Setup NextCloud On Ubuntu 18.04 LTS

Since Ubuntu 18.04 LTS was released… I have been testing it in my lab environment… and the steps below is how I got NextCloud installed with Apaches, 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 Apache2 HTTP Server

NextCloud needs a web server and the most popular webserver in use today is Apache2. So, go and install Apache2 on Ubuntu by running the commands below:

sudo apt install apache2

After installing Apache2, run the commands below to disable directory listing.

sudo sed -i "s/Options Indexes FollowSymLinks/Options FollowSymLinks/" /etc/apache2/apache2.conf

After installing the commands below can be used to stop, start and enable Apache2 service to always start up with the server boots.

sudo systemctl stop apache2.service
sudo systemctl start apache2.service
sudo systemctl enable apache2.service

Step 2: Install MariaDB

NextCloud also needs a database server… 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 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 libapache2-mod-php7.1 php7.1-common 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/apache2/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
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 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. The community edition is what you’ll want to download.

After downloading, run the commands below to extract the download file into Apache2 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 Apache2

Finally, configure Apahce2 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.conf

sudo nano /etc/apache2/sites-available/nextcloud.conf

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.

<VirtualHost *:80>
     ServerAdmin admin@example.com
     DocumentRoot /var/www/html/nextcloud/
     ServerName example.com
     ServerAlias www.example.com
  
     Alias /nextcloud "/var/www/html/nextcloud/"

     <Directory /var/www/html/nextcloud/>
        Options +FollowSymlinks
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
          <IfModule mod_dav.c>
            Dav off
          </IfModule>
        SetEnv HOME /var/www/html/nextcloud
        SetEnv HTTP_HOME /var/www/html/nextcloud
     </Directory>

     ErrorLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/error.log
     CustomLog ${APACHE_LOG_DIR}/access.log combined

</VirtualHost>

Save the file and exit.

Step 7: Enable the NextCloud and Rewrite Module

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

sudo a2ensite nextcloud.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo a2enmod headers
sudo a2enmod env
sudo a2enmod dir
sudo a2enmod mime

Step 8 : Restart Apache2

To load all the settings above, restart Apache2 by running the commands below.

sudo systemctl restart apache2.service

Then open your browser and browse to the server domain name followed by install. You should see OwnCloud 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