This article describes steps one can take to install and use phpBB on Ubuntu Linux with Nginx support.
phpBB is a free flat-forum bulletin board software written in PHP. It enables individuals and webmasters to set up community bulletin boards in minutes to stay in touch with group of people or ideas.
phpBB requires the LAMP or LEMP stack to function. It is free, easy to setup and maintain. Many reputable online forum communities use this software to run their bulletin boards.
If you’re looking for a feature-rich, efficient and free community bulletin board software, then you may want to consider phpBB.
How to install and use phpBB on Ubuntu Linux with Nginx
As described above, phpBB is a free flat-forum bulletin board software written in PHP. It enables individuals and webmasters to set up community bulletin boards in minutes to stay in touch with group of people or ideas.
Install Nginx
phpBB is PHP-based and requires a webserver. For this article, we’re going to be using Nginx HTTP server.
Run the commands below to install Nginx on Ubuntu Linux.
sudo apt update sudo apt install nginx
Next, run the commands below to stop, start and enable Nginx service to always start up with the server boots.
sudo systemctl stop nginx.service sudo systemctl start nginx.service sudo systemctl enable nginx.service
Install MariaDB
phpBB also requires a database server to function. MariaDB database server is a great place to start when looking for an open source database server to use.
To install it run the commands below.
sudo apt install mariadb-server mariadb-client
After installing, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable MariaDB service to always start up when the server boots.
sudo systemctl stop mariadb.service sudo systemctl start mariadb.service sudo systemctl enable mariadb.service
After that, run the commands below to secure MariaDB server.
sudo mysql_secure_installation
When prompted, answer the questions below by following the guide.
- Enter current password for root (enter for none): Just press the Enter
- Set root password? [Y/n]: Y
- New password: Enter password
- Re-enter new password: Repeat password
- Remove anonymous users? [Y/n]: Y
- Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n]: Y
- Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n]: Y
- Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n]: Y
Install PHP-FPM and Related Modules
phpBB, a PHP-based software will require the below PHP. To install PHP and related modules run the commands below
sudo apt install php-fpm php-common php-mbstring php-xmlrpc php-soap php-gd php-xml php-intl php-mysql php-cli php-mcrypt php-ldap php-zip php-curl
After installing PHP, run the commands below to open Nginx PHP default file.
sudo nano /etc/php/7.1/fpm/php.ini sudo nano /etc/php/7.0/fpm/php.ini
Then change the following lines below in the file and save. You may increase the value to suite your environment.
max_execution_time = 180 max_input_time = 60 memory_limit = 256M upload_max_filesize = 64M
Create phpBB Database
Now that you’ve install all the packages that are required, continue below to start configuring the servers.
First create a phpBB database.
Run the commands below to logon to MariaDB. When prompted for a password, type the root password you created above.
sudo mysql -u root -p
Then create a database called phpbb
CREATE DATABASE phpbb;
Create a database user called phpbbuser with new password
CREATE USER 'phpbbuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new_password_here';
Then grant the user full access to the database.
GRANT ALL ON phpbb.* TO 'phpbbuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'user_password_here' WITH GRANT OPTION;
Finally, save your changes and exit.
FLUSH PRIVILEGES; EXIT;
Download phpBB Latest Release
Next, continue below to download phpBB package. To download, run the commands below.
After downloading, run the commands below to extract the downloaded file into Nginx root directory.
cd /tmp && wget unzip phpBB-3.2.1.zip sudo mv phpBB3 /var/www/html/phpbb
Change or modify the directory permission to fit Nginx configuration.
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/phpbb sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/phpbb
Configure Nginx
Finally, configure an Apache virtual host configuration file for phpBB. This file will control how users’ access phpBB content.
Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called phpbb.conf
sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/phpbb.conf
Then copy and paste the content below into the file and save it. Replace the highlighted line with your own domain name and directory root location.
server {
listen 80;
listen [::]:80;
root /var/www/html/phpbb;
index index.php index.html index.htm;
server_name example.com www.example.com;
location / {
try_files $uri $uri/ @rewriteapp;
}
location /install/ {
try_files $uri $uri/ @rewrite_installapp;
}
location ~ \.php(/|$) {
fastcgi_split_path_info ^(.+\.php)(/.+)$;
fastcgi_index index.php;
fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php7.1-fpm.sock; #Ubuntu 17.10
# fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php7.0-fpm.sock; #Ubuntu 17.04
include fastcgi_params;
fastcgi_param PATH_INFO $fastcgi_path_info;
fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
fastcgi_param DOCUMENT_ROOT $realpath_root;
try_files $uri $uri/ /install/app.php$is_args$args;
}
location @rewrite_installapp {
rewrite ^(.*)$ /install/app.php/$1 last;
}
}
Save the file and exit.
Enable the phpBB and Rewrite Module
After configuring the VirtualHost above, enable it by running the commands below
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/phpbb.conf /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
To load all the settings above, restart Nginx by running the commands below.
sudo systemctl restart nginx.service
Finally, open your browser and browse to the server domain name followed by install.
You should see phpBB setup wizard to complete. Please follow the wizard carefully.
You should see phpBB setup wizard
Create an admin account by typing a username and password.
Enter the database connection details and continue
Accept the server configuration settings and continue.
If you do have a mail server, configure it on this page. if not ignore and continue
Enjoy!
Run the commands below to delete the install directory
sudo rm -rf /var/www/html/phpbb/install
Congratulation! You have successfully installed phpBB bulletin board.
