Deploy an Ubuntu LAMP Server with Quick Start in InMotion Central

Introduction

Setting up a Linux, Apache, MariaDB, and PHP (LAMP) server by hand takes time—provisioning a virtual machine, configuring firewall rules, installing packages, enabling services, and securing the database root user. Whether you spin up LAMP servers frequently for client projects, want a one-click way to save time, or prefer not to configure every package from scratch, the Ubuntu LAMP Quick Start template in InMotion Central handles the entire setup for you at first boot.

In a few clicks, this template launches an Ubuntu 24.04 LTS server on your private network, assigns a public IP address, opens HTTP and HTTPS traffic, and configures Apache, MariaDB, and PHP automatically so your deployment is ready for your application.

In this tutorial, we'll show you how to deploy an Ubuntu LAMP server using Quick Start in InMotion Central, verify that your installation was successful, and check the software versions that are automatically installed on your server.

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Steps to Deploy the Ubuntu LAMP Template

1. Open Quick Start in Your Cloud Project

1. Log in to InMotion Central and select Projects from the left navigation bar.
2. Open your cloud project and click Quick Start in the project sidebar.
3. Locate the Ubuntu LAMP template card and click Deploy.

2. Configure Your Deployment Settings

In the Deploy Ubuntu LAMP dialog, review or customize the settings for your deployment:

Basic

• Stack name: Enter a name for this deployment (for example, lamp). Use letters, numbers, dots, underscores, or hyphens.
• Server name: Enter a hostname for the new server (defaults to lamp-1).
• Image: Defaults to Ubuntu 24.04 LTS.
• Flavor: Choose the server size (vCPU, RAM, and NVMe storage) that fits your workload.

Application

• Database root password: Enter a strong password (8–64 characters) to set for the MariaDB root user at first boot.

Networking

• If your project already has a private network, select it from the Private network dropdown and keep External selected for Public network.
• If your project does not have a private network yet, InMotion Central automatically offers to create a Private Network + Router deployment first using the prefilled subnet (192.168.10.0/24) and DNS servers (1.1.1.1, 8.8.8.8).

SSH

• SSH key: Select an existing SSH key, click Generate New Key, or click Paste Public Key if you want SSH access to the server.
• SSH whitelist: Confirm the comma-separated IP addresses or CIDR ranges allowed on port 22 (prefilled with your current public IP address). Leave this field empty if you want port 22 closed.

3. Launch and Monitor Your Deployment

1. Click Deploy (or Create Network And Deploy if creating a private network at the same time).
2. Scroll down to My Deployments at the bottom of the Quick Start page to track progress.
3. Wait a couple of minutes while the server boots and installs Apache, MariaDB, and PHP. When setup finishes, the Status column updates to CREATE_COMPLETE.

4. Copy Your Server's Public IP Address

1. Next to your lamp deployment under My Deployments, click Outputs.
2. Copy the floating_ip value—this is your server's public floating IP address.

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How to Know the Installation Was Successful

Once your deployment status reaches CREATE_COMPLETE, you can verify that your LAMP stack is online and serving traffic:

1. Open a browser and navigate to http://<floating_ip> using the floating_ip address from your deployment outputs.
2. Confirm that the Apache2 Ubuntu Default Page ("It works!") loads. This confirms that your virtual machine booted, the firewall rules for port 80 are active, and Apache is running.

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What Was Automatically Installed

If you attached an SSH key and whitelisted your IP address during setup, you can connect to the server as the ubuntu user and inspect the installed packages and services:

ssh ubuntu@<floating_ip>

Running version and service checks on the deployed instance confirms everything configured at first boot:

Check the Ubuntu version installed

1$ lsb_release -ds
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Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS

Check the version of Apache installed

1$ apache2 -v
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Server version: Apache/2.4.58 (Ubuntu)
Server built:   2026-10-08T19:58:01

Check the version of MariaDB installed

1$ mariadb --version
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mariadb  Ver 15.1 Distrib 10.11.14-MariaDB, for debian-linux-gnu (x86_64) using  EditLine wrapper

Check the version of PHP installed

1$ php -v
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PHP 8.3.6 (cli) (built: Oct 19 2026 15:16:58) (NTS)
Copyright (c) The PHP Group

Check that Apache and MariaDB are runningactive
activeYour web root is ready at /var/www/html, and you can sign in to MariaDB (sudo mysql -u root -p) using the Database root password you set when launching the deployment