Magento 2 is a popular open-source eCommerce platform that offers flexibility and scalability. To optimize its performance, you can configure Magento 2 with Varnish cache and Apache on Ubuntu 16.04. Whether you're hosting your eCommerce site on a Windows VPS UK or another cloud service, this setup will improve site speed and ensure efficient resource management.

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure you have the following:

• An Ubuntu 16.04 server, which could be hosted on a UK Windows VPS, Windows Virtual Private Servers, or another Windows VPS Hosting UK solution.
• Root or sudo privileges on your server.
• Basic understanding of Linux and server management.

Step 1: Update Your System

Before installing any packages, make sure your system is up to date:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2: Install Apache Web Server

First, install Apache, which will serve as the web server for Magento:

sudo apt install apache2 -y

Start and enable Apache to run at boot:

sudo systemctl start apache2
sudo systemctl enable apache2

Step 3: Install PHP and Required Extensions

Magento 2 requires PHP and specific PHP extensions. Install PHP 7.0 and the necessary extensions with the following command:

sudo apt install php7.0 libapache2-mod-php7.0 php7.0-mysql php7.0-xml php7.0-curl php7.0-intl php7.0-zip php7.0-mbstring php7.0-bcmath php7.0-gd php7.0-soap -y

Step 4: Install and Configure MariaDB

Magento requires a database to store its data. Install MariaDB with the following command:

sudo apt install mariadb-server -y

After installation, secure your MariaDB setup:

sudo mysql_secure_installation

Log in to the MariaDB shell and create a database and user for Magento:

sudo mysql -u root -p
CREATE DATABASE magento2;
CREATE USER 'magento_user'@'localhost' IDENTIFIED BY 'your_password';
GRANT ALL PRIVILEGES ON magento2.* TO 'magento_user'@'localhost';
FLUSH PRIVILEGES;
EXIT;

Step 5: Install Magento 2

Navigate to the web root directory and download Magento 2:

cd /var/www/html
wget https://github.com/magento/magento2/archive/2.4.2.zip

Extract the downloaded file:

sudo apt install unzip
unzip 2.4.2.zip

Move the extracted files to a directory named "magento" and set the correct permissions:

sudo mv magento2-2.4.2/ magento
sudo chown -R www-data:www-data /var/www/html/magento
sudo chmod -R 755 /var/www/html/magento

Step 6: Configure Apache for Magento

Create a new Apache virtual host configuration file for Magento:

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

Add the following configuration:

<VirtualHost *:80>
    ServerAdmin admin@your-domain.com
    DocumentRoot /var/www/html/magento
    ServerName your-domain.com

    <Directory /var/www/html/magento>
        AllowOverride All
        Require all granted
    </Directory>

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

Save and close the file, then enable the virtual host and Apache rewrite module:

sudo a2ensite magento.conf
sudo a2enmod rewrite
sudo systemctl restart apache2

Step 7: Install and Configure Varnish Cache

Varnish is a caching solution that will speed up Magento 2 by caching content and reducing server load. Install Varnish with the following command:

sudo apt install varnish -y

Configure Varnish to listen on port 80 by editing the Varnish default configuration:

sudo nano /etc/default/varnish

Find the DAEMON_OPTS line and update the port configuration:

DAEMON_OPTS="-a :80 -T localhost:6082 -f /etc/varnish/default.vcl -S /etc/varnish/secret -s malloc,256m"

Edit the Apache configuration file to change Apache's port to 8080:

sudo nano /etc/apache2/ports.conf

Replace Listen 80 with:

Listen 8080

Also, update the Magento virtual host file to listen on port 8080:

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

Replace <VirtualHost *:80> with:

<VirtualHost *:8080>

Restart Apache and Varnish:

sudo systemctl restart apache2
sudo systemctl restart varnish

Step 8: Configure Magento 2 for Varnish

Magento 2 supports Varnish out of the box. To enable Varnish, navigate to the Magento admin panel and go to Stores > Configuration > Advanced > System. Under Full Page Cache, select Varnish Cache and configure the Varnish settings.

Conclusion

By following these steps, you have successfully installed and configured Magento 2 with Varnish and Apache on Ubuntu 16.04. This setup will significantly improve the performance of your eCommerce website. Whether you're hosting your site on a Windows VPS UK, Windows VPS Italy, or another Windows Virtual Private Server Hosting solution, Magento 2 with Varnish ensures fast page loading times and better user experience.