How to Install Nginx, MariaDB, PHP-FPM on AlmaLinux 9 Server (LEMP)

5 min readFeb 16, 2024

The LEMP stack is a popular web development stack consisting of four key components: Linux, Nginx, MySQL and PHP, each of which play a crucial role in web application development and hosting.

In this article we will provide a step-by-step guide to installing LEMP on your AlmaLinux 9 Server.

Prerequisites

Server with AlmaLinux 9 OS installed
SSH Access with root or sudo-privileged user

Steps to Install LEMP on AlmaLinux 9

Step 1: Switch to root user

First, switch to the root user using the following command. Unless stated otherwise, all subsequent commands must be executed as the root user.

jim@server:~$ sudo –i

Step 2: Install NGINX

Install Nginx by running the following command.

yum install nginx

Step 3: Enable NGINX on boot

Ensure Nginx is running and started on boot.

root@server:~$ systemctl enable --now nginx

Now let’s check the status of Nginx with the following command:

root@server:~$ systemctl status nginx

Sample Output:
● nginx.service - The nginx HTTP and reverse proxy server
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/nginx.service; enabled; preset: disabled)
     Active: active (running) since Sun 2023-09-10 19:45:10 EEST; 5s ago
    Process: 1650 ExecStartPre=/usr/bin/rm -f /run/nginx.pid (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
    Process: 1651 ExecStartPre=/usr/sbin/nginx -t (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
    Process: 1652 ExecStart=/usr/sbin/nginx (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
   Main PID: 1653 (nginx)
      Tasks: 3 (limit: 7462)
     Memory: 2.7M
        CPU: 14ms
     CGroup: /system.slice/nginx.service
             ├─1653 "nginx: master process /usr/sbin/nginx"
             ├─1654 "nginx: worker process"
             └─1655 "nginx: worker process"

Sep 10 19:45:10 almalinux systemd[1]: Starting The nginx HTTP and reverse proxy server...
Sep 10 19:45:10 almalinux nginx[1651]: nginx: the configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf syntax is ok
Sep 10 19:45:10 almalinux nginx[1651]: nginx: configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf test is successful
Sep 10 19:45:10 almalinux systemd[1]: Started The nginx HTTP and reverse proxy server.

Step 4: Install MariaDB

Next step is to install MariaDB by running the following command.

root@server:~$ yum install mariadb-server

Step 5: Enable MariaDB to start on boot

Ensure MariaDB is running and started on boot using the following command:

root@server:~$ systemctl enable --now mariadb

Now check the status of MariaDB by executing this command:

root@server:~$ systemctl status mariadb

Sample Output:

● mariadb.service - MariaDB 10.5 database server
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/mariadb.service; enabled; preset: disabled)
     Active: active (running) since Sun 2023-09-10 19:48:07 EEST; 4s ago
        Docs: man:mariadbd(8)
              https://mariadb.com/kb/en/library/systemd/
     Process: 3249 ExecStartPre=/usr/libexec/mariadb-check-socket (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
    Process: 3271 ExecStartPre=/usr/libexec/mariadb-prepare-db-dir mariadb.service (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
    Process: 3370 ExecStartPost=/usr/libexec/mariadb-check-upgrade (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
   Main PID: 3354 (mariadbd)
      Status: "Taking your SQL requests now..."
      Tasks: 15 (limit: 7462)
     Memory: 75.4M
        CPU: 376ms
     CGroup: /system.slice/mariadb.service
             └─3354 /usr/libexec/mariadbd --basedir=/usr

Sep 10 19:48:07 almalinux mariadb-prepare-db-dir[3310]: you need to be the system 'mysql' user to connect.
Sep 10 19:48:07 almalinux mariadb-prepare-db-dir[3310]: After connecting you can set the password, if you would need to be
Sep 10 19:48:07 almalinux mariadb-prepare-db-dir[3310]: able to connect as any of these users with a password and without sudo
Sep 10 19:48:07 almalinux mariadb-prepare-db-dir[3310]: See the MariaDB Knowledgebase at https://mariadb.com/kb
 Sep 10 19:48:07 almalinux mariadb-prepare-db-dir[3310]: Please report any problems at https://mariadb.org/jira
 Sep 10 19:48:07 almalinux mariadb-prepare-db-dir[3310]: The latest information about MariaDB is available at https://mariadb.org/.
Sep 10 19:48:07 almalinux mariadb-prepare-db-dir[3310]: Consider joining MariaDB's strong and vibrant community:
Sep 10 19:48:07 almalinux mariadb-prepare-db-dir[3310]: https://mariadb.org/get-involved/
 Sep 10 19:48:07 almalinux mariadbd[3354]: 2023-09-10 19:48:07 0 [Note] /usr/libexec/mariadbd (mysqld 10.5.16-MariaDB) starting as proces>
Sep 10 19:48:07 almalinux systemd[1]: Started MariaDB 10.5 database server.

Step 6: Install PHP-FPM

Next Install PHP FastCGI Process Manager by running the following command.

root@server:~$ yum install php-fpm

Step 7: Enable PHP-FPM on boot

Ensure that PHP FastCGI Process Manager is running and started on boot.

root@server:~$ systemctl enable --now php-fpm

You can check the status of the PHP FastCGI Process Manager with this command:

root@server:~$ systemctl status php-fpm

Sample Output:

● php-fpm.service - The PHP FastCGI Process Manager
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/php-fpm.service; enabled; preset: disabled)
     Active: active (running) since Sun 2023-09-10 19:52:10 EEST; 5s ago
   Main PID: 3578 (php-fpm)
     Status: "Ready to handle connections"
      Tasks: 6 (limit: 7462)
     Memory: 8.1M
        CPU: 25ms
     CGroup: /system.slice/php-fpm.service
             ├─3578 "php-fpm: master process (/etc/php-fpm.conf)"
             ├─3579 "php-fpm: pool www"
             ├─3580 "php-fpm: pool www"
             ├─3581 "php-fpm: pool www"
             ├─3582 "php-fpm: pool www"
             └─3583 "php-fpm: pool www"

Sep 10 19:52:10 almalinux systemd[1]: Starting The PHP FastCGI Process Manager...
Sep 10 19:52:10 almalinux systemd[1]: Started The PHP FastCGI Process Manager.

Step 8: Assign nginx user for php-fpm

The default user under which php-fpm runs is Apache. In this case, we are using Nginx instead of Apache so we need to update the php-fpm configuration accordingly. Run the following command to open the php-fpm default configuration for editing.

root@server:~$ vi /etc/php-fpm.d/www.conf

Near the top of the file, you will see the following:

; Unix user/group of processes
; Note: The user is mandatory. If the group is not set, the default user's group
;       will be used.
; RPM: apache user chosen to provide access to the same directories as httpd
user = apache
; RPM: Keep a group allowed to write in log dir.
group = apache

Change the lines starting with user and group (see in bold) to the following:

user = nginx
group = nginx

Step 9: Restart PHP-FPM

Save the file after you complete the previous step and exit, then restart php-fpm by running the following command.

root@server:~$ systemctl restart php-fpm

Step 10: Restart Nginx and PHP-FPM

Use the following commands to restart nginx and php-fpm:

systemctl restart nginx php-fpm

Congratulations! Now visit http://SERVER_IP/ (make sure to replace SERVER_IP with the IP of your server) and you should see the default NGINX landing page.

You have successfully installed LEMP (Linux, NGINX, MariaDB, PHP-FPM) on Almalinux 9 Server!

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Source: https://netshop-isp.com.cy/blog/how-to-install-nginx-mariadb-php-fpm-on-almalinux-9-server-lemp/