How to Install Apache, MySQL, PHP (FAMP Stack) on FreeBSD 14.0

Introduction 

 FreeBSD, Apache, MySQL, and PHP (FAMP stack) is a collection of open-source software applications that manage the runtime and development of dynamic web applications on a server. Apache works as a web server to delivers web application files while MySQL functions as the database backend, and PHP processes dynamic web application contents. 

 This article explains how to install the Apache, MySQL, and PHP (FAMP) stack on FreeBSD 14.0 and deliver dynamic web applications on your server. 

 Prerequisites 

 Before you begin: 

 

 

 Deploy a  FreeBSD 14.0  instance on Vultr. 

 

 

 Create a new  domain  A  record pointing to the instance IP address . For example,  app.example.com . 

 

 

 Access the server  using SSH . 

 

 

 Create a non-root user with sudo privileges and switch to the user. 

 

 

 Update the server . 

 

 

 Install Apache 

 Apache is available in the default repositories on FreeBSD 14.0 with the latest package information. Follow the steps below to install the latest Apache web server package and enable the application to run on your server. 

 

 

 Update the server packages catalog. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo pkg update

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 Install Apache on your server. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo pkg install -y apache24

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 Verify that Apache is installed on your server. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ apachectl -v

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 Output: 

 Server version: Apache/2.4.59 (FreeBSD)

Server built: unknown 

 

 

 Enable Apache to automatically start at boot. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo service apache24 enable

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 Start the Apache web server. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo service apache24 start

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 View the Apache service status and verify that the web server is running. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo service apache24 status

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 Output: 

 apache24 is running as pid 2536. 

 

 

 Access your server IP address using a web browser such as Chrome and verify that the default Apache virtual host web page displays. 

 http://SERVER-IP 

 

 

 

 Install MySQL 

 MySQL is available in the default FreeBSD 14.0 repositories with multiple versions. Follow the steps below to install the latest MySQL database server version and enable it to run on your server. 

 

 

 Search all MySQL versions available in the default FreeBSD repositories. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo pkg search mysql

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 Output: 

 ...

mysql80-client-8.0.35 Multithreaded SQL database (client)

mysql80-server-8.0.35_1 Multithreaded SQL database (server)

mysql81-client-8.1.0 Multithreaded SQL database (client)

mysql81-server-8.1.0 Multithreaded SQL database (server)

... 

 

 

 Install the latest MySQL server and client packages. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo pkg install mysql81-server mysql81-client

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 View the installed MySQL version on your server. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ mysql --version

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 Output: 

 mysql Ver 8.1.0 for FreeBSD14.0 on amd64 (Source distribution) 

 

 

 Enable the MySQL server to automatically start at boot. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo service mysql enable

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 Output: 

 mysql enabled in /etc/rc.conf 

 

 

 Start the MySQL database server. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo service mysql-server start

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 View the MySQL server status and verify that it's running. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo service mysql-server status

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 Output: 

 mysql is running as pid 3266. 

 

 

 Start the MySQL secure installation script. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo mysql_secure_installation

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 Enter  Y  when prompted to enable the  VALIDATE PASSWORD  component and set strict password policies on the database server. 

 

 VALIDATE PASSWORD COMPONENT can be used to test passwords

and improve security. It checks the strength of password

and allows the users to set only those passwords which are

secure enough. Would you like to setup VALIDATE PASSWORD component?

Press y|Y for Yes, any other key for No: Y 

 

 Enter your desired password strength level to enable on your server. For example, enter  2  to require strong passwords with mixed characters. 

 

 There are three levels of password validation policy:

LOW Length >= 8

MEDIUM Length >= 8, numeric, mixed case, and special characters

STRONG Length >= 8, numeric, mixed case, special characters and dictionary file

Please enter 0 = LOW, 1 = MEDIUM and 2 = STRONG: 

 

 Enter a new strong password to assign the  root  database user. 

 

 Please set the password for root here.

New password: 

 

 Repeat the password and verify the estimated password strength. 

 

 Re-enter new password: 

Estimated strength of the password: 8 

 

 Enter  Y  when prompted to validate and continue with the new user password. 

 

 Do you wish to continue with the password provided?(Press y|Y for Yes, any other key for No) : 

 

 Enter  Y  and press  Enter  to remove anonymous database users on your server. 

 

 Remove anonymous users? (Press y|Y for Yes, any other key for No) : 

 

 Enter  Y  when prompted to disable remote access to your database server using the root user account. 

 

 Disallow root login remotely? (Press y|Y for Yes, any other key for No) : 

 

 Enter  Y  when prompted to remove the test databases on your server. 

 

 `Remove test database and access to it? (Press y|Y for Yes, any other key for No) : 

 

 Enter  Y  and press  Enter  to reload the MySQL privilege tables and apply your configuration changes. 

 

 Reload privilege tables now? (Press y|Y for Yes, any other key for No) : 

 

 

 Restart the MySQL database server to apply changes. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo service mysql-server restart

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 Install PHP and Configure PHP-FPM 

 PHP is available in the default FreeBSD repositories and includes the PHP-FPM package that manages connection requests using pool configurations on your server. Follow the steps below to install the latest PHP version on your server. 

 

 

 Search all available PHP packages in the default FreeBSD repositories. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ pkg search php | egrep '^php[0-9]+-[0-9]'

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 Output: 

 php81-8.1.29 PHP Scripting Language (8.1.X branch)

php82-8.2.18 PHP Scripting Language (8.2.X branch)

php83-8.3.6 PHP Scripting Language (8.3.X branch) 

 

 

 Install the latest PHP package. For example, PHP version  8.3 . 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo apt install php83

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 Install common PHP modules required to enable application functionalities. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo pkg install -y php83-mysqli php83-curl php83-zip php83-gd php83-xml php83-mbstring

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 View the installed PHP version on your server.. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ php -v

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 Output: 

 PHP 8.3.6 (cli) (built: Jun 20 2024 02:08:30) (NTS)

Copyright (c) The PHP Group

Zend Engine v4.3.6, Copyright (c) Zend Technologies 

 

 

 View the installed PHP-FPM version on your server. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ php-fpm -v

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 Output: 

 PHP 8.3.6 (fpm-fcgi) (built: Jun 20 2024 02:08:43)

Copyright (c) The PHP Group

Zend Engine v4.3.6, Copyright (c) Zend Technologies 

 

 

 Enable PHP-FPM to automatically start at boot. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo service php-fpm enable

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 View the PHP-FPM service status and verify that it's running. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo service php-fpm status

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 Output: 

 php_fpm is running as pid 2558. 

 

 

 Configure Apache with PHP-FPM 

 Apache uses the  mod_proxy  and  mod_proxy_fcgi  modules to process FastCGI requests and connect to the PHP-FPM service. Follow the steps below to enable the required Apache modules and forward all PHP application requests to the PHP-FPM service port  9000 . 

 

 

 Open the default PHP-FPM pool configuration file using a text editor such as the Easy Editor ( ee ). 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo ee /usr/local/etc/php-fpm.d/www.conf

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 Find the  user  and  group  directives and verify that PHP-FPM runs with the web server user profile  www . 

 

 

 ini Copy 

 

 

 

 

 user = www

group = www

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 Find the  listen  directive and verify that PHP-FPM listens for connection requests on the localhost port  9000 . 

 

 

 ini Copy 

 

 

 

 

 listen = 127.0.0.1:9000

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 Save and close the file. 

 

 

 Run the following command to enable the  mod_proxy  and  mod_proxy_fcgi  Apache modules on your server. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo sed -i '' -e 's/^#LoadModule proxy_module libexec\/apache24\/mod_proxy.so/LoadModule proxy_module libexec\/apache24\/mod_proxy.so/' -e 's/^#LoadModule proxy_fcgi_module libexec\/apache24\/mod_proxy_fcgi.so/LoadModule proxy_fcgi_module libexec\/apache24\/mod_proxy_fcgi.so/' /usr/local/etc/apache24/httpd.conf

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 The above command uncomments the following Apache configuration directives to enable the modules on your server. 

 

 apacheconf Copy 

 

 

 

 

 LoadModule proxy_module libexec/apache24/mod_proxy.so

LoadModule proxy_fcgi_module libexec/apache24/mod_proxy_fcgi.so

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 Open the main Apache configuration file. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo ee /usr/local/etc/apache24/httpd.conf

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 Add the following configurations at the end of the file to forward all PHP file requests to the PHP-FPM port  9000 . 

 

 apacheconf Copy 

 

 

 

 

 <FilesMatch "\.php$">

 SetHandler "proxy:fcgi://127.0.0.1:9000"

</FilesMatch>

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 Save and close the file. 

 

 

 Test the Apache configuration for errors. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo apachectl configtest

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 Your output should look like the one below when the test is successful: 

 Performing sanity check on apache24 configuration:

AH00558: httpd: Could not reliably determine the server's fully qualified domain name, using 127.0.0.1. Set the 'ServerName' directive globally to suppress this message

Syntax OK 

 

 

 Restart PHP-FPM to apply changes. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo service php-fpm restart

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 Restart Apache to apply the configuration changes. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo service apache24 restart

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 Test the Installation 

 

 

 Log in to the MySQL database server using the  root  user and password you set earlier. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ mysql -u root -p

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 Create a new sample database  exampledb . 

 

 sql Copy 

 

 

 

 

 mysql> create database exampledb;

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 Create a new database user such as  dbadmin  with a strong password. 

 

 sql Copy 

 

 

 

 

 mysql> create user 'dbadmin'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'strong@@password25Bb';

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 Grant the  dbadmin  user full privileges to the  exampledb  database. 

 

 sql Copy 

 

 

 

 

 mysql> GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON exampledb.* TO 'dbadmin'@'localhost';

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 Flush the MySQL privileges table to apply changes. 

 

 sql Copy 

 

 

 

 

 mysql> FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 Switch to the sample database  exampledb . 

 

 sql Copy 

 

 

 

 

 mysql> use exampledb;

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 Create a new sample table  exampletable  with the following columns to store integer and string values. 

 

 sql Copy 

 

 

 

 

 mysql> CREATE TABLE exampletable (id INT AUTO_INCREMENT PRIMARY KEY, messages VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL);

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 The above SQL statement creates a new table with the columns:  id  that stores numeric data, and  messages  that stores mixed characters. 

 

 

 Insert sample data into the table. For example,  Greetings from Vultr . 

 

 sql Copy 

 

 

 

 

 mysql> INSERT INTO exampletable (messages) VALUES ('Greetings from Vultr');

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 Exit the MySQL database console. 

 

 sql Copy 

 

 

 

 

 mysql> EXIT;

 

 

 

 

 

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 Create a new directory to store your web application files. For example,  app.example.com  in the default Apache web root path. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo mkdir -p /usr/local/www/apache24/app.example.com

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 Create a new sample PHP application file in the directory. For example,  index.php . 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo ee /usr/local/www/apache24/app.example.com/index.php

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 Add the following contents to the file. 

 

 php Copy 

 

 

 

 

 <?php

$servername = "localhost";

$username = "dbadmin";

$password = "strong@@password25Bb";

$dbname = "exampledb";

// Connect to the MySQL database

$conn = new mysqli($servername, $username, $password, $dbname);

// Test the MySQL database connection

if ($conn->connect_error) {

 die("Database Connection Failed." . $conn->connect_error);

}

// Fetch a string from exampletable

$sql = "SELECT messages FROM exampletable";

$result = $conn->query($sql);

if ($result->num_rows > 0) {

 $row = $result->fetch_assoc();

 echo "<h1 align='center'> <br> <br>" . $row["messages"]. "</h1>";

} else {

 echo "<h1 align='center'> <br> No Data Found.</h1>";

}

$conn->close();

?>

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 Save the file and exit the text editor. 

 The above PHP application connects to the MySQL database server and queries the  exampledb  database to output values in the  exampledata  column within the  messages  table. The application displays a  Greetings from Vultr  heading when successful or  No Data Found  when unsuccessful. 

 

 

 Create a new Apache virtual host configuration file. For example,  app.example.com.conf . 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo ee /usr/local/etc/apache24/Includes/app.example.com.conf

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 Add the following configurations to the file. 

 

 apacheconf Copy 

 

 

 

 

 <VirtualHost *:80>

 ServerAdmin webmaster@yourdomain.com

 DocumentRoot "/usr/local/www/apache24/app.example.com/"

 ServerName app.example.com

 <Directory "/usr/local/www/apache24/app.example.com/">

 Options Indexes FollowSymLinks

 AllowOverride All

 Require all granted

 DirectoryIndex index.php index.html

 </Directory>

 ErrorLog "/var/log/app.example.com-error.log"

</VirtualHost>

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 Save the file and exit the text editor. 

 The above Apache configuration creates a new virtual host that listens for connections using the domain  app.example.com  on the default HTTP port  80 . All PHP requests are forwarded to PHP-FPM on the host port  9000  applied in your main Apache configuration. 

 

 

 Test the Apache configuration for errors. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo apachectl configtest

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 Output: 

 Performing sanity check on apache24 configuration:

AH00558: httpd: Could not reliably determine the server's fully qualified domain name, using 127.0.0.1. Set the 'ServerName' directive globally to suppress this message

Syntax OK 

 

 

 Restart Apache to apply the new virtual host configuration. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo service apache24 restart

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 Access your domain using a web browser and verify that you can access the PHP web application. 

 http://app.example.com 

 

 

 

 Secure the Server 

 

 

 Install the Certbot Let's Encrypt client for Apache. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo pkg install py39-certbot-apache

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 Run the following commands to enable the Apache  mod_rewrite  and  mod_ssl  modules to allow SSL configurations on your web server. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo sed -i '' 's/#LoadModule rewrite_module libexec\/apache24\/mod_rewrite.so/LoadModule rewrite_module libexec\/apache24\/mod_rewrite.so/' /usr/local/etc/apache24/httpd.conf

$ sudo sed -i '' 's/#LoadModule ssl_module libexec\/apache24\/mod_ssl.so/LoadModule ssl_module libexec\/apache24\/mod_ssl.so/' /usr/local/etc/apache24/httpd.conf

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 The above commands uncomment and enable the following directives in the  /usr/local/etc/apache24/httpd.conf  Apache configuration file: 

 

 apacheconf Copy 

 

 

 

 

 LoadModule ssl_module libexec/apache24/mod_ssl.so

LoadModule rewrite_module libexec/apache24/mod_rewrite.so

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 Generate a new SSL certificate for your domain. Replace  app.example.com  with your actual domain. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo certbot --apache -d app.example.com --agree-tos

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 Test the Certbot SSL certificate automatic renewal process. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo certbot renew --dry-run

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 Output: 

 Account registered.

Simulating renewal of an existing certificate for app.example.com

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Congratulations, all simulated renewals succeeded: 

 /usr/local/etc/letsencrypt/live/app.example.com/fullchain.pem (success)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

 

 

 Restart Apache to apply your SSL configuration changes. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo service apache24 restart

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 Create a new Packet Filter ( pf ) firewall configuration. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo ee /etc/pf.conf

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 Add the following configurations to the file. Replace  vtnet0  with your public server interface name. 

 

 ini Copy 

 

 

 

 

 ext_interface = "vtnet0" # The external server interface

pass quick on lo0 all # Allow all connections on the loopback interface

# Filter rules

block in all # Block incoming unpermitted traffic

pass out all keep state # Allow outgoing traffic

pass in on $ext_interface proto tcp from any to any port 22 keep state # Allow SSH

pass in on $ext_interface proto tcp from any to any port 80 keep state # Allow HTTP

pass in on $ext_interface proto tcp from any to any port 443 keep state # Allow HTTPS

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 Save the file and exit the text editor. 

 The above firewall configuration enables network connections to the SSH port  22 , HTTP port  80 , and the HTTPS port  443 . In addition, the firewall blocks any other network connections to other ports on your server. 

 

 

 Enable the firewall to automatically start at boot. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo sysrc pf_enable="YES"

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 Output: 

 pf_enable: NO -> YES 

 

 

 Load your firewall configuration. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo pfctl -f /etc/pf.conf

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 

 

 Start the Packet Filter firewall. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo pfctl -e

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 Output: 

 pf enabled 

 

 

 View all firewall rules and verify that your SSH, HTTP, and HTTPS ports are available. 

 

 console Copy 

 

 

 

 

 $ sudo pfctl -sr

 

 

 

 

 

 Explain Code 

 Output: 

 pass quick on lo0 all flags S/SA keep state

block drop in all

pass in on vtnet0 proto tcp from any to any port = ssh flags S/SA keep state

pass in on vtnet0 proto tcp from any to any port = http flags S/SA keep state

pass in on vtnet0 proto tcp from any to any port = https flags S/SA keep state

pass out all flags S/SA keep state 

 

 

 Access your domain using HTTPS to verify that your SSL certificate is valid and encrypted by the Apache web server. 

 https://app.example.com 

 

 

 Conclusion 

 You have successfully installed the Apache, MySQL, and PHP (FAMP) stack on your FreeBSD 14.0 server. All applications in the stack run collectively on the server to deliver dynamic web applications. You can configure the Apache web server and set up MySQL databases to securely deliver web applications or frameworks such as WordPress on your server.