{"id":867,"date":"2016-08-30T16:59:21","date_gmt":"2016-08-30T11:29:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pheonixsolutions.com\/blog\/?p=867"},"modified":"2026-08-06T16:02:29","modified_gmt":"2026-08-06T10:32:29","slug":"install-nginx-php-fpm-mariadb-on-centos-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pheonixsolutions.com\/blog\/install-nginx-php-fpm-mariadb-on-centos-7\/","title":{"rendered":"Install Nginx, PHP-fpm, Mariadb on Centos 7"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Setting up a reliable and high-performance web server is one of the first steps in hosting dynamic web applications. The LEMP stack<\/strong>\u2014Linux, Nginx, MariaDB, and PHP-FPM\u2014is a popular choice due to its speed, stability, and efficient resource utilization. Although CentOS 7<\/strong> has reached its end of life, many organizations continue to maintain legacy servers that require ongoing support and administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to install and configure MariaDB<\/strong>, Nginx<\/strong>, and PHP-FPM<\/strong> on a CentOS 7 server. You’ll also learn how to deploy a WordPress<\/strong> website by configuring a virtual host, creating a database, and completing the WordPress installation. By the end of this guide, you’ll have a fully functional LEMP environment capable of hosting PHP-based applications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Step 1: Install MariaDB<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Add the MariaDB Repository<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Create a new repository file.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

vi \/etc\/yum.repos.d\/MariaDB.repo<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Add the following content:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
# MariaDB 10.1 CentOS repository\n[mariadb]\nname = MariaDB\nbaseurl = http:\/\/yum.mariadb.org\/10.1\/centos7-amd64\ngpgkey = https:\/\/yum.mariadb.org\/RPM-GPG-KEY-MariaDB\ngpgcheck = 1<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Install MariaDB<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
yum install -y MariaDB-server MariaDB-client<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Enable and start the service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
systemctl enable mariadb\nsystemctl start mariadb<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Verify the status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
systemctl status mariadb<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Secure MariaDB Installation<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Run the security script to remove anonymous users, disable remote root login, and remove the test database.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
mysql_secure_installation<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Step 2: Install Nginx<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Create the Nginx Repository<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
vi \/etc\/yum.repos.d\/nginx.repo<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Add:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
[nginx]\nname=nginx repo\nbaseurl=http:\/\/nginx.org\/packages\/centos\/$releasever\/$basearch\/\ngpgcheck=0\nenabled=1<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Install Nginx<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
yum install -y nginx<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Enable and start the service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
systemctl enable nginx\nsystemctl start nginx<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Check the status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
systemctl status nginx<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Step 3: Install PHP-FPM and Required Extensions<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Install PHP-FPM along with commonly used PHP extensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
yum install -y \\\nphp-fpm \\\nphp-cli \\\nphp-mysql \\\nphp-gd \\\nphp-ldap \\\nphp-odbc \\\nphp-pdo \\\nphp-pecl-memcache \\\nphp-pear \\\nphp-mbstring \\\nphp-xml \\\nphp-xmlrpc \\\nphp-snmp \\\nphp-soap<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Step 4: Improve PHP Security<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Edit the PHP configuration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
vi \/etc\/php.ini<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Locate the following setting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
expose_php = Off<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
This prevents PHP from exposing its version information in HTTP headers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Step 5: Configure PHP-FPM<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Edit the PHP-FPM pool configuration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
vi \/etc\/php-fpm.d\/www.conf<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Ensure the following line is enabled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
listen = 127.0.0.1:9000<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Start and enable PHP-FPM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
systemctl enable php-fpm\nsystemctl start php-fpm<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Step 6: Create a Website User<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Create a dedicated user for the website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
useradd wordpress -d \/var\/www\/wordpress<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Create the document root.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
mkdir -p \/var\/www\/wordpress\/html<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Assign ownership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
chown -R wordpress:wordpress \/var\/www\/wordpress<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Step 7: Configure Nginx<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Enable Virtual Hosts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Edit the main Nginx configuration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
vi \/etc\/nginx\/nginx.conf<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Inside the http<\/code> block, add:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
include \/etc\/nginx\/sites-enabled\/*.conf;<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Create the directory if it does not exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
mkdir -p \/etc\/nginx\/sites-enabled<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Create a Virtual Host<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
vi \/etc\/nginx\/sites-enabled\/domain.conf<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Replace sites.tld<\/code> and www.sites.tld<\/code> with your domain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
server {\n    listen 80;\n    server_name sites.tld www.sites.tld;\n\n    root \/var\/www\/wordpress\/html;\n    index index.php index.html index.htm;\n\n    location \/ {\n        try_files $uri $uri\/ =404;\n    }\n\n    location ~ \\.php$ {\n        fastcgi_pass 127.0.0.1:9000;\n        fastcgi_index index.php;\n        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;\n        include fastcgi_params;\n    }\n\n    error_page 500 502 503 504 \/50x.html;\n\n    location = \/50x.html {\n        root \/var\/www\/wordpress\/html;\n    }\n}<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Restart the services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
systemctl restart nginx\nsystemctl restart php-fpm<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Step 8: Install WordPress<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Navigate to the document root.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
cd \/var\/www\/wordpress\/html<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Download the latest WordPress release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
wget https:\/\/wordpress.org\/latest.tar.gz<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Extract the archive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
tar -xzf latest.tar.gz<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Copy the files.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
cp -pr wordpress\/* .<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Remove unnecessary files.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
rm -rf wordpress latest.tar.gz<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Step 9: Create the WordPress Database<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Log in to MariaDB.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
mysql<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Create a database and user.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
CREATE DATABASE wordpress;\n\nGRANT ALL PRIVILEGES\nON wordpress.*\nTO 'wordpress'@'localhost'\nIDENTIFIED BY 'StrongPasswordHere';\n\nFLUSH PRIVILEGES;\n\nEXIT;<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n
Step 10: Complete the Installation<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
Open your browser and visit your domain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
http:\/\/your-domain.com<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Follow the WordPress installation wizard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You’ll be asked for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n