02 Oct

How to Setup Joomla Server + MySQL + Apache on Azure/AWS/GCP

To setup and install Joomla on any of the cloud platforms, the recommended way is to deploy using the publicly available image. Setup Joomla Server on Ubuntu, Debian or CentOS. The image comes pre configured with the full LAMP Stack – Apache Web Server, MySQL Server, phpMyadmin. Check out the links below to deploy to your preferred cloud provider.

Setup Joomla on Azure

Deploy Joomla on Ubuntu 20.04

Deploy Joomla Server on Debian 11

Setup Joomla on AWS

Deploy Joomla on Ubuntu Server 24.04

Deploy Joomla on Debian 12 Server

Setup Joomla on GCP

Deploy Joomla on Ubuntu Server 20.04

Getting Started

Once your Joomla server has been deployed, the following links explain how to connect to a Linux VM:

Once connected and logged in, the following sections explains how to run through the Joomla installation, using MySQL and Apache Web Server.

Joomla Installation

Once logged into your server via ssh terminal, the first step is to reset the MySQL root user account and create a new MySQL database that will be used by Joomla. Run the following command to reset the MySQL root password:

				
					mysql --user=root --password
 
Enter password: mysql1234
 
ALTER USER 'root'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED WITH mysql_native_password BY 'your_pass_here';
 
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Note: If the above gives an ‘Access denied‘ message, try the following instead, as some OS versions have MySQL/MariaDB:

				
					sudo mysql

Password is blank, hit enter if it asks for a password.

Create MySQL Database for Joomla

Next step is to create a new MySQL user account and MySQL database that will be used for Joomla.

Run the following command to create a new MySQL User:

				
					CREATE USER 'newuser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'some_very_complex_password';
 
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON * . * TO 'newuser'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;

Run the following command to create a new MySQL database:

				
					CREATE DATABASE joomladb;

Start Joomla Installation

Once you’ve setup your MySQL database, you’re now ready to start the quick Joomla setup. Simply browse to the server IP address in your browser and you will see a similar screen depending on your Joomla version:

Note: If you see a LAMP home page, run the following command to delete and then reload the webpage, otherwise continue with the Joomla installation wizard:

				
					sudo rm /var/www/html/index.html

Joomla Installation Wizard

Simply fill out your new site details, email address and super user account details that will be used to login to the Joomla CMS. Press Next and then fill out the database details and follow the onscreen instructions and that will complete the setup of Joomla.

Setting up Joomla Mail Settings

To use the mail settings on Joomla, there are some configuration steps to make. From your SSH terminal run the following command to setup SendMail:

On Ubuntu/Debian Server Run

				
					sudo sendmailconfig

Answer [Y] to all questions for sendmail config.

Next is to restart Apache, depending on which version of Apache is installed, try either of the following commands:

				
					sudo /etc/init.d/httpd restart 
sudo /etc/init.d/sendmail restart

				
					sudo systemctl restart apache2
sudo /etc/init.d/sendmail restart

On CentOS Server Run:

sudo service sendmail restart

Next login to the admin area of Joomla, if you browse to > Global Configuration > Server > Mail Settings, i recommend setting up SMTP authentication. In the screenshot below i’ve set it up to use Office365

Joomla Login URL

The URL to login to Joomla is

http://YourPublicIP/administrator

http://YourPrivateIP/administrator

Using phpMyadmin to manage MySQL databases

To login to phpmyadmin, browse to the following URL on your web browser (use http):

http://yourserverip/phpmyadmin

Support / Documentation

If you experience any issues on getting this Joomla server setup on any of the cloud platforms, please contact us and we will assist

For documentation, please refer to the following links:

Using Joomla

https://docs.joomla.org/Main_Page

Using MySQL:

https://dev.mysql.com/doc/mysql-getting-started/en/

Using phpMyadmin:

https://docs.phpmyadmin.net/en/latest/

Using Apache:

http://httpd.apache.org/docs/

Joomla Firewall Ports

Default MySQL port is: TCP 3306

Joomla Apache HTTP : TCP 80

Joomla Apache TLS: TCP 443

The links below explain how to modify / create firewall rules depending on which cloud platform you are using.

To setup AWS firewall rules refer to – AWS Security Groups

To setup Azure firewall rules refer to – Azure Network Security Groups

To setup Google GCP firewall rules refer to – Creating GCP Firewalls