How to install Drupal 6 on linux Operating System

Hi Everyone,

I am giving the step by step instructions to install Drupal 6 on linux machine. I am giving this steps for Ubuntu 9.10. For any other linux forks you need some small changes.

Apache Installation:

Step 1: Install apache 2 by entering this command in linux terminal.

~$> sudo apt-get install apache2

Step 2: Now apache is installed and running in your system. You can verify this by typing this url on your bowser.

http://localhost/ . It will show the message It works!

Optionally you can check the apache status by entering the below command in terminal.

~$> sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 status
On successful it will show * Apache is running

Step 3: You can any time stop or start or restart apache using the below commands. For drupal to run you need to ensure apache is started and running.

Command to start : ~$> sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 start
Command to stop : ~$> sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 stop
Command to restart : ~$> sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

MySQL Installation:

Step 1: Install MySQL by entering this command in linux terminal.

~$> sudo apt-get install mysql-server-5.1

Step 2: Now MySQL is installed and running in your system.

Optionally you can check the mysql status by entering the below command in terminal.

~$> sudo /etc/init.d/mysql status
On successful it will show

Server version 5.1.37-1ubuntu5.1
Protocol version 10
Connection Localhost via UNIX socket
UNIX socket /var/run/mysqld/mysqld.sock
Uptime: 3 min 30 sec

Step 3: You can any time stop or start or restart MySQL using the below commands. For drupal to run you need to ensure MySQL is started and running.

Command to start : ~$> sudo /etc/init.d/mysql start
Command to stop : ~$> sudo /etc/init.d/mysql stop
Command to restart : ~$> sudo /etc/init.d/mysql restart

PHP Installation:

Step 1 : Execute these commands in linux terminal.

~$> sudo apt-get install php5
~$> sudo apt-get install libapache2-mod-php
~$> sudo aptitude install php5-mysql

Step 2 : Restart apache and mysql
~$>sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart
~$>sudo /etc/init.d/mysql restart

Step 3 : Create a file info.php in /var/www folder with the below code.
<?php
echo phpinfo();
?>
On successful installation of php you will see configuration of php in http://locahost/info.php

PHPMYADMIN INSTALLATION:

Step 1 : Run this command in terminal

~$>sudo aptitude install phpmyadmin

Step 2 : Select Apache as default webserver from the dialog popup.

Step 3 : Restart Apache

~$>sudo /etc/init.d/apache2 restart

Step 4 : Navigate to http://localhost/phpmyadmin You can able to see the phpmyadmin wizard.

Drupal 6 Installation:

Step 1: Download latest drupal 6 from drupal.org

Step 2: Place the downloaded folder in /var/www and exract the contents fro downloaded tar file.

Step 3: Create a database name called druapl6 in mysql using phpmyadmin wizard.

Step 4: Navigate to http://localhost/drupal-6.15/ and follow the instructions.

Step 5: Navigate to /var/www/drupal-6.15/sites/default and copy default.settings.php at the same location and rename it to settings.php and refresh the page to continue installation.

Step 6: Change the permissions of sites/default according to instructions and continue installation. Provide mysql details to install drupal 6.

Step 7: To enable clean urls, enable rewrite_module of apache using command

~$> a2enmod rewrite
~$> sudo gedit /etc/apache2/sites-available/default

Replace AllowOverride None to AllowOverride All

Restart Apache

Enable the clean urls in drupal after installation by navigating to http://localhost/drupal-6.15/admin/settings/clean-urls

Now drupal is installed and successfully running !!

If you have any issues just leave a comment.

Cheers,
Anil Sagar