Launch an EC2 instance with Amazon Linux, appropriate instance type, secure security group, and key pair. 2. Install LAMP stack by updating packages, installing Apache, MariaDB, PHP, starting services, securing MySQL, and testing PHP. 3. Decouple components by moving database to RDS, storing uploads in S3, and using ELB with Auto Scaling across Availability Zones. 4. Automate setup using User Data scripts, AWS Systems Manager for configuration management, and implement CI/CD with CodePipeline and CodeDeploy. 5. Secure with ACM SSL certificates on ALB, enforce HTTPS, optimize performance via OPcache, ElastiCache, and CloudFront, and monitor using CloudWatch, RDS Insights, and CloudTrail. This scalable, secure, and maintainable PHP environment on AWS EC2 provides full control and a strong foundation for future growth.

Deploying a scalable PHP environment on AWS EC2 from scratch might sound complex, but once you break it down into manageable steps, it becomes a repeatable and reliable process. Whether you're building a small web app or planning for high-traffic growth, setting up a solid foundation on AWS is key. Here’s how to do it right — from zero to scalable.

1. Set Up Your EC2 Instance with the Right Configuration

Start by launching an EC2 instance optimized for PHP workloads.

• Choose an Amazon Machine Image (AMI): Use Amazon Linux 2 or Amazon Linux 2023 — both are lightweight, secure, and well-supported.
• Instance Type: Begin with t3.medium for development or low traffic. For production, consider auto-scaling later, but start with m5.large if you expect moderate load.
• Security Group: Open ports:
  • 80 (HTTP)
  • 443 (HTTPS)
  • 22 (SSH — restrict to your IP)
• Key Pair: Download and securely store your .pem key for SSH access.

Once launched, SSH into your instance:

ssh -i your-key.pem ec2-user@your-ec2-public-ip

2. Install and Configure LAMP Stack (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP)

Now install the core components for PHP applications.

Update and install packages:

sudo yum update -y
sudo amazon-linux-extras install lamp-mariadb10.2-php7.2 php7.2 -y
sudo yum install httpd mariadb-server -y

Start and enable services:

sudo systemctl start httpd
sudo systemctl enable httpd
sudo systemctl start mariadb
sudo systemctl enable mariadb

Secure MySQL:

Run:

sudo mysql_secure_installation

Set a root password, remove anonymous users, and disable remote root login.

Test PHP:

Create a test file:

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

Visit http://your-ec2-ip/info.php — you should see the PHP info page.

? Important: Remove info.php after testing for security.

3. Prepare for Scalability: Decouple Components

A single EC2 instance doesn’t scale. To grow, decouple your architecture:

Move Database to Amazon RDS

• Launch a MySQL or MariaDB RDS instance in the same VPC.
• Update your PHP app to use the RDS endpoint instead of localhost.
• Enable Multi-AZ for failover and plan for read replicas later.

Store Uploads in Amazon S3

• Create an S3 bucket for user uploads (images, documents).
• Use the AWS SDK for PHP (aws/aws-sdk-php) to handle uploads.
• Serve assets via CloudFront for better performance.

Use Elastic Load Balancer (ELB) Auto Scaling

• Create a Target Group pointing to your EC2 instances.
• Set up an Application Load Balancer (ALB) to distribute traffic.
• Create a Launch Template with your configured AMI.
• Configure Auto Scaling Group across multiple Availability Zones.

? This allows your app to spin up new instances during traffic spikes.

4. Automate Deployment and Configuration

Manual setups don’t scale. Automate using:

User Data Script (for bootstrapping):

When launching EC2 instances, use User Data to auto-install software:

#!/bin/bash
yum update -y
amazon-linux-extras install lamp-mariadb10.2-php7.2 php7.2 -y
yum install httpd mariadb-server -y
systemctl start httpd
systemctl enable httpd

This ensures every new instance comes pre-configured.

Use AWS Systems Manager (SSM)

• Eliminate SSH keys by using Session Manager.
• Run commands across instances using SSM Run Command.
• Store configuration secrets in Parameter Store or Secrets Manager.

CI/CD Pipeline (Optional but Recommended)

• Use AWS CodePipeline CodeBuild to deploy code from GitHub.
• Deploy to EC2 via CodeDeploy or directly to S3 sync script.
• Or go further with containerization (Docker ECS), but that’s another path.

5. Secure and Optimize

HTTPS with SSL

• Request a free certificate via AWS Certificate Manager (ACM).
• Attach it to your ALB.
• Redirect HTTP to HTTPS using ALB listener rules.

Performance Tuning

• Enable OPcache in php.ini:

  opcache.enable=1
  opcache.fast_shutdown=1

• Use ElastiCache (Redis or Memcached) for session storage and caching.
• Offload static assets to CloudFront (CDN).

Monitoring

• Enable CloudWatch Alarms for CPU, memory, and latency.
• Install Amazon CloudWatch Agent to monitor memory usage.
• Use RDS Performance Insights and CloudTrail for auditing.

---

Final Notes

You now have a PHP environment on EC2 that:

• Starts simply
• Scales automatically
• Is secure and maintainable

But remember: EC2 is just one option. For even better scalability and lower ops overhead, consider migrating to AWS Elastic Beanstalk, ECS with Fargate, or Lambda with Bref (for PHP) later.

For now, this EC2-based setup gives you full control and a deep understanding of your stack.

Basically, it's not about doing everything at once — it's about building the right foundation so scaling later feels natural, not chaotic.

The above is the detailed content of Deploying a Scalable PHP Environment on AWS EC2 from Scratch. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!