Introduction

Nginx (pronounced "engine-x") is a high-performance web server, known for its speed, stability, and low resource consumption. Combined with PHP-FPM (FastCGI Process Manager), it forms a powerful stack for hosting modern PHP applications like WordPress, Laravel, Symfony, or Drupal.

Why Choose Nginx + PHP-FPM?

Versions Included per OS

📋 Prerequisites

• A VPS with Ubuntu 24.04 LTS or Debian 13 "Trixie"
• Root access or user with sudo privileges
• Established SSH connection
• Domain name pointing to the VPS IP (optional but recommended)

🔄 Step 1: System Update

Before any installation, update the system packages:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

If a reboot is required:

[ -f /var/run/reboot-required ] && sudo reboot

📦 Step 2: Install Nginx

Installation

sudo apt install nginx -y

Verify the Installation

nginx -v

Expected Output:

• Debian 13: nginx version: nginx/1.26.x
• Ubuntu 24.04: nginx version: nginx/1.24.x

Check Service Status

sudo systemctl status nginx

The service should display active (running).

Nginx Management Commands

Configure Firewall (UFW)

If UFW is active, allow HTTP and HTTPS traffic:

# Check UFW status
sudo ufw status

# Allow Nginx (HTTP + HTTPS)
sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full'

# Or allow separately
sudo ufw allow 80/tcp
sudo ufw allow 443/tcp

Test the Installation

Open your browser and access http://YOUR_VPS_IP. You should see the Nginx welcome page with "Welcome to nginx!" message.

🐘 Step 3: Install PHP-FPM

For Debian 13 "Trixie" (PHP 8.4)

sudo apt install php8.4-fpm php8.4-cli php8.4-common php8.4-mysql \
php8.4-zip php8.4-gd php8.4-mbstring php8.4-curl php8.4-xml \
php8.4-bcmath php8.4-intl php8.4-soap php8.4-opcache php8.4-readline -y

For Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (PHP 8.3)

sudo apt install php8.3-fpm php8.3-cli php8.3-common php8.3-mysql \
php8.3-zip php8.3-gd php8.3-mbstring php8.3-curl php8.3-xml \
php8.3-bcmath php8.3-intl php8.3-soap php8.3-opcache php8.3-readline -y

Install Specific Version via PPA (Ubuntu Only)

If you need a different PHP version on Ubuntu:

# Add Ondřej PPA repository
sudo apt install software-properties-common -y
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php -y
sudo apt update

# Example: Install PHP 8.4
sudo apt install php8.4-fpm php8.4-cli php8.4-common php8.4-mysql \
php8.4-zip php8.4-gd php8.4-mbstring php8.4-curl php8.4-xml \
php8.4-bcmath php8.4-intl php8.4-soap php8.4-opcache -y

Verify PHP Installation

php -v

Expected Output:

• Debian 13: PHP 8.4.x (cli)
• Ubuntu 24.04: PHP 8.3.x (cli)

Check PHP-FPM Status

Debian 13:

sudo systemctl status php8.4-fpm

Ubuntu 24.04:

sudo systemctl status php8.3-fpm

The service should display active (running).

Identify PHP-FPM Socket

The socket is crucial for communication between Nginx and PHP:

ls /run/php/

Typical Output:

• Debian 13: php8.4-fpm.sock
• Ubuntu 24.04: php8.3-fpm.sock

⚙️ Step 4: Configure Nginx for PHP-FPM

Modify Default Configuration

Edit the default configuration file:

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/default

Configuration for Debian 13 (PHP 8.4)

server {
    listen 80 default_server;
    listen [::]:80 default_server;

    root /var/www/html;
    index index.php index.html index.htm;

    server_name _;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }

    # PHP-FPM Configuration
    location ~ \.php$ {
        include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.4-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        include fastcgi_params;
    }

    # Block access to .htaccess files
    location ~ /\.ht {
        deny all;
    }
}

Configuration for Ubuntu 24.04 (PHP 8.3)

server {
    listen 80 default_server;
    listen [::]:80 default_server;

    root /var/www/html;
    index index.php index.html index.htm;

    server_name _;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ =404;
    }

    # PHP-FPM Configuration
    location ~ \.php$ {
        include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.3-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        include fastcgi_params;
    }

    # Block access to .htaccess files
    location ~ /\.ht {
        deny all;
    }
}

Test the Configuration

sudo nginx -t

Expected Output:

nginx: the configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf syntax is ok
nginx: configuration file /etc/nginx/nginx.conf test is successful

Reload Nginx

sudo systemctl reload nginx

✅ Step 5: Test PHP with Nginx

Create a PHP Test File

echo "<?php phpinfo(); ?>" | sudo tee /var/www/html/info.php

Access the Test Page

Open your browser: http://YOUR_IP_VPS/info.php

You should see the phpinfo() page displaying:

• PHP Version (8.4.x or 8.3.x)
• Server API: FPM/FastCGI
• Installed Extensions
• Configuration Variables

Delete the Test File (Security)

sudo rm /var/www/html/info.php

⚠️ Security: Never leave a phpinfo() file in production, as it exposes sensitive information.

🌐 Step 6: Create a Virtual Host (Server Block)

Virtual hosts allow hosting multiple sites on the same server.

Create Site Directory

sudo mkdir -p /var/www/monsite.com/html
sudo chown -R $USER:$USER /var/www/monsite.com
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/monsite.com

Create Homepage

nano /var/www/monsite.com/html/index.php

Add:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="fr">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <title>Welcome to MonSite.com</title>
    <style>
        body { font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: center; padding: 50px; }
        h1 { color: #333; }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>MonSite.com is working!</h1>
    <p>Nginx + PHP-FPM configured successfully.</p>
    <p>PHP Version: <?php echo phpversion(); ?></p>
</body>
</html>

Create Virtual Host Configuration

sudo nano /etc/nginx/sites-available/monsite.com

For Debian 13 (PHP 8.4):

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;

    server_name monsite.com www.monsite.com;
    root /var/www/monsite.com/html;

    index index.php index.html index.htm;

    # Logs
    access_log /var/log/nginx/monsite.com.access.log;
    error_log /var/log/nginx/monsite.com.error.log;

    location / {
        try_files $uri $uri/ /index.php?$query_string;
    }

    # PHP-FPM
    location ~ \.php$ {
        include snippets/fastcgi-php.conf;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.4-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        include fastcgi_params;
    }

    # Security - block hidden files
    location ~ /\. {
        deny all;
    }

    # Cache for static files
    location ~* \.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif|ico|css|js|pdf|txt|woff|woff2|ttf|svg)$ {
        expires 30d;
        add_header Cache-Control "public, no-transform";
    }
}

For Ubuntu 24.04 (PHP 8.3): Replace php8.4-fpm.sock with php8.3-fpm.sock.

Enable the Virtual Host

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/monsite.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

Disable Default Site (Optional)

sudo rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/default

Test and Reload

sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl reload nginx

🔒 Step 7: Install an SSL Certificate (Let's Encrypt)

Install Certbot

sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

Obtain an SSL Certificate

sudo certbot --nginx -d monsite.com -d www.monsite.com

Follow the instructions:

1. Enter your email address
2. Agree to the terms
3. Choose to redirect HTTP to HTTPS (recommended)

Check Automatic Renewal

sudo certbot renew --dry-run

⚡ Step 8: Optimize PHP-FPM

PHP-FPM Pool Configuration

Debian 13:

sudo nano /etc/php/8.4/fpm/pool.d/www.conf

Ubuntu 24.04:

sudo nano /etc/php/8.3/fpm/pool.d/www.conf

Recommended Parameters based on RAM

VPS 1-2 GB RAM:

pm = dynamic
pm.max_children = 10
pm.start_servers = 2
pm.min_spare_servers = 1
pm.max_spare_servers = 3
pm.max_requests = 500

VPS 4 GB RAM:

pm = dynamic
pm.max_children = 25
pm.start_servers = 5
pm.min_spare_servers = 3
pm.max_spare_servers = 10
pm.max_requests = 1000

VPS 8+ GB RAM:

pm = dynamic
pm.max_children = 50
pm.start_servers = 10
pm.min_spare_servers = 5
pm.max_spare_servers = 20
pm.max_requests = 2000

sudo nginx -t
sudo systemctl restart nginx

# Security Headers
add_header X-Frame-Options "SAMEORIGIN" always;
add_header X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff" always;
add_header X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block" always;
add_header Referrer-Policy "strict-origin-when-cross-origin" always;
add_header Permissions-Policy "geolocation=(), microphone=(), camera=()" always;

# Limiting zones
limit_req_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=one:10m rate=10r/s;
limit_conn_zone $binary_remote_addr zone=addr:10m;

location / {
    limit_req zone=one burst=20 nodelay;
    limit_conn addr 10;
}

# Nginx
sudo systemctl start|stop|restart|reload|status nginx

# PHP-FPM (Debian 13)
sudo systemctl start|stop|restart|status php8.4-fpm

# PHP-FPM (Ubuntu 24.04)
sudo systemctl start|stop|restart|status php8.3-fpm

# Test Nginx config
sudo nginx -t

# Test PHP-FPM config (Debian 13)
sudo php-fpm8.4 -t

# Test PHP-FPM config (Ubuntu 24.04)
sudo php-fpm8.3 -t

# View PHP-FPM processes
ps aux | grep php-fpm

# View active connections
ss -tlnp | grep -E 'nginx|php'

# Real-time logs
sudo tail -f /var/log/nginx/error.log

# Enable a site
sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/monsite.com /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

# Disable a site
sudo rm /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/monsite.com

# List active sites
ls -la /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

# Check PHP-FPM (adjust version)
sudo systemctl status php8.4-fpm

# Check the socket
ls -la /run/php/

# Restart PHP-FPM
sudo systemctl restart php8.4-fpm

# Correct permissions
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/monsite.com
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/monsite.com

# Check socket version
ls /run/php/

# Compare with Nginx config
grep fastcgi_pass /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/*

# Update
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Nginx
sudo apt install nginx -y

# PHP-FPM 8.4
sudo apt install php8.4-fpm php8.4-cli php8.4-common php8.4-mysql \
php8.4-zip php8.4-gd php8.4-mbstring php8.4-curl php8.4-xml \
php8.4-bcmath php8.4-intl php8.4-opcache -y

# Firewall
sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full'

# SSL
sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y

# Update
sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

# Nginx
sudo apt install nginx -y

# PHP-FPM 8.3
sudo apt install php8.3-fpm php8.3-cli php8.3-common php8.3-mysql \
php8.3-zip php8.3-gd php8.3-mbstring php8.3-curl php8.3-xml \
php8.3-bcmath php8.3-intl php8.3-opcache -y

# Firewall
sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full'

# SSL
sudo apt install certbot python3-certbot-nginx -y