Install NextCloud on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS with Nginx, MariaDB and PHP 7.1 Support

I have been messing around with Ubuntu 18.04 LTS server recently…. and the steps below is how I got NextCloud installed with Nginx, MariaDB and PHP 7.1 support….

NextCloud is a true open source, self-hosted cloud storage service and a fork of OwnCloud. Like DropBox and other cloud storage services, NextCloud provides similar functions and unlike the other proprietary storage services, NextCloud is free to use…

NextCloud enables private cloud services on users’ own servers. It’s a self-hosted file sync and share app platforms and with it you can access & sync your files, contacts and data across your devices.

This brief tutorial shows students and new users steps to install and configure NextCloud on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS Servers in your own environment.

To get started with installing NextCloud, follow the steps below:

Step 1: Install Nginx HTTP Server

NextCloud needs a web server and Nginx is a great web server. So, go and install Nginx on Ubuntu by running the commands below:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install nginx

After installing Nginx, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable Nginx service to always start up with the server boots.

sudo systemctl stop nginx.service
sudo systemctl start nginx.service
sudo systemctl enable nginx.service

Step 2: Install MariaDB Server

NextCloud also needs a database… and MariaDB database server is a great place to start. To install it run the commands below.

sudo apt install mariadb-server mariadb-client

After installing, the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable MariaDB service to always start up when the server boots.

sudo systemctl stop mariadb.service
sudo systemctl start mariadb.service
sudo systemctl enable mariadb.service

After that, run the commands below to secure MariaDB server.

sudo mysql_secure_installation

When prompted, answer the questions below by following the guide.

• Enter current password for root (enter for none): Just press the Enter
• Set root password? [Y/n]: Y
• New password: Enter password
• Re-enter new password: Repeat password
• Remove anonymous users? [Y/n]: Y
• Disallow root login remotely? [Y/n]: Y
• Remove test database and access to it? [Y/n]:  Y
• Reload privilege tables now? [Y/n]:  Y

Restart MariaDB server

sudo systemctl restart mariadb.service

Step 3: Install PHP-FPM and Related Modules

PHP 7.1 may not be available in Ubuntu default repositories… in order to install it, you will have to get it from third-party repositories.

Run the commands below to add the below third party repository to upgrade to PHP 7.1

sudo apt-get install software-properties-common
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php

Then update and upgrade to PHP 7.1

sudo apt update

Finally, run the commands below to install PHP 7.1 and related modules..

sudo apt install php7.1-fpm php7.1-mbstring php7.1-xmlrpc php7.1-soap php7.1-apcu php7.1-smbclient php7.1-ldap php7.1-redis php7.1-gd php7.1-xml php7.1-intl php7.1-json php7.1-imagick php7.1-mysql php7.1-cli php7.1-mcrypt php7.1-ldap php7.1-zip php7.1-curl

After install PHP, run the commands below to open FPM PHP default file.

sudo nano /etc/php/7.1/fpm/php.ini

Then make the change the following lines below in the file and save.

file_uploads = On
allow_url_fopen = On
memory_limit = 256M
upload_max_filesize = 100M
display_errors = Off
cgi.fix_pathinfo = 0
date.timezone = America/Chicago

Step 4: Create NextCloud Database

Now that you’ve install all the packages that are required, continue below to start configuring the servers. First run the commands below to create a blank NextCloud database.

To logon to MariaDB database server, run the commands below.

sudo mysql -u root -p

Then create a database called nextcloud

CREATE DATABASE nextcloud;

Create a database user called nextclouduser with new password

CREATE USER 'nextclouduser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'new_password_here';

Then grant the user full access to the database.

GRANT ALL ON nextcloud.* TO 'nextclouduser'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'user_password_here' WITH GRANT OPTION;

Finally, save your changes and exit.

FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Step 5: Download NextCloud Latest Release

Next, visit NextCloud site to download your free copy by running the commands below.

After downloading, run the commands below to extract the downloaded file into Nginx root directory.

cd /tmp && wget https://download.nextcloud.com/server/releases/nextcloud-11.0.1.zip
unzip nextcloud-11.0.1.zip
sudo mv nextcloud /var/www/html/nextcloud/

Then run the commands below to set the correct permissions for NextCloud to function.

sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/nextcloud/
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/nextcloud/

Step 6: Configure Nginx

Finally, configure Nginx site configuration file for NextCloud. This file will control how users access NextCloud content. Run the commands below to create a new configuration file called nextcloud

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

Then copy and paste the content below into the file and save it. Replace the highlighted line with your own domain name and directory root location.

server {
    listen 80;
    listen [::]:80;
    root /var/www/html/nextcloud;
    index  index.php index.html index.htm;
    server_name  example.com www.example.com;

    client_max_body_size 512M;
    fastcgi_buffers 64 4K;

    location / {
        rewrite ^ /index.php$request_uri;
    }

    location ~ ^/(?:build|tests|config|lib|3rdparty|templates|data)/ {
        deny all;
    }
    location ~ ^/(?:\.|autotest|occ|issue|indie|db_|console) {
        deny all;
    }

    location ~ ^/(?:index|remote|public|cron|core/ajax/update|status|ocs/v[12]|updater/.+|ocs-provider/.+)\.php(?:$|/) {
        fastcgi_split_path_info ^(.+?\.php)(/.*)$;
        include fastcgi_params;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
        fastcgi_param PATH_INFO $fastcgi_path_info;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/var/run/php/php7.1-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_intercept_errors on;
        fastcgi_request_buffering off;
    }

    location ~ ^/(?:updater|ocs-provider)(?:$|/) {
        try_files $uri/ =404;
        index index.php;
    }

    location ~ \.(?:css|js|woff|svg|gif)$ {
        try_files $uri /index.php$request_uri;
        add_header Cache-Control "public, max-age=15778463";
        access_log off;
    }

    location ~ \.(?:png|html|ttf|ico|jpg|jpeg)$ {
        try_files $uri /index.php$request_uri;
        # Optional: Don't log access to other assets
        access_log off;
    }
}

Save the file and exit.

Step 7: Enable the NextCloud

After configuring the VirtualHost above, enable it by running the commands below

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/nextcloud /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/

Step 8 : Restart Nginx

To load all the settings above, restart Nginx by running the commands below.

sudo systemctl restart nginx.service

Then open your browser and browse to the server domain name followed by install. You should see NextCloud setup wizard to complete. Please follow the wizard carefully.

http://example.com

You should then see NextCloud setup page.. Connect to the database using the information you created and continue. Select the database server installed on your systems by clicking it as shown in the image below

Click Finish setup and you’re done.

Enjoy!

Congratulations! You have successfully installed NextCloud on Ubuntu 18.04 LTS Servers…

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