Simplifying LAMP Stack Hosting with Google Cloud Marketplace

Introduction:

Welcome to our comprehensive guide on deploying a LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) stack application on the Google Cloud Platform (GCP).

What is Lamp Stack?

• L – Linux: This is the operating system that forms the foundation of the stack. Popular distributions for LAMP include Ubuntu, CentOS, and Debian.
• A – Apache: This is the web server software that receives and processes requests from users, such as opening a webpage or submitting a form. Apache is known for its reliability and performance.
• M – MySQL: This is the relational database management system (RDBMS) that stores and manages website data. MySQL is popular for its ease of use and flexibility.
• P – PHP: This is the scripting language used to create dynamic web pages. PHP code is embedded in HTML files and executed by the web server to generate personalized content, handle user interactions, and interact with the database.

1. User makes a request: A user opens a webpage in their browser, sending a request to the web server (Apache).
2. A web server processes the request: Apache interprets the request and searches for the corresponding files (HTML, CSS, JavaScript, etc.) on the server.
3. Dynamic content generation: If the request involves dynamic content, Apache may pass it to a PHP script. This script interacts with the database (MySQL) to retrieve data, perform calculations, or update information.
4. Response sent to the user: The web server combines the static content with the dynamically generated content and sends the final webpage back to the user’s browser.

Getting Started with Google Cloud Platform (GCP):

1. Open the Google Cloud Console and click on the Navigation menu icon. Navigate to the Marketplace.

2. In the Marketplace search bar, type “LAMP” and press ENTER. Look for the Bitnami package for LAMP in the search results.

3. Click on the Bitnami package for LAMP to go to its page. Click on “GET STARTED.”

4. On the Agreements page, tick the box to agree to the terms and click on “AGREE.”

5. After agreeing to the terms, a pop-up will appear. Click on “DEPLOY.”

If it’s your first time using Compute Engine, you need to initialize the Compute Engine API before proceeding.

6. Choose configurations based on your requirements. Click on “DEPLOY.” If a “Welcome to Deployment Manager” message appears, close it.

The deployment status will be visible in the console window. Wait for it to change to has been deployed to confirm the completion of infrastructure deployment.

Once the software installation is done, a summary with instance details, including the site address, will be displayed.

7. After the deployment finishes, click on the Site address link on the right side. If the website doesn’t respond initially, wait for 30 seconds and try again.

8. You can click on “Visit the site” in the “Get started with Bitnami package for LAMP” section. A new tab will open with a congratulations message confirming that the Apache HTTP Server is running as part of the LAMP stack.

9. In the Google Cloud Console, find the “Get Started with LAMP Packaged by Bitnami” section and click on “SSH.”

10. A new window will open, showing a secure login shell session on your virtual machine. In the SSH window, change the current directory to /opt/bitnami.

cd /opt/bitnami

11. To copy the phpinfo.php script to a publicly accessible location under the web server document root, type

sudo sh -c 'echo "<?php phpinfo(); ?>" > apache2/htdocs/phpinfo.php

12. The phpinfo.php script shows your PHP configuration and helps verify a new PHP installation.

13. To close the SSH window, type exit and press Enter.

14. Open a new browser tab and enter the following URL: http://SITE_ADDRESS/phpinfo.php (Replace SITE_ADDRESS with the URL from the “Site address” field on the lampstack page). This will display a summary of your server’s PHP configuration.

15. Deploying Your LAMP Stack Application:
Now that your LAMP stack environment is set up, it’s time to deploy your application. Upload your application files to the appropriate directory on your virtual machine using SCP or SFTP.

Conclusion:

Congratulations! You’ve successfully deployed your LAMP stack application on the Google Cloud Platform. In this tutorial, we covered the essential steps involved in setting up a virtual machine, installing the LAMP stack components, and deploying your application. We hope you found this guide helpful in your journey to the cloud.