How To Deploy a LAMP Stack Application on Amazon Lightsail

Amazon Lightsail is a simplified AWS platform that provides for deploying and managing web applications. It's designed to make it easy for users who may not have extensive AWS experience. Here's a step-by-step guide on deploying a Bitnami LAMP stack Web Server application (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP/Python/Perl) on AWS Lightsail.

How to use AWS Lightsail to deploy a LAMP stack application​

Prerequisites​

• AWS Account
  • Ensure that you have an AWS account. If you don't have one, you can create it at AWS Console.
• AWS Lightsail
  • Log in to the AWS Lightsail Console.

Steps​

• Create a Lightsail Instance:
  • Click on the "Create instance" button.
  • Choose the "Linux/Unix" platform.
  • Choose the "OS Only" blueprint.
  • Select the latest version of Ubuntu or your preferred Linux distribution.
  • Choose an instance plan based on your requirements.
  • Enter a unique name for your instance.
  • Click on the "Create instance" button.
• Connect to your Lightsail Instance:
  • Once the instance is running, click on it in the Lightsail console.
  • Go to the "Connect" tab.
  • Use the provided SSH key to connect to your instance using an SSH client.
• Update Packages:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

Install LAMP Components:​

• Install Apache, MySQL, and PHP on your instance:
  sudo apt install apache2 mysql-server php libapache2-mod-php php-mysql
• Follow the on-screen prompts to set up MySQL.
• Configure Apache:
  • Configure Apache to serve your application:
    sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/000-default.conf
    • Update the <VirtualHost> block to point to your web application directory.
  • Restart Apache:
    sudo systemctl restart apache2
• Upload Your Application:
  • Use SCP or any preferred method to upload your web application files to the server. Place them in the directory specified in the Apache configuration.
• Database Configuration:
  • If your application uses MySQL, create a database and user:

mysql -u root -p  CREATE DATABASE your_database_name; CREATE USER 'your_username'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_password'; GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON your_database_name.* TO 'your_username'@'localhost'; FLUSH PRIVILEGES; EXIT;

• Update your application configuration file (e.g., config.php) with the database connection details.
• Finalize Security:
  • Consider securing your server, like configuring a firewall, securing MySQL, and enabling HTTPS.
• Access Your Application:
  • Open your web browser and enter your Lightsail instance's public IP address or domain to access your deployed LAMP stack application.

Congratulations! You've successfully deployed a LAMP stack application on AWS Lightsail. Remember to follow best practices for security and maintenance.