LAMP stack is a popular software bundle used for hosting web applications and websites. It consists of Linux, Apache (web server), MySQL (database system), and PHP (programming language). In this article, we will go through the steps required to install and configure LAMP stack on the CentOS 7 operating system.

Prerequisites

Before we begin, make sure you have:

• Access to the root account or a user with sudo privileges.
• Basic knowledge of working in the Linux terminal.

Step 1: Installing Apache

Apache is a freely available and open-source web server. To install it, open the terminal and enter the following command:

sudo yum install httpd

After installation, start Apache and set it to start automatically on system boot:

sudo systemctl start httpd.service
sudo systemctl enable httpd.service

To verify that Apache is running, open your web browser and enter your server's address (e.g., http://your_ip_address/). You should see the default Apache page.

Step 2: Installing MySQL (MariaDB)

CentOS 7 uses MariaDB as the default database management system, which is binary-compatible replacement for MySQL. To install MariaDB, use the following command:

sudo yum install mariadb-server mariadb

Then, start MariaDB and enable it to start automatically:

sudo systemctl start mariadb
sudo systemctl enable mariadb.service

It is a good practice to secure MariaDB by running the mysql_secure_installation script, which guides you through setting a root password, removing anonymous users, disallowing remote root login, and removing the test database.

Step 3: Installing PHP

PHP is a programming language used for developing web applications. To install PHP along with some common modules, enter:

sudo yum install php php-mysql

After installation, restart Apache to apply the changes made by installing PHP:

sudo systemctl restart httpd.service

To test that PHP is properly installed and configured, create a PHP test file in the web server's root directory:

echo "<?php phpinfo(); ?>" > /var/www/HTML/phpinfo.php

Then, navigate to http://your_ip_address/phpinfo.php in your web browser. You should see a page displaying information about PHP configuration.

 

You now have LAMP stack installed and rudimentarily configured on your CentOS 7 server. This setup serves as the foundation for hosting web applications and websites. Further steps involve more detailed configuration of components according to the specific needs of your project.