WordPress LAMP

Version: 6.0   |   OS: Ubuntu 20.04

Overview

WordPress powers over 60 million websites globally. Originally developed as a blogging platform, it has evolved into a robust content management system (CMS) backed by PHP and MySQL. This LAMP-based deployment provides an optimized WordPress stack ready for production use.

Included Software

• WordPress - 6.0
• Apache - 2.4.41
• MySQL - 8.0.32
• PHP - 8.1
• Fail2Ban - 4.4.0.4
• Postfix - 3.4.13
• Certbot - 0.40.0

Getting Started

Firewall & Access

Ensure your firewall or cloud security groups allow the following:

Port	Service	Purpose
22	SSH (rate limited)	Server access
80	HTTP	Web access
443	HTTPS	Secure web access

Initial Setup

Upon first boot:

• The MySQL root password is set.
• mysql_secure_installation is executed.
• A dedicated WordPress DB user is created.
• wp-config.php is generated with salt keys and DB credentials.
• XML-RPC is disabled.
• PHP settings are tuned (file size, execution time).
• Apache rewrite module is enabled.

You will be logged out with the message:

Please wait until the installation is completed....
Connection to $IPADDRESS closed.

Do not log in for 2 minutes post-deployment.

SSH Access & Root Privileges

• Log in as ubuntu with your password or SSH key.
• Switch to root:

sudo su -

First Login: Domain & Admin Setup

When logging in for the first time:

• You will be prompted to enter your domain:

Enter the domain name for your new WordPress site (e.g., example.org):

• Ensure your domain's A record points to your instance.
• Enter the following when prompted:
  • Email Address
  • Username
  • Password
  • Blog Title

Confirm the information and proceed.

You will see:

Completing the configuration of WordPress.
Installation completed. Access your new WordPress site in a browser to continue.

Accessing Your WordPress Site

Visit your domain or http://$IPADDRESS in a browser.

Database & Admin Details

• MySQL root password: /root/.mysql_root_password
• WordPress DB info: /root/.wordpress_database_details
• phpMyAdmin login:
  • URL: http://$IPADDRESS/phpmyadmin
  • User: admin
  • Password: /root/.phpmyadmin_password

File Paths

• Web root: /var/www/html
• WordPress config: /var/www/html/wp-config.php

Recommended Apache Virtual Host Setup

For each domain:

1. Create a new web directory:

mkdir -p /var/www/yourdomain.com/html

2. Create a virtual host config file:

nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/yourdomain.com.conf

3. Add the following:

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

4. Enable site & reload Apache:

a2ensite yourdomain.com.conf
systemctl reload apache2

Setting Up SSL with Certbot

Ensure both A and www A records point to your instance. Then run:

certbot --apache -d example.com -d www.example.com

Port 443 must be open. Optionally block port 80 after SSL setup.

Postfix Configuration

1. Set hostname:

hostnamectl set-hostname your.hostname.com

2. Edit /etc/postfix/main.cf:

myhostname = your.hostname.com

3. Restart Postfix:

systemctl restart postfix

4. Test email:

echo "Postfix test" | mail -s "Subject" test@gmail.com

Emails may land in spam initially due to new IP reputation.

Best Practices

• Change default WordPress and phpMyAdmin credentials immediately.
• Enable fail2ban for brute-force protection.
• Use HTTPS and configure DNS properly.
• Secure Apache with headers and rate limits for better hardening.

For further assistance, contact Cloud4India Support.