LEMP Stack

🎯 Goal

Learn to manually install and configure a LEMP stack (Linux, Nginx, MySQL, PHP) on Ubuntu and create a simple PHP contact form application with database storage.

📋 Prerequisites

Before beginning this tutorial, you should:

• Have an Ubuntu 24.04 VM running on Azure
• Have SSH access to your VM
• Understand basic Linux command line operations
• Be familiar with basic HTML and PHP concepts

📚 Learning Objectives

By the end of this tutorial, you will:

🎯 Goal

Learn essential security practices to harden your LEMP stack application, transforming the basic educational setup into a more production-ready deployment with proper security measures.

📋 Prerequisites

Before beginning this tutorial, you should:

• Have completed Tutorial 1: Manual LEMP Stack Installation
• Have a working LEMP stack with the contact form application
• Understand basic Linux system administration
• Be familiar with web application security concepts

📚 Learning Objectives

By the end of this tutorial, you will:

🎯 Goal

Install and configure phpMyAdmin to provide a web-based graphical interface for managing your MySQL database, making it easier to view data, run queries, and perform database administration tasks.

📋 Prerequisites

Before beginning this tutorial, you should:

• Have completed Tutorial 1: Manual LEMP Stack Installation
• Have a working MySQL database with the contact form application
• Understand basic database concepts (tables, records, queries)
• Have SSH access to your Ubuntu VM

📚 Learning Objectives

By the end of this tutorial, you will:

🎯 Goal

Configure SSL/TLS encryption for your LEMP stack application using Nginx SSL offloading, providing secure HTTPS connections for your web application and phpMyAdmin interface.

📋 Prerequisites

Before beginning this tutorial, you should:

• Have completed Tutorial 1: Manual LEMP Stack Installation
• Have a working Nginx web server serving your application
• Have SSH access to your Ubuntu VM
• Understand basic concepts of SSL/TLS encryption
• Recommended: Configure your VM with a static public IP address (see note below)
• For Part 2 (Let’s Encrypt): Own a registered domain name pointing to your VM’s public IP

⚠️ Important: Static IP Recommendation

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🎯 Goal

Set up a free subdomain using DuckDNS that points to your Azure VM, enabling you to use Let’s Encrypt SSL certificates and access your application with a memorable domain name instead of an IP address.

📋 Prerequisites

Before beginning this tutorial, you should:

• Have an Azure VM running with a static public IP address
• Know your VM’s public IP address
• Have an email address for account registration
• Understand basic DNS concepts (A records, domain resolution)

📚 Learning Objectives

By the end of this tutorial, you will: