Setting Up A Ubuntu Webserver To Test Wordpress

[Falcon1986]

Hello all!

I have a Ubuntu 8.10 32-bit desktop installation on my laptop that I would like to use for testing some WordPress stuff before transferring to my Linux-based web host. I found a guide on how to set up a LAMP server. Although this will be a "testing" environment, I don't want the server to start every time I log into Ubuntu.

I have never run virtualization software before, but do you think that would be the best way to go with this? I am thinking about using VirtualBox within Ubuntu then installing the server flavour of the OS to run the server.

What are your thoughts and recommendations? Do you know of a better way of doing this?

Thanks in advance for any input you can provide.

[jcl]

Native would be simpler than virtualized. If you really don't want the daemons running all the time you can control them manually, but I wouldn't bother unless you're short on memory.

[iccaros]

there is no difference in the server version and the desktop version, except the GUI (server version has non by default). The only reason there is a Server version is because some people can not get out of their heads that they should be different.

under system --> administration --> services you can set if a service starts or not at boot..

of wordpress it would be apache..

but as JCL stated.. both apache and mysql take almost no resources unless you are accessing them..

[Falcon1986]

Thanks a lot guys! I'll give it a try without the virtual environment.

[Falcon1986]

EDIT - Please disregard. Seems as though the default files contained within the www folder are locked but can be deleted. I can create and edit new files.

It's me again!

So I got Apache2, MySQL and PHP5 installed successfully using the guide I found here specifically for Ubuntu 8.10 Desktop.

However, I can't seem to assign my username to the www-data group that the tutorial instructs me to make. I believe something is wrong with the command...

useradd falcon1986 www-data

...because I always get a list of possible options that the command should contain. I also came across an alternative using usermod...

usermod -a -G www-data falcon1986

...but that does not help at all. It returns saying that I am already a member of that group. If it matters any, I noticed the same thing through GUI of System > Administration > Users and Groups. I have logged out and logged back in on every attempt, but whenever I try to edit files in /home/falcon1986/www I get the warning...

Could not save the file /home/falcon1986/www/index.html.

You do not have the permissions necessary to save the file. Please check that you typed the location correctly and try again.

...and the file icons themselves have a padlock emblem on them.

How do I get around this? Thanks for your input.

Edited February 22, 2009 by Falcon1986

[jcl]

IMO it's easier to use mod_userdir. When it's enabled (and properly configured) http://host/~user/ will be mapped to ~user/public_html/. This is a nice private directory owned by the user, so you don't have screw around with groups and file ownership. Just

# Permit traversal of $HOME
$ chmod o+x ~
# Permit read and traversal of public_html
$ chmod o+rx ~/public_html
# Permit read and traversal of directories
$ find ~/public_html -type d -exec chmod o+rx {} \;
# Permit read of normal files
$ find ~/public_html -type f -exec chmod o+r {} \;

(You can limit access to the www-data group with ACLs, but even writing ACL I can feel my sanity slipping away....)

I don't think I've ever used the global www directories on my private servers; everything goes into userdirs.

If you want to use the global directories or restrict access to ~/public_html to www-data (without ACLs), you can use the newgrp utility to change your current group or sg to execute a command under a different group. I think it's easier to maintain permissions than flip between groups, though, and if you're working in a GUI you might not be able to change your current group on the fly. The chmod g+s in the article you linked to is intended to remove the need to change groups, but it only controls the default group for newly created files.

[Falcon1986]

Thanks, 'jcl'! I believe I'll leave it the way it is for now, since everything is working fine. However, I will remember your recommendation should I need to set up a web directory for another user.

[willams]

Setting up an Ubuntu webserver to test WordPress involves installing Apache, MySQL, and PHP (LAMP stack). First, update your server and install necessary packages. Then, configure MySQL, create a dish network billing problems  database for WordPress, and install WordPress files on the webserver. Finally, configure Apache, set file permissions, and run the WordPress installation through a browser to complete the setup for testing.    

Edited November 8 by willams