr noet\nServerName 127.0.0.1" | tee -a /etc/apache2/apache2.conf

# Restart Apache2 service to apply the changes
service apache2 restart

To verify that it was successful and run the image, run:

docker run -it -p 80:80 --name dockerLAMP [TAG] bash

Automating the installation of a LAMP stack on Ubuntu 22.04

Oyolola toni — Mon, 10 Jun 2024 09:09:26 +0000

A LAMP stack is a combination of at least 4 different technologies used in tandem to create a fully functioning web server or web application.

The complete components of a LAMP stack include:

Linux machine (Ubuntu)
Apache web server
MySQL database
PHP

The installation of this stack will be done using a executable bash script that can be used on any debian based linux distro.

First create a file named LAMP.sh which is the file where our bash script will be stored, and will also be later executed.

Next make the file executable by going to the folder where the file is located and execute the following command

chmod -x LAMP.sh

We can now begin scripting the installation file by editing the LAMP.sh file. You can do this using a cli based file editor such as vim or nano, or you can use a gui based text editor (recommended for beginners).

#!/bin/bash

# Update the package lists for upgrades and new package installations
sudo apt-get update 

# Install MySQL server and client, Expect, Apache2, PHP, and various PHP extensions
sudo apt install -y mysql-server mysql-client expect apache2 php libapache2-mod-php php-mysql php8.2 php8.2-curl php8.2-dom php8.2-xml php8.2-mysql php8.2-sqlite3 php8.3 php8.3-curl php8.3-dom php8.3-xml php8.3-mysql php8.3-sqlite3

# Add the PPA repository for PHP maintained by Ondřej Surý
sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:ondrej/php

# Update the package lists again to include packages from the new repository
sudo apt-get update


echo "Done with installations"

# Start the MySQL service
sudo systemctl start mysql.service

# Start the Apache2 service
sudo systemctl start apache2.service

# Start the MySQL secure installation process
# The expect command is used to automate responses to interactive prompts
sudo expect <<EOF
spawn mysql_secure_installation

# Set the timeout for expect commands
set timeout 1

# Handle the password validation prompt. If not present, skip.
expect {
    "Press y|Y for Yes, any other key for No:" {
        send "y\r"
        expect "Please enter 0 = LOW, 1 = MEDIUM and 2 = STRONG:"
        send "0\r"
    }
    "The 'validate_password' component is installed on the server." {
        send_user "Skipping VALIDATE PASSWORD section as it is already installed.\n"
    }
}

expect "Please enter 0 = LOW, 1 = MEDIUM and 2 = STRONG:"
send "0\r"

expect "Remove anonymous users? (Press y|Y for Yes, any other key for No) :"
send "y\r"

expect "Disallow root login remotely? (Press y|Y for Yes, any other key for No) :"
send "n\r"

expect "Remove test database and access to it? (Press y|Y for Yes, any other key for No) :"
send "y\r"

expect "Reload privilege tables now? (Press y|Y for Yes, any other key for No) :"
send "y\r"

expect eof
EOF

echo "MySQL secure installation setup complete."

# Ensure MySQL service is started
sudo systemctl start mysql

# Execute MySQL commands to create the database, user, and grant privileges
sudo mysql -uroot <<MYSQL_SCRIPT
CREATE DATABASE IF NOT EXISTS webserver;
CREATE USER IF NOT EXISTS 'User1'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'Password123';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON webserver.your_table TO 'User1'@'localhost' WITH GRANT OPTION;
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
MYSQL_SCRIPT

echo "Database and user created."

# Enable the Apache mod_rewrite module
sudo a2enmod rewrite

# Create the directory for the new virtual host
sudo mkdir -p /var/www/demo.com

# Change the ownership of the directory to the current user
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /var/www/demo.com

# Set permissions for the directory
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/demo.com

# Create an index.html file with a simple HTML content and save it in the relevant file
sudo bash -c 'cat <<EOF > /var/www/demo.com/index.html
<html>
    <head>
        <title>Welcome to Your_domain!</title>
    </head>
    <body>
        <h1>Success! The your_domain virtual host is working!</h1>
    </body>
</html>
EOF'

echo "HTML file created at /var/www/demo.com/index.html"

# Create the virtual host configuration file for 'demo.com'
sudo bash -c 'cat <<EOF > /etc/apache2/sites-available/demo.com.conf
<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerAdmin webmaster@localhost
    ServerName demo.com
    ServerAlias www.demo.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/demo.com
    ErrorLog \${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
    CustomLog \${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
</VirtualHost>
EOF'

echo "Virtual hosting configured"

# Enable the new virtual host configuration
sudo a2ensite demo.com.conf

# Disable the default virtual host configuration
sudo a2dissite 000-default.conf

# Restart Apache2 service to apply the changes
sudo systemctl restart apache2

Execute the script using this command

./LAMP.sh

or using

bash LAMP.sh

Step-by-step guide for how to install an SQL server on Ubuntu 22.04

Oyolola toni — Wed, 05 Jun 2024 21:06:43 +0000

Step-by-step guide for how to install an SQL server on Ubuntu 22.04

Installing the SQL server

Firstly update your desktop and install the SQL server

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install mysql-server

Verify that the server is running with the following command

sudo systemctl start mysql.service

sudo systemctl status mysql.service

The result should look like this:

Configure MySQL

You will need to set the password for the root account if you are running the installation on an Ubuntu machine because authentication is deactivated on Ubuntu by default. So as to avoid an error, you’ll need to configure the root account authentication method

sudo mysql

Change the password for root using ALTER USER:

mysql> ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED WITH mysql_native_password BY 'password';

Exit after making this change

mysql> exit

Secure your MySQL root user account

In securing your server, you will need to execute the following command to setup your password policy

sudo mysql_secure_installation

The password policy given will apply to subsequent users accounts created.

The next is to authenticate using the root user’s password:

mysql -u root -p

This command gives the root user access to the MySQL cli, and also to interact directly with the MySQL server.

Then go back to using the default authentication method using this command:

mysql> ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED WITH auth_socket;

This will allow you connect using the sudo mysql command again.

Creating default/new MySQL user and its privileges

It is bad OpSec to use the root account to perform regular day-to-day action on the database. The best option is to create a user account with limited privileges.

This is first done by logging in as root with the following command:

sudo mysql

Alternatively, if you have previously set a password for the root account use this instead:

mysql -u root -p

Next create a new user:

mysql> CREATE USER 'username'@'host' IDENTIFIED WITH authentication_plugin BY 'password';

After entering the command, follow the prompt and fill in your username, hostname (localhost if you’re using Ubuntu).

For authentication, you have the options of using auth_socket plugin which provides string security without requiring a password but has a shortcoming of preventing remote connections,authentication_plugin plugin, caching_sha2_password which is the default MySQL plugin, but its shortfall is that some versions of PHP are not compatible with it or mysql_native_password plugin.

mysql> CREATE USER 'jack'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED WITH mysql_native_password BY 'password';

You can also alter an existing user using:

mysql> ALTER 'jack'@'hostname' IDENTIFIED WITH mysql_native_password BY 'password';

Assigning privileges

After creating the user, you can assign it with privileges with the following syntax.

mysql> GRANT PRIVILEGE ON database.table TO 'username'@'host';

Using GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES instead will give the user superuser privileges similar to that of root. Such flag will otherwise defeat the purpose of creating a separate user account from root.

The PRIVILEGE variable represents what action a user is allowed to perform. Global privileges can also be granted by replacing database.table with *.

Below we will be granting user permissions to create, modify, delete, insert, select, update and delete data from a table by using CREATE, ALTER, DROP, INSERT, SELECT, UPDATE and DELETE respectively.

mysql> GRANT CREATE, ALTER, DROP, INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE, SELECT on *.* TO 'jack'@'hostname' WITH GRANT OPTION;

The WITH GRANT OPTION flag allows the user to grant privileges it has to other users.

Next we will use the FLUSH PRIVILEGES command to empty the cache and free up memory:

mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

After you can exit the MySQL cli

mysql> exit

You can now log in back using your credentials

mysql -u jack -p

Testing the MySQL server

You can now verify that the MySQL server is running with the following command:

systemctl status mysql.service

Alternatively, you can connect to the MySQL database using the administrative command tool mysqladmin.

sudo mysqladmin -p -u jack version

How to setup an Apache server on Ubuntu 22.04.4 LTS with Virtual hosting

Oyolola toni — Fri, 31 May 2024 15:45:40 +0000

Apache is a popular open source web server that is widely used to host web pages.

In this tutorial, you’ll be creating a virtual host environment to run multiple websites with Apache on your Ubuntu 22.04.4 LTS server allowing you to add several domains hosted on just 1 IP address.

Installing Apache

We’ll begin by updating the local repository with the following command

sudo apt update

Next, install the Apache server

sudo apt install apache2

Run this command to start the Apache server

systemctl start apache2.service

Run this command to verify that Apache is running

systemctl status apache2.service

You can test if your Apache server is live by typing your public IP address in your web server, you should get the following result

Configuring Your Own Website

Apache by default is setup to serve documents from **/var/www. **So you will need to create store your webpage directory in this folder. We will be using demo.com here as follows:

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/demo.com

You will need to modify the ownership of this directory so as to be accessible and executable by your user account. This is done by executing the following:

sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /var/www/demo.com

Next you will change the permission settings of the directory to allow everyone to have read and execute permissions while the $USER has read, write and execute permissions

sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/demo.com

Next create an index.html file that will be used to host your site’s html code

sudo vim /var/www/demo.com/index.html

Insert the following code in the index.html **file by pressing **i **to write the file. And to save it press **ESQ **to exit insert mode, *and *:wq **after to save and quit the the file editor

<html>
    <head>
        <title>Welcome to Your_domain!</title>
    </head>
    <body>
        <h1>Success!  The your_domain virtual host is working!</h1>
    </body>
</html>

Setting up the VirtualHost Configuration File

The next step is to setup the configuration file for the webserver in the /etc/apache2 folder — which is where the Apache configuration file is located. The file also uses the **.conf **extension. Create the configuration file using the following command

sudo vim /etc/apache2/sites-available/demo.com.conf

Insert this code into the file

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerAdmin webmaster@localhost
    ServerName demo.com
    ServerAlias www.demo.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/demo.com
    ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
    CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined
</VirtualHost>

Save and close the file

Activating VirtualHost file

After setting up the website, the next step is to activate the virtual host file. Do that by running the following commands

First enable the file with the **a2ensite **command

sudo a2ensite demo.com.conf

Then disable the default configuration file

sudo a2dissite 000-default.conf

Check for configuration errors using the following command:

sudo apache2ctl configtest

The output of that command should be “ Syntax OK” to indicate that it is properly configured

Restart the Apache server to implement the changes

sudo systemctl restart apache2

Congrats! Your website is now hosted on your machine. To view the website navigate to http://demo.com