Setting Up Ubuntu Server with NGINX, Percona, and PHP 8.3-FPM

Introduction

If you're running a high-performance WordPress or WooCommerce site, an optimized Ubuntu + NGINX + Percona + PHP 8.3-FPM stack is essential. This guide will walk you through every step of setting up a powerful web server, ensuring optimal performance, security, and reliability.

✅ NGINX – A high-performance web server, faster than Apache.
✅ Percona Server for MySQL – Optimized for high-traffic databases.
✅ PHP 8.3-FPM – The latest PHP version with FastCGI Process Manager.
✅ ImageMagick – For high-quality image processing in WordPress.

1. Install Ubuntu Server and Update Packages

Ensure your Ubuntu system is up to date before installation.

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Install essential dependencies:

sudo apt install -y curl unzip software-properties-common

2. Install and Configure Percona Server for MySQL

A. Add the Percona Repository

wget https://repo.percona.com/apt/percona-release_latest.$(lsb_release -sc)_all.deb
sudo dpkg -i percona-release_latest.$(lsb_release -sc)_all.deb
sudo apt update

B. Install Percona Server

sudo apt install -y percona-server-server

C. Secure MySQL Installation

sudo mysql_secure_installation

✅ Set a strong root password.
✅ Disable remote root login (recommended).
✅ Remove anonymous users.
✅ Remove test databases.

D. Optimize Percona for WordPress & WooCommerce

Edit /etc/mysql/my.cnf and apply these performance optimizations:

[mysqld]
innodb_buffer_pool_size = 2G ; ideally you want this at least 8G or 16G or 75% ram
innodb_log_file_size = 512M
query_cache_type = 1
query_cache_size = 128M
slow_query_log = 1
slow_query_log_file = /var/log/mysql_slow.log
long_query_time = 2

Restart Percona:

sudo systemctl restart mysql

3. Install NGINX and Secure Configuration

A. Install NGINX

sudo apt install -y nginx

B. Configure NGINX for WordPress

Edit the NGINX site configuration file /etc/nginx/sites-available/wordpress:

server {
    listen 80;
    server_name yourdomain.com;
    root /var/www/wordpress;
    index index.php index.html;

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

    location ~* \.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif|ico|css|js|woff|woff2|eot|ttf|svg)$ {
        expires max;
        log_not_found off;
    }

    location ~* /uploads/.*\.php$ {
        deny all;
    }

    location ~ \.php$ {
        include fastcgi_params;
        fastcgi_pass unix:/run/php/php8.3-fpm.sock;
        fastcgi_index index.php;
        fastcgi_param SCRIPT_FILENAME $document_root$fastcgi_script_name;
    }

    location ~* (xmlrpc\.php|wp-config\.php|wp-admin/install\.php) {
        deny all;
    }
}

Activate the configuration:

sudo ln -s /etc/nginx/sites-available/wordpress /etc/nginx/sites-enabled/
sudo systemctl restart nginx

4. Install PHP 8.3-FPM and Required Extensions

A. Add PHP 8.3 Repository

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:ondrej/php -y
sudo apt update

B. Install PHP 8.3 with FPM

sudo apt install -y php8.3-fpm php8.3-cli php8.3-mysql php8.3-curl php8.3-mbstring php8.3-xml php8.3-zip php8.3-gd php8.3-imagick

C. Configure PHP-FPM for WordPress

Edit /etc/php/8.3/fpm/php.ini and update these settings:

memory_limit = 512M
upload_max_filesize = 64M
post_max_size = 64M
max_execution_time = 300
cgi.fix_pathinfo = 0

Restart PHP-FPM:

sudo systemctl restart php8.3-fpm

5. Install ImageMagick for Image Processing

WordPress heavily relies on ImageMagick for image manipulation.

sudo apt install -y imagemagick php8.3-imagick

Restart services:

sudo systemctl restart nginx php8.3-fpm

6. Final Steps: Firewall & Testing

A. Open Required Ports

sudo ufw allow OpenSSH
sudo ufw allow 'Nginx Full'
sudo ufw enable

B. Verify Installation

Check services:

sudo systemctl status nginx mysql php8.3-fpm

Ensure your site loads at http://yourdomain.com.

Conclusion

✅ NGINX + Percona + PHP 8.3-FPM provides superior performance for WordPress & WooCommerce.
✅ Optimized configurations ensure fast page loads and efficient database queries.
✅ Using ImageMagick improves image processing speed.

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