LAMP Setup and Website Deployment

Steps

1. Install Required Packages:

   • Used the following command:

     sudo apt-get update
     sudo apt-get install apache2 mysql-server php libapache2-mod-php php-mysql

2. Configure Apache:

   • Verified by creating a simple index.html file in /var/www/html.

3. Website Setup:

   • Replaced index.html with index.php.
   • Content of index.php:

     <?php
     echo "Hello World!";
     echo "Your IP is: " . $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'];
     echo "Current time: " . date('Y-m-d H:i:s');
     ?>

   • Tested PHP functionality by accessing the server IP.

4. MySQL Configuration:

   • Secured MySQL installation using mysql_secure_installation.
   • Created database web_db and user web_user with the following commands:

     CREATE DATABASE web_db;
     CREATE USER 'web_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY '<Your-Password-Here>';  
     GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON web_db.* TO 'web_user'@'localhost';
     FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

5. Dynamic Website:

   • Modified index.php to show the visitor’s IP address and the current time.

6. Made Publicly Accessible:

   • Configured the firewall to allow HTTP (port 80) and HTTPS (port 443) traffic:

     sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
     sudo ufw allow 443/tcp

   • Obtained a public IP for the server and linked it to a custom domain using DNS A records.
   • Verified access by visiting ec2-54-208-161-254.compute-1.amazonaws.com
   • or using the IP 54.208.161.254 .
   • if the DNS does not work please try to open it in incognito mode

Architecture Overview

The following diagram represents the simple LAMP stack architecture deployed on AWS:

• Region: Defines the geographical location of the AWS resources.
• VPC (Virtual Private Cloud): Provides an isolated network environment for the resources.
• Public Subnet: Hosts the EC2 instance and ensures it can be accessed from the internet.
• Security Group: Controls inbound and outbound traffic for the EC2 instance.
• EC2 Instance: Runs the LAMP stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, and PHP) and hosts the website.

Explanation:

1. Region: AWS resources are deployed in a specific region.
2. VPC: A logically isolated network created in AWS.
3. Subnet: A public subnet is used to make the server publicly accessible.
4. Security Group: Allows only HTTP (port 80) and SSH (port 22) traffic.
5. EC2 Instance: The instance hosts the website with the LAMP stack installed.

Note:

This architecture is a simple implementation and does not follow best practices for production environments (e.g., no load balancing, auto-scaling, or multi-AZ deployment). It is designed purely for demonstration purposes and may not be suitable for real-world, large-scale applications.

Directory Tree:

/var/www/html
├── .gitignore
├── README.md
├── index.php

Repository Structure

• /var/www/html/
  • .gitignore: Excludes sensitive files like config.php, .env, and *.sql.
  • README.md: Documentation of the LAMP setup and deployment steps.
  • index.php: Main PHP file displaying visitor IP and time.

Troubleshooting

Time Zone Configuration Issue (North Virginia vs. Cairo)

While setting up the LAMP stack on the EC2 instance, I encountered an issue where the server's time zone was set to UTC, as the AWS region was North Virginia. This caused a time discrepancy when checking the server time, as it did not match the local time in Cairo, Egypt. Solution:

To resolve this, I adjusted the server’s time zone to match Cairo's time zone by following these steps:

Check the current time zone:

timedatectl

List available time zones:

timedatectl list-timezones

Set the time zone to Cairo:

sudo timedatectl set-timezone Africa/Cairo

Verify the new time zone setting:

timedatectl

This successfully changed the time zone to Africa/Cairo, ensuring that the server time was aligned with local time.

##===========================================================================================##

Networking Basics

1. IP Address

• An IP Address (Internet Protocol Address) is a numerical label assigned to each device connected to a computer network.
• Purpose:
  • Identifies a device on a network.
  • Facilitates communication between devices on a network (like sending and receiving data).
• Example: 192.168.1.1 (IPv4) or 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334 (IPv6).

2. MAC Address

• A MAC Address (Media Access Control Address) is a unique identifier assigned to a network interface card (NIC) of a device.
• Purpose:
  • Identifies devices at the hardware level within a local network (Layer 2 of OSI model).
  • Used for communication within the same network segment.
• Differences from an IP Address:
  • MAC Address is hardware-based and remains constant, while an IP Address is software-based and can change (e.g., assigned by a DHCP server).
  • Example of a MAC Address: 00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E.

3. Switches, Routers, and Routing Protocols

• Switch:
  • A device that connects devices within a local network (LAN) and uses MAC addresses to forward data.
  • Operates at Layer 2 (Data Link Layer) of the OSI model.
• Router:
  • A device that connects multiple networks and routes data packets between them.
  • Operates at Layer 3 (Network Layer) of the OSI model.
• Routing Protocols:
  • Algorithms used by routers to determine the best path for forwarding packets across a network.
  • Examples: OSPF (Open Shortest Path First), BGP (Border Gateway Protocol), RIP (Routing Information Protocol).

4. Remote Connection to Cloud Instance

• To connect to a cloud-based Linux instance from a remote machine, follow these steps:
  1. Ensure SSH is Installed:
     • Check if SSH is installed on your local machine.
     • For Linux/macOS:

       ssh -V

     • For Windows, use a terminal like PowerShell or an SSH client like PuTTY.
  2. Obtain Your Cloud Instance’s Public IP Address:
     • Retrieve the instance's public IP address from your cloud provider's dashboard.
  3. Connect Using SSH:
     • Use the following command:

       ssh -i /path/to/private-key.pem username@public-ip

     • Replace /path/to/private-key.pem with the path to your private key file, username with the Linux user (e.g., ubuntu), and public-ip with your instance’s IP address.
  4. Verify Connectivity:
     • Once connected, you should see a terminal prompt for the remote server.